Although her mother was a previous sovereign of the Netherlands, Margaret was always considered a foreigner because of her childhood at the French court. She knew neither Dutch nor German, and her principal advisers, such as Mercurino di Gattinara, were Italians who had followed her north. In any case, the Governess acted as intermediary between her father and her nephew's subjects in the Netherlands from her newly built palace at Mechelen. During a remarkably successful career, she broke new ground for women rulers.