The mantelpiece is the most striking element in the room. It was a tribute from Charles V, who was born in Ghent and, when he came of age in 1515, ruled over the Netherlands, and subsequently the Spanish Empire in 1516 and became Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. He oversaw this empire upon which the sun never set until 1556.
In 1525 Charles V defeated the French army, liberating Flanders once and for all from the feudal claims of the French king. The mantelpiece, completed in 1531, honours this event.
The central figure is Charles V himself, wearing the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece and holding the sword of state and a globus cruciger. Behind him you can see the 46 coats of arms of the regions he ruled over.
At the bottom, on the side with the sword and slightly hidden behind his cape, we can see a medallion bearing the image of Charles’ father, Philip the Handsome. At the same height on the other side we can see an image of his mother, Joanna the Mad.
Slightly higher, at around the midpoint of Charles V, another two portrait medallions can be seen – on the sword-side the portrait is of Charles de Lannoy, the commander who defeated the French king, while on the other side is Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Netherlands and an aunt of the Emperor.
The medallions on the posts portray, on the sword-side, Eleanor of Austria, the eldest sister of Charles V with whom he had a close relationship, with the other post bearing the image of the French King Francis 1, Eleanor’s husband.