Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar; Credit- Wikipedia

Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar was born on June 18, 1269, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, Berkshire, England. She was the third but the eldest surviving daughter and the fifth but the eldest surviving of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Eleanor’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

Eleanor’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Eleanor below were named and the ones who died in infancy survived for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Edward I’s daughter Joan of Acre was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade.

When Eleanor’s mother died in 1290, only six of her children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and only six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Eleanor had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

In 1270, due to the departure of her parents for the Ninth Crusade, Eleanor, her brother Henry, and her first cousin John of Brittany (the son of Eleanor’s paternal aunt Beatrice) were cared for at Windsor Castle by their grandmother Eleanor of Provence. During the absence of her parents, Eleanor’s grandfather King Henry III of England died on November 16, 1272, and her father succeeded to the English throne as King Edward I. Eleanor remained very close to her brother Henry until his premature death in October 1274. Because Eleanor’s parents had left England when she was only a year old, she was much closer to her grandmother Eleanor of Provence. Eleanor did not see her parents again until their return from the crusade in August 1274.

In 1273, when Eleanor was only four years old, her father King Edward I betrothed her to the future Alfonso III, King of Aragon who was eight years old, hoping to form an anti-France alliance. In 1281, Alfonso’s father King Pedro III of Aragon asked King Edward I to send him Eleanor so that she could be raised in Aragon but Edward wanted to wait another year before sending his daughter to Aragon. However, in 1282, a war broke out between Aragon and Naples over Sicily, and King Philippe III of France and Pope Martin IV were on the side of Naples. King Edward I decided it would be a bad foreign policy move to send his daughter to Aragon at that time. In 1285, Alfonso became King of Aragon, and five years later, when King Edward I felt that it was an opportune time, Eleanor and Alfonso III, King of Aragon were married by proxy at Westminster Abbey on August 15, 1290. However, the marriage was never consummated. On June 18, 1291, before Eleanor left for her in-person wedding in Aragon, Alfonso died from an infection.

Henri II, Count of Bar; Credit – Wikipedia

Deprived of the alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon, Edward I immediately began a search for a new groom for his eldest daughter. He chose Henri III, Count of Bar. Henri was ten years older than Eleanor and the son of Thiébaut II, Count of Bar and Jeanne de Toucy. The Duchy of Bar was a sovereign state located in what is now northeast France. An alliance with Henri against King Philippe IV of France could provide a significant military advantage. On September 20, 1293, in Bristol, England, Eleanor married Henri III, Count of Bar.

Eleanor and Henri III, Count of Bar had one son and one daughter:

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Eleanor is buried

Eleanor and Henri’s marriage lasted a little less than five years. On August 29, 1298, 29-year-old Eleanor died in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, of unknown causes. Possibly, she died in childbirth (along with the baby), which at the end of the 13th century was a frequent cause of the premature death of women. Her father King Edward I had Eleanor’s remains returned to England, where she was buried on October 12, 1289, in Westminster Abbey in London, England in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict.

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. Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Countess_of_Bar> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Aliénor d’Angleterre (1269-1298) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali%C3%A9nor_d%27Angleterre_(1269-1298)> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Henri III de Bar — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_III_de_Bar> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
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  • Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
  • Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

Felipe III, King of Spain, Filipe II, King of Portugal

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:

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:

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 with the goal of providing 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:

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.

The reign of Felipe was marked by significant economic problems throughout Spain. 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 Province.

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].
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Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Helena of Nassau was the first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne was born on August 18, 1831, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. She was the eldest of the three surviving children and the elder of the two surviving daughters of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Both Helena’s parents were descendants of King George II of Great Britain. Helena’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, and Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Helena had two surviving siblings:

Helena had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen including Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg:

Georg Viktor and Helena; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/430445676888607858/

On September 26, 1853, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the son of  Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena.

Georg Viktor and Helena with their five elder daughters circa 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Viktor and Helena had six daughters and one son:

Helena focused on charitable work, chairing many charitable organizations, and involving her children in charitable work from a very young age. Her daughter Emma said of Helena, “Mother had a great talent for dealing with people, to do them justice. We daughters have tried to follow mother’s example, also in her social interest.”

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Helena was in ill-health for the last decade of her life. She died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried at the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan (2021) Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-viktor-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Helena av Nassau-Weilburg (2022) Wikipedia (Swedish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_av_Nassau-Weilburg (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Helene von Nassau (2021) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_von_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Princess Helena of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Helena_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • William, Duke of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William,_Duke_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).

Katherine of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

An image of Katherine in a 14th-century illuminated manuscript; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on November 25, 1253, at the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England, Katherine was the youngest of the five children and the third of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. She was given the name Katherine because she was born on the feast day of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. Her paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy were Katherine’s maternal grandparents.

King Henry III (on top) with his five children; Credit – Wikipedia

Katherine had four elder siblings:

On January 5, 1254, a large banquet was held to celebrate Katherine’s birth. Katherine was baptized by her mother’s maternal uncle Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury who was also her godfather. Within months of her birth, Katherine’s mother Eleanor of Provence had to leave England to join her husband King Henry III for a short while in the Duchy of Gascony, then a possession of the King of England, now in France. Katherine was left at Windsor Castle in the care of her governess Lady Emma le Despencer, the wife of Geoffrey le Despencer, Lord of Martley from one of the great noble families of England, and two wet nurses Agnes and Avisa. There was always a circle of trusted men and women to care for young Katherine when her parents could not be in her company.

The description by 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris that Katherine was “‘mute and useless
though with a most beautiful face” has often been interpreted that she had an intellectual disability or degenerative disease. However, it may indicate that Katherine merely had a stammer or some other speech impediment. There is much disagreement on what disease or disability Katherine may have had, or if she had one at all. Contemporary evidence suggests that the reaction of Katherine’s parents to her illnesses followed a similar reaction to the illnesses of her siblings and that Katherine was treated no differently than her siblings, suggesting that there were no serious or long-term health concerns.

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Katherine is buried

Katherine did have some kind of illness during the spring of 1257, that resulted in her death on May 3, 1257, when she was three and a half years old. Her parents King Henry III and Queen Eleanor deeply mourned her death and were emotionally distraught. Katherine was buried in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict, to the right of the main altar at Westminster Abbey in London, England. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter’s Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church, the first Westminster Abbey. Construction of the second and present church began in 1245 by Katherine’s father King Henry III who selected the site for his burial.

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

  • Armstrong, Abigail Sophie, 2018. The Daughters of Henry III. Ph.D. dissertation. Canterbury Christ Church University.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Katherine of England – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_of_England> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Catherine d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Henry III of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
  • Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Austria was the niece and the fourth of the four wives of Felipe II, King of Spain, King of Portugal. Born on November 2, 1549, in Cigales, Spain, Anna was the eldest of the six daughters and the eldest of the fifteen children of first cousins Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and Maria of Spain. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. Her maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, among many other titles, and Isabella of Portugal.

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, his wife Maria of Spain with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst in the cradle; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna had fourteen younger siblings:

As the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Anna was considered a desirable royal wife. Her parents thought that a Spanish marriage would strengthen the relationships between the Austrian branch and the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. Talks began to arrange a marriage between Anna and her first cousin Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the only son of Felipe II, King of Spain and his deceased first wife and double first cousin Maria Manuela of Portugal. However, the marriage plans were scrapped when Carlos died in 1568 at the age of twenty-three.

Felipe II, King of Spain, circa 1568; Credit – Wikipedia

Later in 1568, Felipe II’s third wife Elisabeth of Valois died a few hours after giving birth to a premature daughter who also died. Felipe was a widower for a third time, with two young daughters who had lost their mother. He planned to remarry because he no longer had a male heir. Despite being his niece and twenty-two years younger than him, Felipe decided to marry Anna. The consanguinity or close genetic relationship between Felipe and his niece Anna caused Pope Pius V to have serious reservations but he eventually granted the necessary dispensation. The marriage contract was signed in Madrid on January 24, 1570, and a proxy wedding was held at Prague Castle on May 4, 1570.

In the autumn of 1570, Anna traveled from Austria to Spain accompanied by her brothers Albrecht and Wenceslaus. When Anna traveled through the English Channel, Queen Elizabeth I of England sent her admirals, Charles Howard and William Wynter, to offer support and safe passage. Anna arrived in Spain on October 3, 1570. Anna and Felipe were married in person on November 14, 1570, in the chapel of the Alcázar of Segovia. Anna’s new household was under the direction of Margarita de Cardona, who Anna knew well as she had previously been the lady-in-waiting of her mother Maria of Spain, Felipe II’s sister.

Anna and Felipe II’s only surviving child, the future Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna and Felipe had five children but only one survived childhood:

Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela, Anna’s stepdaughters, the daughters of Felipe II and his third wife Elisabeth of Valois; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna was the stepmother of Felipe’s two daughters from his third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois who died in 1568:

Contemporary accounts show that Anna and Felipe’s marriage was happy and that Anna was Felipe’s most beloved wife. There are no records of Felipe having lovers during his marriage to Anna. Anna was a good stepmother to Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela. She also managed to ease some of the rather stiff atmosphere of the Spanish court.

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 who was 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 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 and regnal numbers Filipe I, Filipe II, and Filipe III.

Tomb of Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain in the Pantheon of the Kings, Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; Credit – www.findagrave.com

In 1580, Felipe’s court was in the Spanish city of Badajoz, close to the border with Portugal, because of Felipe’s claim to the Portuguese throne. While in Badajoz, Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child Maria. Initially, Anna was buried in the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz. Several years later, Anna’s remains were transferred to the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain. Anna’s entrails were allowed to remain buried in the floor of the choir at the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz, and they remain buried there today.

The Pantheon of Kings where Anna and Felipe II are interred; Credit – By Bocachete – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6493547

Felipe never remarried. He survived Anna by eighteen years, dying after a long illness, at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, in his chambers at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

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. Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_of_Austria,_Queen_of_Spain> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ana de Austria (reina de España) – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_de_Austria_(reina_de_Espa%C3%B1a)> [Accessed 18 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 18 August 2022].
  • Louda, Jiri and Maclagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. London: Little, Brown.

Beatrice of England, Countess of Richmond

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Beatrice of England, Countess of Richmond; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on June 25, 1242, in Bordeaux, Duchy of Aquitaine, now in France, Beatrice of England was the third of the five children and the second of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. At the time of Beatrice’s birth, the Duke of Aquitaine was one of the titles and the Duchy of Aquitaine was one of the possessions of the King of England. Beatrice’s paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and her namesake Beatrice of Savoy.

King Henry III (on top) with his five children; Credit – Wikipedia

Beatrice had four siblings:

King Henry III and Queen Eleanor had a happy marriage, and Beatrice grew up in a loving family and was close to her siblings. There were concerns about the health of Beatrice’s elder brother and heir to the throne the future King Edward I as a child because he was very seriously ill in 1246, 1247, and 1251 but he recovered. The death of Beatrice’s youngest sibling Katherine caused her parents overwhelming grief. Many of Queen Eleanor’s maternal Savoy relatives had come to the English court causing the English to be unhappy with King Henry III due to the influence that Eleanor and her Savoy relatives exercised on the monarchy, and the barons demanded more power. This situation created many problems for Henry III and his family.

Seal of John II, Duke of Brittany, Beatrice’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 22, 1260, at the Basilica of Saint Denis in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Kingdom of France, Beatrice married John of Dreux. John was the eldest son of John I, Duke of Brittany and Infanta Blanche of Navarre, daughter of King Theobald I of Navarre. The marriage helped to forge an alliance with France. In 1268, King Henry III granted the title Earl of Richmond to John I, Duke of Brittany as an enticement when tensions rose with France. However, John I soon transferred the title Earl of Richmond to his son and heir John of Dreux, who also became John II, Duke of Brittany upon his father’s death in 1286. John of Dreux became Duke of Brittany after the death of Beatrice so she never became Duchess of Brittany.

Beatrice and John had six children:

Beatrice died on March 24, 1275, aged 32, in London, England while visiting her brother King Edward I of England. Possibly she died due to childbirth complications as her youngest child Eleanor was born in London in 1275. Beatrice was buried at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich, London that was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Her heart was interred at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon, in the Duchy of Anjou, now in France.

Beatrice’s husband John II, Duke of Brittany never remarried. He survived Beatrice by thirty years. In November 1305, John traveled to Lyon, now in France, then under the rule of the Archbishop of Lyon, to attend the coronation of Pope Clement V, a native of the Duchy of Aquitaine. During Pope Clement V’s coronation celebrations, John II, Duke of Brittany was leading the Pope’s horse through the crowd. So many spectators had piled on top of the city walls that one of the walls crumbled and collapsed on top of John. He died four days later, on November 18, 1305, aged 66. John II, Duke of Brittany was buried in the Carmelite convent he had founded in Ploërmel, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. After the convent was destroyed during the French Wars of Religion (1562 – 1598), the tomb of John II, Duke of Brittany was moved in 1591 to the Priory of Saint-Nicolas, the new convent of the Carmelites. During the French Revolution (1789 – 1799), the tomb was destroyed and the recumbent effigy removed. The effigy was later found and in 1820, the recumbent effigy of John III, Duke of Brittany was placed in the Church of Saint-Armel (link in French) in Ploërmel, France.

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. Beatrice of England – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_of_England> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. John II, Duke of Brittany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II,_Duke_of_Brittany> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. Isabella of Angoulême, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-angouleme-queen-of-england/> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Henry III of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Béatrice d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9atrice_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Jean II de Bretagne — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_de_Bretagne> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
  • Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Maria Manuela of Portugal, Princess of Asturias (Spain)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Manuela of Portugal, Princess of Asturias; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Manuela of Portugal, Princess of Asturias was the first of the four wives of Felipe II, King of Spain but she died before he became king. Born in Coimbra, Portugal on October 15, 1527, she was the eldest of the three daughters and the second but the eldest surviving of the nine children of João III, King of Portugal and Catherine of Austria. Maria Manuela was the heir presumptive to the throne of Portugal from her birth until her brother Manuel was declared the heir in 1535. Maria Manuela’s paternal grandparents were Manuel I, King of Portugal and his second wife Maria of Aragon. Her maternal grandparents were Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon.

João Manuel, Maria Manuela’s only sibling who survived childhood; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Manuela had eight siblings. Of her eight younger siblings, only João Manuel survived childhood but he died at age sixteen after producing a son who succeeded to the throne of Portugal.

Felipe, Prince of Asturias, later King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Manuela’s upbringing was influenced by her mother’s deep religious piety and by the expectation that as the only daughter of the King of Portugal, she would marry a high-ranking prince. Her groom was to be Felipe, Prince of Asturias (the title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain), the eldest son and heir of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, one of the most powerful ever monarchs who had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. Maria Manuela and Felipe were double first cousins. Maria Manuela’s father João III, King of Portugal and Felipe’s mother Isabella of Portugal were siblings and Maria Manuela’s mother Catherine of Austria and Felipe’s father Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor were siblings.

The two sixteen-year-olds were to be married in Salamanca, Kingdom of Castile and León, now in Spain, and in October 1543, Maria Manuela left Portugal to travel to her new homeland. During her trip from Lisbon, Portugal, there were festivities at every stop. An incognito Prince Felipe followed Maria Manuela’s traveling party. When the royal party arrived at a town where they were going to rest, Felipe mixed with the crowds in the streets to watch his future wife.

Maria Manuela was met by the dignitaries of Salamanca and made a magnificent entrance into the city. Prince Felipe arranged to be on a balcony and Maria Manuela, aware that he would be on the balcony, covered her face with a fan as she passed by. However, the court jester distracted Maria Manuela with his jokes causing her to move the fan, revealing her face. Later that afternoon, Felipe left the Salamanca incognito, and then made a grand entrance into the city accompanied by Cardinal Juan Álvarez de Toledo and Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba.

On November 15, 1543, the betrothal was celebrated at 1:00 AM with Cardinal Juan Álvarez de Toledo giving the couple the nuptial blessing. A nuptial mass was then celebrated at 4:00 AM. The rest of the day and several of the following days were spent in parties and tournaments. Maria Manuela and Felipe traveled to the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Kingdom of Castile and León to visit their mutual grandmother Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Juana was very pleased to see and embrace her grandchildren, and the story goes that she made them dance in her presence.

The tomb of Maria Manuela is on the right, the tomb of her son Carlos is on the left; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Sadly, Maria Manuela and Felipe had a short marriage. On July 8, 1545, Maria Manuela gave birth to a son in Valladolid, Kingdom of Castile and León. Four days later, on July 12, 1545, she died, aged seventeen, due to childbirth complications. Maria Manuela was initially buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada but in 1549 her remains were transferred to the Royal Crypt at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, now in Spain, where she was interred in the Pantheon of Infantes which houses the tombs of Infantes, Infantas, and Queen Consorts who were not the mothers of a future King of Spain.

Maria Manuela and Felipe’s son Carlos, Prince of Asturias, circa 1562; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Manuela and Felipe’s son Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545 – 1568), died unmarried. Carlos was mentally unstable and was imprisoned in his rooms by his father Felipe in early 1568 after participating in a plot to murder his father. Carlos died, aged twenty-three, after six months of solitary confinement.

Felipe married three more times, to his first cousin once removed Queen Mary I of England, to Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici, and to his niece Anna of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Austria, who was Felipe’s sister. Felipe was a widower three more times and had children with his third and fourth wives. Having survived all four of his wives, Felipe II, King of Spain died at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, and was buried in the Pantheon of the Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

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. John III of Portugal – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_III_of_Portugal> [Accessed 17 August 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Manuela,_Princess_of_Portugal> [Accessed 17 August 2022].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2022. María Manuela de Portugal – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Manuela_de_Portugal> [Accessed 17 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 17 August 2022].
  • Louda, Jiri and Maclagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. London: Little, Brown.
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Manuela de Portugal – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Manuela_de_Portugal> [Accessed 17 August 2022].

William (of England) IX, Count of Poitiers

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

William from an early 13th-century genealogical tree; Credit – Wikipedia

William IX, Count of Poitiers was the firstborn child of the future Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers in her own right. He would have been King of England had he survived his father. William was born on August 17, 1153, in the County of Poitiers, now part of France, and was styled Count of Poitiers. At the time of William’s birth, his father was known as Henry FitzEmpress and was the Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Nantes, all in present-day France. William’s paternal grandparents were Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, and Matilda of England, known as Empress Matilda, the widow of Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I, King of England. William’s maternal grandparents were his namesake William X, Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Châtellerault.

William’s parents Henry and Eleanor; Credit – Wikipedia

William had two elder half-sisters from his mother’s annulled first marriage to Louis VII, King of France:

13th-century depiction of Henry and his legitimate children: (l to r) William, Young Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John; Credit – Wikipedia

William had seven younger siblings although he was alive for the birth of only two:

At the time of William’s birth, his father Henry was involved in a long civil war for the throne of England known as The Anarchy (1135 – 1153) between Empress Matilda (Henry FitzEmpress’ mother and the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I, King of England) and her first cousin Stephen of Blois, King of England since 1135. Stephen unsuccessfully attempted to have his son Eustace, recognized by the Church as the next King of England. By the early 1150s, most of the barons and the Church wanted long-term peace.

Finally, the armies of Henry FitzEmpress and King Stephen of England met at Wallingford in Oxfordshire, England. Pressured by the barons, Stephen called a ceasefire and agreed to a truce, over the objections of his son Eustace. Eustace flew into a rage and plundered church lands of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. On August 17, 1153, Eustace, aged about twenty-three, died suddenly. Various chroniclers of the time attribute Eustace’s death to the wrath of God for plundering church lands, a fever, a fit of madness, or poisoning. Ironically, the death of Eustace, King Stephen’s heir, and the birth of William, Henry FitzEmpress’ firstborn child occurred on the same day.

Shortly after Eustace’s death, King Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress reached a formal agreement known as the Treaty of Wallingford. The treaty allowed Stephen to keep the throne until his death but forced him to recognize Empress Matilda’s son Henry FitzEmpress, as his heir. Henry and Eleanor were finally reunited in Rouen, Duchy of Normandy at Easter in 1154, where Henry met his eight-month-old son William for the first time.

King Stephen survived for a little more than a year after the death of Eustace, dying on October 25, 1154, and a line of fourteen Plantagenet kings who ruled England until 1485 started, with Henry FitzEmpress, now King Henry II of England. In December 1154, Henry and Eleanor, now King and Queen of England, sailed to England from Normandy with their son William, where their coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on December 19, 1154.

On February 28, 1155, Eleanor gave birth to a second son named Henry after his father. In April 1155, Henry II and Eleanor brought their two young sons to Wallingford in Oxfordshire, England to present them to the English barons and clergy, and to command them to swear allegiance to William as his father’s heir and then to Henry as successor in the event of William’s early death.

For centuries, the Dukes of Aquitaine held the Count of Poitiers as a minor title, and so it had passed to Eleanor from her father. However, Eleanor separated the County of Poitiers from the Duchy of Aquitaine and gave the title of Count of Poitiers to her son William, making him the reigning Count of Poitiers as William IX.

In 1156 (date uncertain), William died at Wallingford Castle in Oxfordshire, England, aged two or three. The circumstances of his death are uncertain but some sources say he died from convulsions. William was buried at the feet of his great-grandfather Henry I, King of England at Reading Abbey in Reading, England, which was mostly destroyed during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.

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

  • Barber, Richard, 1964. Henry Plantagenet. New York: Barnes and Noble.
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Wilhelm von Poitiers (Prinz) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Poitiers_(Prinz)> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. William IX, Count of Poitiers – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IX,_Count_of_Poitiers> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eleanor-of-aquitaine-queen-of-england/> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Henry II of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-ii-of-england/> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Guillaume IX de Poitiers — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_IX_de_Poitiers> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
  • Weir, Alison, 1999. Eleanor of Aquitaine: By Wrath of God, Queen of England. London: Jonathan Cape.

Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Isabella of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Isabella, Infanta of Portugal was the wife of her first cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who was also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles. She was born on October 24, 1503, in Lisbon, Portugal, the second of the nine children and the elder of the two daughters of Manuel I, King of Portugal and his second wife Infanta Maria of Aragon. Isabella’s paternal grandparents were Fernando, Duke of Viseu (son of Duarte, King of Portugal) and Beatriz of Portugal (daughter of Infante João, Constable of Portugal). Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. Isabella was named for her maternal grandmother and her paternal aunt Isabella, Princess of Asturias who was her father’s first wife.

King Manuel I with his second wife Maria of Aragon and their children; On the center-right is Maria of Aragon, followed by her daughters Isabella and Beatriz; On the center-left is King Manuel I, followed by his sons in descending order of age; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella had nine siblings:

Isabella had one half-sibling from her father’s first marriage to Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias (the elder sister of Catherine of Aragon, Isabella’s mother) who died giving birth to:

Isabella had two half-siblings from her father’s third marriage to Eleanor of Austria (Isabella’s first cousin):

Isabella was educated under the supervision of Elvira de Mendoza, who had accompanied Isabella’s mother, Maria of Aragon, to Portugal as her lady-in-waiting when she married King Manuel. Isabella studied mathematics, the Renaissance classics, French, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Catholic doctrine. When Isabella was fourteen years old, her 34-year-old mother died, exhausted from nine pregnancies in fourteen years.

Isabella’s future husband Charles; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella’s father had started preliminary negotiations for a marriage between Isabella and her first cousin Charles of Austria, best known in history as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles was the son and heir of both his parents, Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the Burgundian State from the House of Habsburg, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. His paternal grandparents were  Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the ruler of the Archduchy of Archduke of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and the first of his three wives, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, the ruler of the Burgundian State in her own right. Charles’ maternal grandparents were  Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. Charles would be the heir of all four of his grandparents.

Before the marriage negotiations were completed, Isabella’s father Manuel I, King of Portugal died and was succeeded by his eldest son João III, King of Portugal. Eventually, negotiations between the two kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula resulted in double Spanish-Portuguese weddings. João III, King of Portugal married Catherine of Austria, daughter of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile. Isabella would marry Catherine’s brother Charles of Austria. On March 11, 1526, at the Royal Alcázar of Seville in Seville, Spain, Isabella and Charles were married.

Twenty-six-year-old Charles had already inherited and reigned over the dominions of his mother Juana (Castile and León, and Aragon which would be united under Charles as the Kingdom of Spain), the dominions of his father Philip (the Burgundian State which Philip had inherited from his mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, consisting of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and also the Habsburg dominions of his paternal grandfather Maximilian (Archduchy of AustriaDuchy of StyriaDuchy of Carinthia, and Duchy of Carniola, today parts of Austria and Slovenia). Charles had been elected Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian in 1519.

Isabella and her eldest child Felipe, a portrait in the manner of the Virgin and Child; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles and Isabella had five children but only three survived to adulthood. Their son Felipe (also known as Philip) would become King of Spain (1555 – 1598), King of Portugal (1581 – 1598), King of Naples and Sicily (1554 – 1598), Duke of Milan (1540 – 1598), Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands (1555 – 1598) and jure uxoris (by right of his wife) King of England and Ireland during his marriage to his second wife Queen Mary I of England from 1554 until Mary died in 1558. Felipe is probably best remembered for sending the Spanish Armada on its unsuccessful mission to invade England in 1588.

Charles and Isabella’s main residence was in Spain because the Spanish nobles had insisted that their children be raised there. Charles was often away from his family to lead military campaigns and administer his other realms, and Isabella was appointed regent in his absence. She attended meetings of the governing councils and consulted with the ministers. Isabella took an active role in the policy-making process, suggesting her own solutions rather than merely accepting recommendations. She supervised her children’s education and taught them Portuguese. Isabella wrote to her husband regularly but often spent months without receiving letters from him.

Double portrait of Charles and Isabella by Peter Paul Rubens after a portrait by Titian; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella and Charles’ happy marriage lasted for thirteen years. In 1539, during the third month of Isabella’s seventh pregnancy, she developed a fever causing her to miscarry. The fever caused her condition to worsen and Isabella died two weeks later in Toledo, Spain, on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five. Isabella was interred in the Royal Chapel of Granada in Spain, the burial place of Charles’ parents Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and his maternal grandparents Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León. Charles was so grief-stricken that he shut himself up in a monastery for two months where he prayed and mourned for Isabella in solitude. He never recovered from her death, dressed in black for the rest of his life, and despite being only thirty-nine, never remarried.

Titian’s La Gloria, one of the several paintings commissioned by Charles V in memory of his wife Isabella; On the right are Charles, his wife Isabella, his son Felipe, his daughter Juana, and his sisters Mary and Eleanor, all wearing their shrouds Credit – Wikipedia

In memory of Isabella, Charles commissioned several musical and artistic tributes to her. Probably his favorite tributes were the portraits of Isabella that he commissioned from his favorite painter Tiziano Vecelli, better known as Titian. Titian painted several portraits of Isabella, which included his Portrait of Isabella of Portugal (the portrait of Isabella at the beginning of this article), La Gloria (directly above, read about the painting at the link), and a double portrait of Isabella and Charles (above). Charles kept these paintings with him whenever he traveled and after he retired to the Monastery of Yuste.

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling and suffering from crippling gout, Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain. In August 1558, Charles became seriously ill with malaria. He survived Isabella by nineteen years, dying at the age of fifty-eight, at the Monastery of Yuste on September 21, 1558, holding the same cross Isabella had been holding when she died. Charles was originally buried in the chapel at the Monastery of Yuste. However, in his will, he asked for the establishment of a new religious site where he could be reburied with his beloved Isabella.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Vista_aerea_del_Monasterio_de_El_Escorial.jpg

To fulfill his father’s wish, in 1563, Charles and Isabella’s son King Felipe II of Spain started building the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial about 28 miles/45 kilometers from Madrid, Spain. The complex includes a palace, basilica, monastery, and library. When the Royal Crypt was completed in 1574, the remains of Charles and Isabella were re-interred in a small vault directly underneath the altar of the Royal Chapel. In 1654, after the basilica and royal tombs were finally completed during the reign of their great-grandson Felipe IV, King of Spain, the remains of Charles and Isabella were moved into the Royal Pantheon of Kings. Since then, the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial has been the burial place of Spanish monarchs and many members of the Spanish royal family.

The Royal Pantheon of Kings where Isabella and Charles are interred; 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.

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