Three years later, Cosimo, now Duke of Florence, was searching for a wife who could help strengthen his political position since the Medici were still new to their ducal status. He initially asked to marry Margaret of Austria, illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Alessandro's widow, but she displayed enormous reluctance at the idea in order to serve her father's own plans for her. Not wanting to antagonize Cosimo though, the Emperor offered him one of the daughters of the rich Viceroy of Naples. The bride would provide the Medici with a powerful link to Spain, at that time ultimately in control of Florence, offering the opportunity to show sufficient loyalty and trust to Spain in order that its troops would retire from the province. Remembering Eleanor, Cosimo firmly refused the Viceroy's first offer of his eldest and duller daughter, Isabella. Her father agreed and provided a large amount of money on Eleanor as dowry.