by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides being King of Spain, Felipe was also King of Portugal (1578 – 1621), King of Sardinia (1598 – 1621), King of Naples (1598 – 1621), King of Sicily (1598–1621), and Duke of Milan (1598–1621).

Felipe III, King of Spain was born on April 14, 1578, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in Madrid, Spain. Felipe was the fourth of the five children and the fourth of the four sons of Felipe II, King of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Felipe III’s paternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor/Carlos I, King of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. His maternal grandparents were Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Austria.

Felipe III’s parents: Felipe II, King of Spain and Anna of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish House of Habsburg was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Of the eleven marriages of Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, nearly all contained some element of consanguinity, marriages between very closely related people. Felipe III’s father Felipe II was the child of first cousins. Felipe III’s mother was also the child of first cousins and the niece of her husband. Felipe III married his first cousin once removed, who was also his second cousin. Felipe III’s son and successor Felipe IV married his niece. The Spanish House of Habsburg would end with the reign of Felipe IV’s physically and mentally disabled son Carlos II, King of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two ancestors, Carlos II had only ten ancestors in the fifth generation. Seven of his eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. See the family tree of the ancestors of Felipe III and his wife at Wikipedia: Family Tree of Felipe III of Spain.

Felipe III had four siblings who all died in childhood:

• Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (1571 – 1578), died in childhood of dysentery
• Infante Carlos Lorenzo (1573 – 1575), died in childhood
• Diego, Prince of Asturias (1575 – 1582), died in childhood of smallpox
• Infanta Maria (1580 – 1583), died in childhood

Felipe III’s half-brother Carlos, Prince of Asturias; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe had one half-brother from his father’s first marriage to Maria Manuela of Portugal, who died ten years before Felipe’s birth:

• Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545 – 1568), died unmarried, Carlos was mentally unstable and was imprisoned in his rooms by his father Felipe II in early 1568 after participating in a plot to murder Felipe II

Felipe III’s half sisters Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe had two half-sisters from his father’s third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois:

• Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1566 – 1633), married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, no children
• Catalina Micaela of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1567 – 1597), married Carlo Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, had ten children

When Felipe III was two years old, his mother Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child. Felipe II never remarried.

Felipe III’s elder half-brother Carlos, Prince of Asturias, who died ten years before Felipe III’s birth, had poor health, was deformed, and was mentally disabled. Many of his physical and mental disabilities may have stemmed from the inbreeding common in the House of Habsburg. However, his father Felipe II, unaware of the results that inbreeding could cause, believed that Carlos’ upbringing had been severely compromised, leading to his problems. Felipe II carefully appointed the people who would raise and educate Felipe III to provide him with a consistent, stable upbringing to ensure that he did not meet the same fate as Carlos. Restrictions were placed on Felipe III at an early age to shape his personality so that he would become a king who would be neither tyrannical nor under the strong influence of his courtiers. The goal of Felipe III’s upbringing seems to have been mostly successful. He was not particularly intelligent or academically gifted, but he was pleasant, pious, and had a respectful demeanor.

In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal from the House of Aviz was killed in battle without any heirs, causing a succession crisis. He was succeeded by his elderly great-uncle Henrique, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and had no descendants because he had taken a vow of chastity as a priest. When Cardinal-King Enrique died two years later, three grandchildren of Manuel I, King of Portugal (1469 – 1521) claimed the Portuguese throne. Ultimately, the grandchild who was successful in his claim was Felipe III’s father Felipe II, King of Spain. The Iberian Union was the union of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal that existed between 1580 and 1640, under the Spanish Habsburg kings Felipe II, Felipe III, and Felipe IV, who reigned in Portugal under the names Filipe I, Filipe II, and Filipe III.

Felipe II, King of Spain on his deathbed, blessing his son, the soon-to-be Felipe III, King of Spain in the presence of the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia by Francisco Jover Casanova; Credit – Wikipedia

In the 1590s, the health of Felipe II, King of Spain worsened. Gout was causing him severe pain, making him nearly immobile, and a special wheelchair was made for him. He also suffered from recurring episodes of malaria. During the last three months of his life, Felipe II was bedridden and in great agony. He died at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, and his twenty-year-old son succeeded him as Felipe III, King of Spain. Besides being King of Spain, Felipe III was also King of Portugal, King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, and Duke of Milan.

Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 18, 1599, at Valencia Cathedral in Valencia, Spain, 21-year-old Felipe III married 14-year-old Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Karl II, Archduke of Inner Austria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were both first cousins once removed and second cousins, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe III’s son and successor the future Felipe IV, King of Spain with his sister Anne, who married Louis XIV, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe III and Margaret had eight children:

• Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1601 – 1666), married Louis XIII, King of France, had two sons Louis XIV, King of France and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
• Maria of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1603)
• Felipe IV, King of Spain (1605 – 1665), married (1) Elisabeth of France, had eight children including Maria Theresia of Austria, Infanta of Spain who married her first cousin Louis XIV, King of France (2) Marianna of Austria, his niece, had five children, including Carlos II, King of Spain
• Maria Anna of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1606 – 1646), married Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, had six children including Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Marianna of Austria, who married her maternal uncle Felipe IV, King of Spain
• Carlos of Austria, Infante of Spain (1607 – 1632), unmarried
• Ferdinand of Austria, Cardinal-Infante of Spain (1609 – 1641), unmarried
• Margarita of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1610 – 1617), died in childhood
• Alonso of Austria, Infante of Spain (1611 – 1612), died in infancy

On October 3, 1611, at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Felipe III’s wife Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child. Margaret was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Felipe never remarried.

Although a goal of Felipe III’s upbringing had been to prevent the strong influence of his courtiers, his reign was marred by his association with Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma. While in his teens, Felipe met Lerma, who was twenty-six years older and served as a gentleman of the bedchamber to Felipe II. Within hours of becoming King of Spain, Felipe III entrusted all authority to Lerma, who amassed unprecedented power and wealth. Felipe’s dependence on his corrupt chief minister, the Duke of Lerma, drew much criticism at the time and afterward. In 1618, Lerma was deposed by a palace intrigue.

Felipe III’s reign was marked by significant economic problems. In the 1590s, Spain was hit by famine due to a series of poor harvests. There was an outbreak of bubonic plague starting in 1599 and continuing for several years that killed more than 10% of the population. However, part of the Spanish Golden Age (1492 – 1659), a period of flourishing in the arts and literature, occurred during the reign of Felipe III. The Pax Hispanica was a period of twenty-three years from 1598 to 1621, when Spain disengaged from the European wars of religion, and peace treaties were signed with the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of England, and the Dutch United Provinces.

The Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe III, King of Spain, survived his wife by ten years, dying in Madrid, Spain on March 31, 1621, two weeks before his forty-third birthday, due to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Tomb of Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Philipp III. (Spanien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_III._(Spanien)> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Discover Magazine. 2019. Inbreeding and the Downfall of the Spanish Hapsburgs. [online] Available at: <https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/inbreeding-and-the-downfall-of-the-spanish-hapsburgs> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Philip III of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_III_of_Spain> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Felipe III de España – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_III_de_Espa%C3%B1a> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2019. King Philip II of Spain. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-philip-ii-of-spain/> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon was born on November 6, 1479, in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain. She was the third of the five children and the second of the four daughters of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. Juana’s paternal grandparents were Juan II, King of Aragon and his second wife Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte. Her maternal grandparents were Juan II, King of Castile and León and his second wife Isabel of Portugal.

Juana with her parents Ferdinand and Isabella; Credit – Wikipedia

Juana had four siblings:

• Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias from 1497–1498 (1470 – 1498), married (1) Prince Afonso of Portugal, no children (2) Prince Manuel, the future King Manuel I of Portugal, had one son Miguel da Paz, Crown Prince of both Portugal and Spain who died before his second birthday; Isabella died giving birth to Miguel
• Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias (1478 – 1497), married Margaret of Austria, no children
• Maria of Aragon (1482 – 1517), married King Manuel I of Portugal, the widower of her elder sister Isabella; had ten children, including King João III of Portugal and Cardinal-King Henrique I of Portugal
• Catalina (Catherine) of Aragon (1485 – 1536), married (1) Arthur, Prince of Wales, no children (2) Arthur’s younger brother, King Henry VIII of England, had one surviving child, Queen Mary I of England

Juana in her teenage years; Credit – Wikipedia

Like her mother Isabella, Queen of Castile and León, and her youngest sister, Catalina (Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England), Juana had a fair complexion and golden-red hair, which probably came from their mother’s descent from the English House of Plantagenet. Isabella’s paternal grandmother was Catherine of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the son of King Edward III of England. As an infanta (princess), Juana was not expected to inherit either of her parents’ thrones, although, through deaths, she inherited both. Her education reflected the fact that she was an unlikely heir. Juana had a general education, studying church and civil law, genealogy and heraldry, grammar, history, languages, and mathematics.

Philip of Austria, Juana’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1496, 16-year-old Juana was betrothed to 18-year-old Philip of Austria, often called Philip of Habsburg or Philip the Handsome. He was the only son of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right, the ruler of a collection of states known as the Burgundian State, and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria. When Philip was four years old, his mother died in a riding accident, and Philip succeeded her as ruler of the Burgundian State consisting of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany.

Philip’s father, Maximilian I, made an alliance with Juana’s parents, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, for a double marriage between their children. Juan, Prince of Asturias, the only son and heir of Ferdinand and Isabella, would marry Maximilian’s only daughter, Margaret of Austria, and Ferdinand and Isabella’s second daughter, Infanta Juana of Castile, would marry Maximilian’s only son Philip. These marriages were part of Ferdinand and Isabella’s foreign policy to build a network of alliances against France, their major rival,  through their children’s marriages to strengthen their kingdoms, destined to be inherited by their son, Juan.  The double marriages were never intended to allow the Spanish kingdoms to fall under the control of the House of Habsburg, which they eventually did. Juana was third in line to the thrones of Aragon, Castile, and León after her elder brother Juan and her elder sister Isabella. She would fall further down the line of succession when her elder siblings had children, as was expected.

Juana and Philip were married by proxy at the Palacio de los Vivero in Valladolid, Kingdom of Castile. On August 22, 1496, Juana began her journey to her new home. The wedding was formally celebrated on October 20, 1496, at the Collegiate Church of Saint Gummarus in the small town of Lier, now in Belgium, near the city of Antwerp.

The three eldest children of Juana and Philip: Eleanor, Carlos, and Isabella; Credit – Wikipedia

Juana and Philip had six children, all were kings or queen consorts:

• Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France (1498 – 1558), married (1) Manuel I, King of Portugal (his third wife), had two children (2) François I, King of France (his second wife), no children
• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also Carlos I, King of Spain (1500 – 1558), married Isabella of Portugal, had five children, including Felipe II, King of Spain
• Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1501 – 1526), married Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, had five children, only two daughters survived childhood
• Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (1503 – 1564), married Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, had fifteen children
• Mary of Austria, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (1505 – 1558), married Louis II, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, no children
• Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1507 – 1578), married João III, King of Portugal, had nine children

Within four years of her marriage to Philip, Juana became the heir to her parents’ kingdoms after the death of her childless only brother Juan, Prince of Asturias in 1497, the death of her eldest sister Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias, Princess of Portugal in childbirth in 1498, and the death of her sister Isabella’s only child Prince Miguel da Paz of Portugal in 1500, shortly before his second birthday.

Although Juana was deeply in love with Philip, their married life was unhappy. Philip was unfaithful and politically insecure. He constantly attempted to usurp Juana’s legal birthright. This led to the rumors of Juana’s insanity because those rumors benefited Philip politically. Most historians now agree that Juana was clinically depressed and not insane, as commonly believed.

On November 26, 1504, Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León died at the age of 53. Juana became Queen of Castile and León, but her father, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile and León. In 1506, Juana’s husband, Philip of Austria, became King of Castile and León jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) as Philip I, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms, which would last until 1700. However, Philip’s reign lasted only from July 12, 1506 to September 25, 1506, when he died suddenly, apparently of typhoid fever, although an assassination by poisoning was rumored at the time.

A 19th-century painting of Juana holding vigil over Philip’s coffin by Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, 1877; Credit – Wikipedia

Rumors were circulating about Juana’s supposed madness. Unfortunately, Juana’s husband Philip had spread rumors about her madness when he was still alive, and her behavior after his death may have reinforced these rumors. Juana decided to transfer Philip’s remains from Burgos in the north of present-day Spain, where he had died and had already been buried, to Granada in the south of present-day Spain. Apparently, Philip wanted to be buried in Granada. The distance from Burgos to Granada is 423 miles/681 kilometers, a 6 1/2 hour car ride today, but an extraordinary distance in 1506. Pregnant with her last child, Juana traveled with her husband’s body from Burgos to Granada. The trip took eight months. During the trip, Juana gave birth to her last child, named Catherine after her youngest sister,  Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England.

Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Kingdom of Castile, where Juana was confined for forty-six years; Credit – By José-Manuel Benito – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=519592

In 1509, Juana’s father Ferdinand convinced the parliament that Juana was too mentally ill to govern, and he was appointed her guardian and regent of Castile and León. Juana was confined in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Kingdom of Castile, under her father’s orders. Catherine, Juana’s youngest child, stayed with her mother at the convent until 1525, when she was released from the custody that her mother was to endure until she died in 1555.

Was Juana mad, or was she manipulated by her father, husband, and son?  Juana’s father Ferdinand, her husband Philip, and her son Carlos had much to gain from Juana being declared unfit to rule. Juana did show excessive grief as she traveled through Castile with Philip’s coffin. What is overlooked is that her 28-year-old husband died suddenly after a five-day illness and that she was fulfilling Philip’s wish to be buried in Granada. In addition, her father deliberately blocked Philip’s burial in Granada, causing delays in Juana’s journey.

On January 23, 1516, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon died. In his will, Ferdinand named his daughter Juana and her eldest son Carlos (also known as Charles in history) as the co-heirs of the Kingdom of Aragon. However, Juana would never reign as she would not be released from her confinement until her death.

Juana’s son Carlos; Credit – Wikipedia

It would be her son Carlos who would reign. Carlos would inherit the dominions of his mother Juana (Castile, León, and Aragon), the dominions of his father Philip (the Burgundian State which were parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and also the dominions of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and Holy Roman Emperor who died after his father Philip’s death. When Juana died in 1555, it resulted in the personal union of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, as her son Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, among many other titles, also became King of Castile and León, and Aragon, effectively creating the Kingdom of Spain. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

Tomb of Philip and Juana; Credit – By Javi Guerra Hernando – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35974698

Juana spent forty-six years imprisoned. Decades of internment, isolation, and sometimes inhumane treatment by her guards had serious negative effects on her. Juana, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon, died on April 12, 1555, aged 75, at the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Castile, now in Spain. She was buried with her parents and husband at the Royal Chapel of Granada, now in Spain.

Royal Chapel of Granada in 1850, drawing by Francesc Xavier Parceris; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Joanna of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_of_Castile> [Accessed 17 July 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Philip I of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_I_of_Castile> [Accessed 17 July 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Felipe I de Castilla – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_I_de_Castilla> [Accessed 17 July 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Juana I de Castilla – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juana_I_de_Castilla> [Accessed 17 July 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, King of Castile and León. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-ii-king-of-aragon-king-of-castile-and-leon/> [Accessed 16 July 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-i-queen-of-castile-and-leon-queen-of-aragon/> [Accessed 16 July 2022].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Germaine of Foix, Queen of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Germaine of Foix was the second wife of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon. Born Ursule-Germaine de Foix circa 1488, possibly in Mazères, Kingdom of France, Germaine was from the noble French family, the House of Foix. She was the eldest of the two children and the only daughter of Jean de Foix, Count of Étampes, Viscount of Narbonne and Marie of Orléans, a sister of Louis XII, King of France. Germaine’s paternal grandparents were Gaston IV, Count of Foix and Eleanor, Sovereign Queen of Navarre. Her maternal grandparents were Charles, Duke of Orléans, and his third wife Marie of Cleves.

Germaine had one younger brother:

• Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours (1489 – 1512), unmarried, served as a general for his uncle Louis XII, King of France, and died at the Battle of Ravenna during the War of the League of Cambrai

On November 26, 1504, Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León died. Isabella’s crown was inherited by her daughter Juana and her husband Philip of Habsburg. Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, Isabella’s widower and Juana’s father, therefore lost control of Castile and León which he had ruled only by jure uxoris (by right of his wife). Upon his death, Ferdinand’s Kingdom of Aragon would pass to Juana and her husband or their heirs, putting most of the Iberian peninsula in the hands of the House of Habsburg. This could be prevented by the birth of a male heir to Ferdinand, who would displace his half-sister Juana in the order of succession to the throne of Aragon. As part of a treaty with the Kingdom of France, Ferdinand agreed to marry Germaine of Foix, niece of King Louis XII of France, and he hoped that Germaine would give birth to a son.

Ferdinand II, King of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 19, 1506, 18-year-old Germaine married 54-year-old Ferdinand by proxy in Blois, Kingdom of France. Six months later, Germaine traveled to Dueñas in the Kingdom of Castile and León, where she met her husband Ferdinand II, King of Aragon for the first time, amid great celebrations. The marriage was accepted in Ferdinand’s Kingdom of Aragon but it was poorly received by the people of the Kingdom of Castile and León who saw Ferdinand’s marriage to Germaine as a betrayal of their late queen, his first wife Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. On May 3, 1509, Germaine gave birth to a son Infante Juan of Aragon, Prince of Girona, who died shortly after his birth. Had he survived, the crown of Aragon would have been separated from the crown of Castile and León. There were no further children from the marriage.

In 1513, Ferdinand granted Germaine the Viscounty of Castellbó, a former possession of her family, the House of Foix. Germaine was not very politically active but she did represent her husband at the 1512 Cortes Generales and the 1515 Cortes of Aragon due to Ferdinand’s ill health. On January 23, 1516, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, died at the age of 63 and was buried next to his first wife Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León at the Royal Chapel of Granada as Isabella requested in her will.

Carlos, grandson of Ferdinand, in 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

Before he died, Ferdinand ordered his grandson Carlos, the son of Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, to take care of Germaine. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain but was also Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; Charles I, Archduke of Austria; and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles. In 1517, Germaine moved from Aragon to Carlos’ court. The 17-year-old Carlos and the 29-year-old Germaine had an affair that resulted in the birth of a daughter Isabel in 1518, who lived and was educated at the court of Castile. Isabel died at the age of 19, a year after her mother’s death, and never married.

Germaine’s second husband Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1519, Carlos arranged a marriage for Germaine to Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the son of Friedrich I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Sophia of Poland. In 1523, Carlos, in his role as Holy Roman Emperor, appointed Germaine and Johann Viceroys of Valencia. Germaine’s second marriage was childless and abusive, and Johann died in 1525 in Valencia.

Germaine’s third husband Ferdinando, Duke of Calabria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1526, once again, Carlos arranged a marriage for Germaine to Ferdinando, Duke of Calabria, the son of the deposed Federico, King of Naples and his second wife Isabella del Balzo. Germaine and her third husband continued as Viceroys of Valencia, but their marriage was childless. Germaine and Ferdinando were patrons of literature and music and maintained a Renaissance court. Germaine was instrumental in working toward the gradual integration of Valencia into Castile-dominated Spain.

Germaine’s tomb; Credit – By Enric – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75407042

Germaine died on October 15, 1536, aged forty-eight, in Llíria, Valencia, probably from edema caused by obesity. She was buried at the Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes (link in Spanish) in Valencia, now in Spain, which Germaine and her third husband Ferdinando, Duke of Calabria had founded. Germaine’s third husband Ferdinando made a second marriage to Mencía de Mendoza y Fonseca and they became famous for their patronage of literary and artistic works. Ferdinando survived Germaine by fourteen years, dying on October 20, 1550, aged 67. As intended when Germaine and Ferdinando founded the Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes, Ferdinando was buried with Germaine at the monastery.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Germaine of Foix – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_of_Foix> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Germana de Foix – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germana_de_Foix> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Ferdinand II, King of Aragon. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-ii-king-of-aragon-king-of-castile-and-leon/> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Jean de Foix (1450-1500) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Foix_(1450-1500)> [Accessed 13 July 2022].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Ferdinand II, King of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Note: Ferdinand (Fernando in Spanish) and Isabella (Isabel in Spanish) will be used in this article because that is how they are generally known, especially in the United States.

On March 10, 1452, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon was born at the Palacio de los Sada in Sos del Rey Católico, Kingdom of Aragon, now in Spain. He was the only son and the elder of the two children of the future Juan II, King of Aragon and his second wife Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte. Ferdinand’s paternal grandparents were Fernando I, King of Aragon and Leonor Urraca, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque. His maternal grandparents were Fadrique Enríquez de Mendoza, Admiral of Castile and Mariana Fernández de Córdoba y Ayala, 4th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte.

Ferdinand had one younger sister:

• Juana of Aragon (1455 – 1517), married Ferdinando I, King of Naples (his second wife), had one daughter

Ferdinand had four half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Blanche of Navarre:

• Carlos, Prince of Viana (1421 – 1461), married Agnes of Cleves, no children
• Juana of Aragon (1423 – 1425), died in childhood
• Blanche II, (titular) Queen of Navarre (1424 – 1464), married King Enrique IV of Castile and León, no children, marriage was annulled
• Leonor, Queen of Navarre (1426 – 1479), married Gaston IV, Count of Foix, had eleven children, Leonor and Gaston’s granddaughter Germaine of Foix was the second wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand’s paternal uncle Alfonso V, King of Aragon had no children, so upon his death in 1458, Ferdinand’s father became Juan II, King of Aragon. Ferdinand’s much older half-brother Carlos was, by primogeniture, heir to the throne of Aragon. However, Carlos and his father Juan II were always in conflict, and Juan II did not want Carlos to succeed him. In 1461, 40-year-old Carlos suddenly died and nine-year-old Ferdinand was now his father’s undisputed heir. However, there were suspicions that Juana Enriquez, Carlos’ stepmother and Ferdinand’s mother, had poisoned Carlos.

Isabella of Castile and León; Credit – Wikipedia

In the neighboring Kingdom of Castile and León, now part of Spain, Ferdinand’s first cousin Enrique IV was King of Castile and León. Because there were doubts about the paternity of Joanna la Beltraneja, the daughter of Enrique IV’s second wife (his first marriage had been childless), it seemed likely that Enrique IV’s much younger half-sister Isabella of Castile and León would succeed him. Ferdinand’s father Juan II, King of Aragon thought a marriage to Isabella, Ferdinand’s second cousin, would be a good idea.

Isabella’s half-brother Enrique IV, King of Castile and León, made several unsuccessful attempts to marry Isabella to grooms of his choice. His half-sister was resistant and a few of the intended grooms died. When Isabella reached the age of eighteen, she decided she wanted to choose her own husband. She chose Ferdinand of Aragon. Without her half-brother’s knowledge, Isabella contacted Ferdinand through Abraham Seneor, who would become her longtime advisor, and marriage arrangements were made.

A tapestry showing the wedding of Ferdinand and Isabella; Credit – Wikipedia

Fearing that Enrique IV would disrupt the marriage plans, Isabella made the excuse of wanting to visit her brother’s burial place in Ávila. She then traveled to Valladolid. Ferdinand disguised himself as a muleteer for some merchants and secretly traveled with a few companions to Valladolid. On October 19, 1469, Isabella and Ferdinand were married at the Palacio de los Vivero in Valladolid.

Ferdinand and Isabella with their eventual successor, their daughter Juana; Credit – Wikipedia

Through the marriages of their five children, Isabella and Ferdinand’s grandchildren were the monarchs or consorts of Bohemia and Hungary; Denmark, Sweden, and Norway; England; France, the Holy Roman Empire; Portugal; and Spain.

Ferdinand and Isabella had five children:

• Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias from 1497–1498 (1470 – 1498), married (1) Prince Afonso of Portugal, no children (2) Prince Manuel, the future King Manuel I of Portugal, had one son Miguel da Paz, Crown Prince of both Portugal and Spain who died before his second birthday; Isabella died giving birth to Miguel
• Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias (1478 – 1497), married Margaret of Austria, no children
• Juana I, Queen of Castile, Queen of Aragon (1479 – 1555), married Philip of Austria (the Handsome), Duke of Burgundy, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; had six children, all of whom were kings or queens consorts: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and Queen of France; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V/King Carlos I of Spain; Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; Mary, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia; Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal
• Maria of Aragon (1482 – 1517), married King Manuel I of Portugal, the widower of her elder sister Isabella; had ten children including King João III of Portugal and Cardinal-King Henrique I of Portugal
• Catalina (Catherine) of Aragon (1485 – 1536), married (1) Arthur, Prince of Wales, no children (2) Arthur’s younger brother King Henry VIII of England, had one surviving child Queen Mary I of England

Ferdinand and Isabella with their subjects; Credit – Wikipedia

When Enrique IV, King of Castile and León died in 1474, his half-sister succeeded him as Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. According to the prenuptial agreement signed at the time of Isabella’s marriage to the future Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, the couple would share their power. Ferdinand became jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) King of Castile and León when Isabella succeeded her brother. When Ferdinand succeeded his father as King of Aragon in 1479, the Crown of Castile and the various territories of the Crown of Aragon were united in a personal union.

Ferdinand and Isabella carefully considered the marriages of their children. Their only son and heir Juan, Prince of Asturias married a Habsburg princess, Margaret of Austria, establishing the connection to the Habsburgs. Their eldest child Isabella married King Manuel I of Portugal and another daughter Juana married a Habsburg prince, Philip of Austria (the Handsome), brother of Margaret of Austria. However, Isabella and Ferdinand’s plans for their two eldest children did not work out. Their only son Juan, Prince of Asturias, died shortly after his marriage. Their daughter Isabella died during the birth of her only child Miguel da Paz, who died shortly before his second birthday. Isabella and Ferdinand’s crowns ultimately passed to their third child Juana and their son-in-law Philip of Austria from the House of Habsburg. Juana and Philip’s son Carlos (also known as Charles) became the first King of a united Spain, and also Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands, and held many other titles.

Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter Catherine, who married both sons of King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand and Isabella made successful dynastic matches for their two youngest daughters. The death of their eldest child Isabella necessitated her husband King Manuel I of Portugal to remarry, and Ferdinand and Isabella’s third daughter Maria became the second of his three wives. Maria gave birth to ten children including two Kings of Portugal. Ferdinand and Isabella’s youngest child Catherine (Catalina in Spanish) of Aragon, married Arthur, Prince of Wales, the eldest son and heir of King Henry VII of England. Arthur’s early death resulted in Catherine becoming the first of the six wives of his younger brother King Henry VIII of England. Although King Henry VIII was dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, their only surviving child Mary was a reigning Queen of England.

The return of Christopher Columbus; his audience before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella and Ferdinand’s support of Christopher Columbus in his search for the West Indies would result in the conquest of the discovered lands and the creation of the Spanish Empire. In 1478, Isabella and Ferdinand established the Spanish Inquisition to maintain the Roman Catholic religion in their kingdoms. The Spanish Inquisition was originally intended to identify heretics among those who had converted from Judaism and Islam to Catholicism. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand conquered the Islamic Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, in today’s southern Spain, and issued the Alhambra Decree which ordered the mass expulsion of Jews from Spain. Because of their defense of the Roman Catholic Church in Castile and León and Aragon, Isabella and Ferdinand were given the Latin title Rex Catholicissimus (Most Catholic King or Most Catholic Majesty) by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. Thereafter, they used the Spanish title Los Reyes Católicos, generally translated as “The Catholics Monarchs”. It is still a title maintained by the Spanish monarchy but neither King Juan Carlos I (reigned 1975 – 2014, abdicated in favor of his son), nor his son Felipe VI, the current King of Spain, have made use of the title, but they have not renounced it either.

In the fall of 1504, Isabella became quite ill and officially withdrew from government affairs. On November 26, 1504, Isabella died at the age of 53. In her will, Isabella requested a simple burial at the Monastery of San Francisco in the Alhambra royal complex in Granada. She also further stated that she “wanted and commanded” that if Ferdinand “chooses to buried in any church or monastery of any other part or place of my kingdoms, that my body be moved there and buried together.” Isabella’s remains were later transferred to the Royal Chapel of Granada, built after her death.

After the death of Isabella, her daughter Juana became Queen of Castile and León but Ferdinand II, King of Aragon proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile and León. In 1506, Juana’s husband Philip of Habsburg became King of Castile and León jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) as Philip I, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms which would last until 1700. However, Philip’s rule lasted only from July 12, 1506 to September 25, 1506, when he died suddenly, apparently of typhoid fever. Despite being the ruling Queen of Castile, Juana had no real role during her reign. After Philip’s death, Ferdinand convinced the parliament that Juana was too mentally ill to govern, and was appointed her guardian and regent of Castile and León. Juana was confined in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas under her father’s orders.

After his death, Ferdinand was concerned that his Kingdom of Aragon would pass into the hands of the House of Habsburg. This could be prevented by the birth of a male heir to Ferdinand, who would displace his half-sister Juana in the order of succession to the throne of Aragon. As part of an alignment with the Kingdom of France, Ferdinand agreed to marry Germaine of Foix, a daughter of Jean de Foix, Count of Étampes, Viscount of Narbonne and Marie of Orléans, and a niece of King Louis XII of France, and hoped that Germaine would give birth to a son.

Ferdinand’s second wife Germaine of Foix, Queen Consort of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 19, 1506, 18-year-old Germaine married 54-year-old Ferdinand by proxy in Blois, Kingdom of France. Six months later, Germaine traveled to Dueñas in the Kingdom of Castile and León, where she met her husband Ferdinand for the first time, amid great celebrations. The marriage was accepted in Ferdinand’s Kingdom of Aragon but was poorly received by the people of the Kingdom of Castile and León who saw Ferdinand’s marriage to Germaine as a betrayal of their late queen, his first wife Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. On May 3, 1509, Germaine gave birth to a son, Infante Juan of Aragon, Prince of Girona, who died shortly after his birth. Had he survived, the crown of Aragon would have been separated from the crown of Castile and León. There were no further children from the marriage.

Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella at the Royal Chapel of Granada; Credit – By Javi Guerra Hernando – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35974697

On January 23, 1516, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, died at the age of 63 and was buried next to his first wife Isabella at the Royal Chapel of Granada as Isabella requested. In his will, Ferdinand named his daughter Juana and her eldest son Carlos (also known as Charles in history) as his co-heirs.

Juana’s son Carlos in 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Juana would never really reign as she would not be released from her confinement until her death on April 12, 1555, aged 75. It would be 16-year-old Carlos who would reign. Ferdinand even stated in his will that Carlos should be considered of legal age, despite being a minor, with the express purpose of Carlos reigning immediately. When Juana died in 1555, it resulted in the personal union of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, as her son Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, among many other titles, also became King of Castile and León, and Aragon, effectively creating the Kingdom of Spain. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ferdinand II of Aragon – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon> [Accessed 8 July 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. John II of Aragon – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_of_Aragon> [Accessed 9 July 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Fernando II de Aragón – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_II_de_Arag%C3%B3n> [Accessed 8 July 2022].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Juan II de Aragón – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_II_de_Arag%C3%B3n> [Accessed 9 July 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-i-queen-of-castile-and-leon-queen-of-aragon/> [Accessed 9 July 2022].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León was born on April 22, 1451, at the Royal Palace (later the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace) in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres, then in the Kingdom of Castile and León, now in the Kingdom of Spain. Isabella (Isabel in Spanish) was the elder of the two children of Juan II, King of Castile and León and his second wife, Isabel of Portugal. Isabella’s paternal grandparents were Enrique III, King of Castile and Catherine of Lancaster. Catherine of Lancaster was the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, a son of King Edward III of England. Isabella had golden-red hair from her father’s descent from the English House of Plantagenet. Isabella’s maternal grandparents were Infante Juan of Portugal and Isabel de Barcelos of the House of Braganza.

The marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and León (reigned 1474 – 1504) and King Ferdinand II (Fernando in Spanish) of Aragon (reigned 1479 – 1516) led to the political unification of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile and León into the Kingdom of Spain under their grandson King Charles I (Carlos in Spanish), King of Spain who later also became Charles V, Holy Roman Empire. Isabella and Ferdinand will be used in this article because that is how they are generally known, especially in the United States.

Isabella had one brother who died when he was fourteen years old:

• Alfonso of Castile, Prince of Asturias (1453 – 1468)

Isabella had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to his first cousin Maria of Aragon:

• Catalina of Castile, Princess of Asturias (1422 – 1424), died in childhood, heiress presumptive from her birth until her death
• Leonor of Castile, Princess of Asturias (1423 – 1425), died in childhood, heiress presumptive from the death of Catalina until the birth of her brother Enrique
• King Enrique IV of Castile and León (1425 – 1474), married (1) Blanche of Navarre, no children, marriage annulled (2) Joana of Portugal, had one daughter whose paternity is in doubt, divorced
• Infanta Maria of Castile (1428 – 1429), died in infancy

Isabella’s half-brother Enrique IV, King of Castile and León; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of her birth, Isabella was second in line to the throne of Castile and León after her 26-year-old half-brother Enrique. Enrique’s first marriage was childless. Two years after her birth, Isabella’s brother Alfonso was born, but he died when he was fourteen. Isabella and her half-brother Enrique were the only children of their father Juan II, King of Castile and León to survive childhood. Enrique’s second wife Joana of Portugal did give birth to a daughter, but her paternity is in doubt. Enrique had no other children and was rumored to be impotent. His wife’s daughter was popularly called Joanna la Beltraneja, referring to Beltrán de la Cueva, 1st Duke of Alburquerque, who was suspected to be her father.

When Juan II, King of Castile and León died in 1454, his son succeeded him as Enrique IV, King of Castile and León. Isabella was only three years old when her father died. Although her father arranged for Isabella, her brother Alfonso, and their mother to be financially secure, Enrique IV did not always follow his father’s wishes. Initially, after her father’s death, Isabella, her brother, and their mother lived at the Castle of Arévalo, where Isabella, under the guidance of her mother, developed a deep reverence for the Catholic religion. In 1462, eleven-year-old Isabella and her brother Alfonso were summoned to court at the Alcázar of Segovia under the direct supervision of their half-brother Enrique IV. Alfonso was placed in the care of a tutor while Isabella became part of the Queen’s household and received a well-rounded education.

A tapestry showing the wedding of Isabella and Ferdinand; Credit – Wikipedia

Enrique IV made several unsuccessful attempts to marry Isabella to grooms of his choice, but she was resistant, and a few of the intended grooms died. When Isabella reached the age of eighteen, she decided she wanted to choose her own husband. She chose Ferdinand of Aragon, the heir apparent of Juan II, King of Aragon and his second wife Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte. Without her half-brother’s knowledge, Isabella contacted Ferdinand through Abraham Seneor, who would become her longtime advisor, and marriage arrangements were made.

Ferdinand II, King of Aragon; Credit – Wikipedia

Fearing that Enrique IV would disrupt the marriage plans, Isabella made the excuse of wanting to visit the burial place of her brother Alfonso in Ávila. She then traveled to Valladolid. Ferdinand disguised himself as a muleteer for some merchants and secretly traveled with a few companions to Valladolid. On October 19, 1469, Isabella and Ferdinand were married at the Palacio de los Vivero in Valladolid.

Ferdinand and Isabella with their successor, their daughter Juana; Credit – Wikipedia

Through the marriages of their five children, Isabella and Ferdinand’s grandchildren were the monarchs or consorts of Bohemia and Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Portugal, and Spain.

Isabella and Ferdinand had five children:

• Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias from 1497–1498 (1470 – 1498), married (1) Prince Afonso of Portugal, no children (2) Prince Manuel, the future King Manuel I of Portugal, had one son Miguel da Paz, Crown Prince of both Portugal and Spain who died before his second birthday; Isabella died giving birth to Miguel
• Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias (1478 – 1497), married Margaret of Austria, no children
• Juana I, Queen of Castile, Queen of Aragon (1479 – 1555), married Philip of Austria (the Handsome), son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; had six children, all of whom were kings or queens consorts: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and Queen of France; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V/King Carlos I of Spain; Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; Mary, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia; Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal
• Maria of Aragon (1482 – 1517), married King Manuel I of Portugal, the widower of her elder sister Isabella; had ten children, including King João III of Portugal and Cardinal-King Henrique I of Portugal
• Catalina (Catherine) of Aragon (1485 – 1536), married (1) Arthur, Prince of Wales, no children (2)  King Henry VIII of England (Arthur’s younger brother), had one surviving child, Queen Mary I of England

When Enrique IV, King of Castile and León died in 1474, his half-sister succeeded him as Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. Joanna la Beltraneja, the daughter of Enrique IV’s second wife, claimed the throne of Castile and León and was supported by some of the Castilian nobility and by Portugal, her mother’s birthplace. However, the Battle of Toro during the War of the Castilian Succession secured the throne of Castile and León for Isabella. According to the prenuptial agreement signed at the time of Isabella’s marriage to the future Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, the couple would share their power. Ferdinand became jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) King of Castile when Isabella succeeded her brother. When Ferdinand succeeded his father as King of Aragon in 1479, the Crown of Castile and the various territories of the Crown of Aragon were united in a personal union.

Isabella and Ferdinand’s successor, their daughter Juana, and her husband Philip with their Spanish subjects; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand created the de facto unification of Spain. They carefully considered the marriages of their children. Their only son and heir Juan, Prince of Asturias married a Habsburg princess, Margaret of Austria, establishing the connection to the Habsburgs. Their eldest child Isabella married King Manuel I of Portugal. Another daughter Juana married a Habsburg prince, Philip of Austria (the Handsome), brother of Margaret of Austria. However, Isabella and Ferdinand’s plans for their two eldest children did not work out. Their only son Juan, Prince of Asturias, died shortly after his marriage. Their daughter Isabella died during the birth of her only child Miguel da Paz, who then died shortly before his second birthday. Isabella and Ferdinand’s crowns ultimately passed to their third child Juana and their son-in-law, Philip of Austria from the House of Habsburg. Juana and Philip’s son Carlos (also known as Charles) became the first King of a united Spain, and was also Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands.

Isabella and Ferdinand’s daughter Catherine, who married both sons of King Henry VII of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella and Ferdinand made successful dynastic matches for their two youngest daughters. The death of their eldest child Isabella necessitated her husband, King Manuel I of Portugal to remarry, and Ferdinand and Isabella’s third daughter Maria became the second of his three wives. Maria gave birth to ten children, including two Kings of Portugal. Ferdinand and Isabella’s youngest child Catherine (Catalina in Spanish) of Aragon, married Arthur, Prince of Wales, the eldest son and heir of King Henry VII of England. Arthur’s early death resulted in Catherine becoming the first of the six wives of his younger brother, King Henry VIII of England. Although King Henry VIII was dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, their only surviving child Mary, was a reigning Queen of England.

Return of Christopher Columbus; his audience before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella and Ferdinand’s support of Christopher Columbus in his search for the West Indies would result in the conquest of the discovered lands and the creation of the Spanish Empire. In 1478, Isabella and Ferdinand established the Spanish Inquisition to maintain the Roman Catholic religion in their kingdoms. The Spanish Inquisition was originally intended to identify heretics among those who had converted from Judaism and Islam to Catholicism. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand conquered the Islamic Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, in today’s southern Spain, and issued the Alhambra Decree, which ordered the mass expulsion of Jews from Spain. Because they defended the Roman Catholic Church in Castile and León and Aragon, Isabella and Ferdinand were given the Latin title Rex Catholicissimus (Most Catholic King or Most Catholic Majesty) by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. Thereafter, they used the Spanish title Los Reyes Católicos, generally translated as “The Catholics Monarchs”. It is still a title maintained by the Spanish monarchy, but neither King Juan Carlos I (reigned 1975 – 2014, abdicated in favor of his son) nor his son Felipe VI, the current King of Spain, have made use of the title, but they have not renounced it either.

Isabella’s health had been in decline since the death of her only son Juan, Prince of Asturias in 1497. In the fall of 1504, she became quite ill and officially withdrew from government affairs. On November 26, 1504, Isabella died at the age of 53 at the Royal Palace in Medina del Campo, Valladolid, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain.

In her will, Isabella requested a simple burial at the Monastery of San Francisco in the Alhambra royal complex in Granada. She also further stated that she “wanted and commanded” that if Ferdinand “chooses to buried in any church or monastery of any other part or place of my kingdoms, that my body be moved there and buried together.” In accordance with her wishes, Isabella was first buried at the Monastery of San Francisco in the Alhambra royal complex in Granada. Her remains were later transferred to the Royal Chapel of Granada, which was built after her death.

The coffins of Ferdinand and Isabella resting together in the crypt at the Royal Chapel of Granada; Credit – Wikipedia by Immasureda – Own work

Two years after Isabella’s death, Ferdinand married Germaine of Foix, the granddaughter of his half-sister Queen Eleanor of Navarre and the niece of King Louis XII of France. Ferdinand and Germaine had one son, Juan, Prince of Girona, who died shortly after his birth. Had he survived, the crown of Aragon would have been separated from the crown of Castile. Ferdinand survived Isabella by twelve years, dying at the age of 63 on January 23, 1516, and was buried next to his first wife Isabella at the Royal Chapel of Granada as Isabella requested.

Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella at the Royal Chapel of Granada; Credit –  Wikipedia by Javi Guerra Hernando – Own work

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ferdinand II of Aragon – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon>
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Henry IV of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_Castile>
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Isabella I of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile>
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. John II of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_of_Castile>
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Fernando II de Aragón – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_II_de_Arag%C3%B3n>.
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Isabel I de Castilla – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_I_de_Castilla>