The medieval castle and subsequent Renaissance palace served as residence for the counts of Hainaut, the dukes of Burgundy and the Habsburg rulers of the Netherlands.

Margaret of York, widow of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, received Binche as a dowry.

Her brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, presented the city and the imperial estate of Binche to her in 1545.

Mary decided to raze the medieval castle to the ground and to construct a magnificent and sumptuous palace in its place.

He also constructed for Mary a hunting lodge close by to Binche in Morlanwelz, called the Château of Mariemont (literally, "Mary-Mount").

[2] In 1549, Mary organized the "Triumph of Binche" for her brother Charles V and her nephew, the future King Philip II.

On 28 August, the masquerade ball was in full swing in the great hall of the palace, when gentlemen disguised as "savages" suddenly kidnapped four ladies in medieval dress to Mariemont.

[3] In the spring of 1554, the Imperial army entered Picardy under the command of Adriaan van Croÿ, 1st Count of Roeulx, and ravaged the country up to 70 km from Paris.

[3] They destroyed the palace of Folembray, the love nest of Henry II of France and Diana de Poitiers.