Isabel from Portugal. Portuguese princess, Infanta and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Duchess of Burgundy , and a Queen Regent, consort of Spain . She was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and María de Aragón . For her marriage to Carlos V , emperor of the Holy Empire. She served as regent of Spain during her husband’s long absence.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Early years
- 2 Marriage
- 3 Offspring
- 4 Death
- 2 External links
- 3 Sources
Biographical synthesis
Early years
Isabel was the second son and eldest daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife, the Infanta María de Castilla y Aragón . She is named after her maternal grandmother, Isabel I of Castilla, and her aunt Isabel , Princess of Asturias , who had been her father’s first wife. Through her father, she was a granddaughter of the Infante Don Fernando, Duke of Viseu the second son of King Edward of Portugal and brother of Alfonso V of Portugal and Beatriz Infanta, daughter of João Infante, El Señor de Reguengos brother of King Eduardo. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon .
His childhood was spent with his mother, who was dedicated to caring for her large offspring as she fathered seven children. After the death of her mother in 1517 , Isabel assumed the role of mother towards her brothers. In these years they describe her as slim and beautiful, with gray eyes and blond hair. After Don Manuel became a widower for the second time, he remarried in 1519 , choosing a niece Dona Leonor, daughter of [[Juana la Loca and Felipe el Hermoso . This woman will be one of the maximum supporters that will lead to the marriage of Isabel and Carlos years later.
Isabel was second in line to the throne until the birth of her brother Luis in 1505 . However, as the eldest daughter of Manuel I of Portugal , she was quite an attractive match. She married her first cousin, Carlos V , Holy Roman Emperor, the son of Juana de Castilla and Felipe el Hermoso, Duke of Burgundy , who, as the Holy Roman Emperor, the King of Aragon and Castile , the Archduke of the Dominions of the Habsburgs , titular duke of Burgundy , and ruler of the Netherlands and the Spanish empire in America and the Mediterranean andItaly was one of the most powerful men of his time.
In the Cortes of Toledo in 1525 , Doña Leonor proposed a double marriage that would further strengthen the intense relationship between the houses of Portugal and Spain , King Juan III of Portugal would marry Catherine, also daughter of Juana, and King Carlos V of Spain would marry Isabel of Portugal .
Marriage
In 1521 Isabel’s father died and his brother succeeded him to the throne as King John III . Marriage negotiations between the Portuguese and the Spanish began almost immediately. The union between Carlos and Isabel did not take place until three years later, by proxy in 1525 .
Isabel of Portugal and Carlos V
The delivery of the future wife took place on the Castilian-Portuguese border on January 7 , 1526 . The wedding was held in Seville on March 10 of that same year. With Isabel there was also a great dowry for Spanish finances. Although it was a political union, the marriage turned out to be a love match. It seems that the spouses were quickly captivated and decided to spend a romantic honeymoon in Granada, where Carlos ordered the planting of some Persian flowers that would become one of the peninsular symbols, the carnations.
The records say that during their honeymoon, when Carlos and Isabel were together, although there were many people around, no one noticed how they talked and laughed among themselves. Isabel also proved to be a competent consort, serving as regent of Spain during her husband’s absences, between 1529 – 1532 and 1535 – 1539 . She was noted for her intelligence and beauty.
Offspring
Elizabeth married Charles V , Holy Roman Emperor on March 10 , 1526 . Their children went:
Felipe II of Spain 1527 – 1598 , King of Spain and Portugal . Juan de España March 22 , 1528 – 1530 died young. Maria of Spain 21 of June of 1529 – 26 of February of 1603 , he married his cousin Maximilian II , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Fernando of Spain 19 of October of 1535 – 20 of March of 1538 died young. Joan of Spain 1537 – 1573, she married her cousin, Prince Juan of Portugal and was the mother of King Sebastian of Portugal . Juan 30 of April of 1539 His birth killed her mother.
Isabel of Portugal and Carlos V in Granada
In this Granada stay where they spent their honeymoon, Isabel became pregnant. The birth took place in Valladolid , the 21 of maypole of 1507 , a child born to be named Felipe. Eager to keep her composure, Isabel ordered that all the chandeliers in the room be turned off, covering her face with a light cloth to prevent the audience from appreciating the pain in her face. The queen contained the screams as best she could and the comadre who assisted her recommended that she release all the tension of the moment by screaming, to which Isabel replied: “Don’t tell me such, my comadre, that I will die but I will not scream.”
The following year there is news of a second birth, a new man who was baptized with the name of Juan and died shortly after. The 27 of June of 1529 we find a new birth, this time a girl named Maria. Over time, he will marry Emperor Maximilian II and have 14 children, including Queen Anne of Austria , the fourth wife of Philip II . Doña Isabel suffered from fever after childbirth that was cured, according to the chronicles, by drinking the water from the San Isidro spring .
In 1529 Isabel became regent of Spain for the first time after the departure of her husband. Five will be the times that the Empress carries out this position, always with success and in permanent contact with Carlos. This success in the government will motivate the affection of the subjects towards the Regent.
The 24 of June of 1535 Isabel give birth to her fourth child: a girl who was named Juana in honor of the feast of the day and his paternal grandmother. who would later marry Prince Juan Manuel of Portugal and be the mother of King Don Sebastián, founding the monastery of the Royal Barefoot in Madrid when she became a widow. Almost definitely settled in Toledo , Doña Isabel surrounded herself with a small court of poets and intellectuals, among whom we find Garcilaso de la Vega . In this court there was also Don Francisco de Borja, the Duke of Gandia , platonically in love with the Empress.
Death
In the summer of 1539 , a new birth was expected for Dona Isabel. The delivery was advanced at the end of April , presenting with a great hemorrhage. The child who was born only lived a few hours and the mother died at first light on May 1 , 1539 in the Toledo Palace of the Counts of Fuensalida . Carlos will retire to the Monastery of Santa María de la Sisla and entrust his son Felipe with the presidency of the delegation that will transfer the corpse of the Empress from Toledo to Granada .
The emperor was absent at the time and his untimely death affected him deeply. He never remarried, and wore black for the rest of his life.
In 1580 , more than 40 years after his death, his son Felipe achieved the throne of Portugal , claiming the inheritance rights of his mother.
