Everything about Isabella Of Portugal totally explained
» For other uses of this term, see Isabel of Portugal (disambiguation).
The Infanta Isabel, commonly referred to in English as
Isabel of Portugal (
October 23,
1503 –
May 1,
1539) was the daughter of
Manuel I of Portugal and
Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also
Holy Roman Empress and
Queen consort of
Aragon and
Castile.
Early life
Isabel was the second child and eldest daughter of
Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife,
Infanta Maria of Castile and Aragon. She was named after her maternal grandmother,
Isabella I of Castile and her aunt
Isabella, Princess of Asturias, who had been her father's first wife.
Through her father, she was a granddaughter of
Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu (the second son of king
Edward of Portugal and brother of
Afonso V of Portugal) and
Infanta Beatrice, the daughter of
Infante João, Lord of Reguengos (brother of king Edward). Through her mother she was a granddaughter of
Isabella I of Castile and
Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Isabel was second-in-line to the throne until the birth of her brother
Louis in
1505. However, as the oldest daughter of
Manuel I of Portugal, she was a rather attractive party. She married her first cousin,
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the son of
Joanna of Castile and
Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, who as
Holy Roman Emperor, King of Aragon and Castile, Archduke of the Habsburg dominions, titular Duke of Burgundy, and ruler of the Netherlands and the Spanish empire in the Americas and the Mediterranean and Italy was one of the most powerful men of his time.
Marriage
In
1521 Isabel's father died and her brother succeeded to the throne as king
John III. The marriage negotiations between the Portuguese and Spanish began almost immediately. It was agreed that the new king would marry
Catherine of Habsburg, Charles V's younger sister. The union between Charles and Isabel only took place three years later, by procuration in
1525. The Infanta travelled to
Seville where the wedding took place on March 10,
1526. With Isabel also came a huge dowry to the Spanish finances. Although it was a political union, the marriage proved to be a love-match. Records say that during their honeymoon "
when [Charlesand Isabel]
are together, although there are many people around, they don't notice anyone else; they talk and laugh, and nothing else distracts them."
Isabel also proved to be a competent consort; she served as regent of Spain during her husband's absences, between 1529-1532 and 1535-1539. She was noted for her intelligence and beauty.
Isabel died in
1539 after the birth of her fifth child. The Emperor was away at the time and her premature death affected him deeply and he never remarried and dressed in black for the rest of his life.
In 1547, the nobleman
Francis Borgia conveyed her corpse to her burial-place in
Granada. It is said that, when he saw the effect of death on the beautiful empress, he decided to "never again serve a mortal master", later becoming a Catholic saint.
In
1580, more than 40 years after her death, her son
Philip succeeded the Portuguese throne, claiming his mother's successory rights.
Marriage and children
Isabel married
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor on
March 10 1526. Their children were:
Further Information
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