The future Queen of Castile and sister-in-law to Queen Isabella I of Castile, Joan of Portugal, was born on 31 March 1439 as the daughter of Edward, King of Portugal, and Eleanor of Aragon. Four elder siblings also survived to adulthood: Afonso, King of Portugal, Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, Eleanor, later Holy Roman Empress, and [read more]
Read part one here. The War of the Castilian succession would continue for four years. After the Battle of Toro in March 1476, Joanna and Afonso left Castile in June. However, troops remained stationed in Castile. Most of the time, Joanna was left in Portugal, and she often went long periods without seeing her husband. However, [read more]
The future Queen Isabella’s half-brother, King Henry IV of Castile, married Joan of Portugal in May 1455, with the papal dispensation having arrived at the end of 1453, as the pair were first cousins. A copy of this dispensation was not found in the archives of the Vatican, although this does not necessarily prove it [read more]
The Kingdom of Castile was established in 1065 under King Sancho II of León and Castile. Ferdinand I of León had been Count of Castile and he became King of León by right of his wife, Sancha of León. He became King of León and Castile in 1037 and upon his death in 1065, Castile and León were divided among his [read more]
Isabella of Coimbra was born on 1 March 1432 as the daughter of Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra and Isabella of Aragon, Countess of Urgell. Through her father, she was a granddaughter of King John I of Portugal. Her father acted as regent for her cousin, King Afonso V of Portugal and she and Afonso reportedly [read more]
A major biography of the queen who transformed Spain into a principal global power, and sponsored the voyage that would open the New World. In 1474, when Castile was the largest, strongest, and most populous kingdom in Hispania (present day Spain and Portugal), a twenty-three-year-old woman named Isabella ascended the throne. At a time when [read more]
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