Charles was on his way to Barcelona when he received the news of his grandfather's death. Deputing Adrian of Utrecht to hold the Cortes of Valencia, he hurried from Barcelona to Corunna on the Galician coast, intending to set sail for his new kingdom. His appointment of Adrian as sole regent was the crowning insult to Spanish feelings; the Cardinal had little experience and less ability; above all he was of low birth and a foreigner, and the king had promised to bestow no office on 'those who were not natives of the kingdom.' Besides, a Cortes had been summoned to meet at Santiago in Galicia, outside Castile, and the Castilians felt deeply injured. Discontent was rife on all sides, and many wild rumours were afloat. It availed little that Charles in his broken Spanish promised to return in three years. The deputies were not mollified, and demurred to granting the desired subsidy, which was only reluctantly voted. Charles excused his hurried departure from Spain on the plea of his obligation to attend to his new dominions, but this excuse did not pacify his discontented subjects, who foresaw the misery of his prolonged absence, with a hated foreigner as regent. Maximilian's death revived Francis I.'s hopes of gaining the much-coveted imperial crown, for he was not long in recognising the equivocal and expectant attitude of the electors who had formally promised their votes to the dead emperor. He now entered the lists as Charles's rival, and tried to gain over the electors by every means in his power. Margaret was in despair at the apparent small chance of her nephew's success, and with the advice of her Council prepared to send the Archduke Ferdinand into Germany to look after his brother's interests, and suggested that Charles should waive his claim in favour of Ferdinand, whose candidature would be less likely to be opposed by the Pope and the German princes. But Charles was as adamant, and indignantly rejected this proposal, asserting that it had been his grandfather's wish that he alone should succeed to the imperial dignities, and for this end the electors had promised him their votes. If Ferdinand was chosen, the empire would be weakened, and the House of Austria divided, to the gratification of his enemies. 'He alone,' he haughtily said, 'ought to be emperor in order to uphold the splendour of his House, and realise the great designs he had conceived for the good of Christianity. Should our person be elected, as is reasonable from what has gone before, we could carry out many good and great plans, and not only preserve and keep the dominions that God has given us, but greatly increase them, by giving peace, repose, and tranquillity to all Christendom, in exalting and upholding our holy Catholic faith which is our chief foundation....'[62] [62] M. Théodore Juste, _Charles-Quint et Marguerite d'Autriche_.