DEATH OF ISABELLA OF PORTUGAL
Isabella was born in Lisbon on 24th October 1503.
She was the second child and first daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife Maria of Aragon.
Isabella was second-in-line to the throne, until the birth of her brother Luis in 1506.
Isabella was well educated, her studies included mathematics, Renaissance Classics, Latin, Spanish, and French.
At the age of 14, her mother died, and she and her sister Beatrice inherited their mothers wealth and properties.
As the eldest daughter of King Manuel, Isabella was a rather attractive candidate for marriage.
The chosen candidate for her husband was her first cousin Charles, the son of Isabella’s aunt, Joanna of Castile.
Their marriage would bring a strong alliance between Spain and Portugal.
However, 18-year-old Charles was convinced by his advisors, to form an alliance with England.
Plans were made for a betrothal to the two year old Mary Tudor, the daughter of his aunt Katherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII.
By 1525, Charles was no longer interested in an alliance with England, and eager to start a family.
Charles finally sought to marry Isabella, and wasted no time in securing a papal dispensation for first cousins.
Their marriage took place just after midnight, on 11th March 1526.
Although their marriage was political, Isabella captivated Charles.
The love between Charles and Isabella blossomed as beautifully as a red rose.
They honeymooned for several months at the Alhambra in Granada, where he ordered the seeds of a Persian flower that had never been seen before in Spain.
The seeds eventually grew into a red carnation, which Isabelle loved.
Charles then ordered thousands more to be planted in her honour, establishing the red carnation as Spain’s floral emblem.
Charles appointed Isabella regent of Spain during his absence to lead his military campaigns.
Isabella attended meetings of the governing councils, and consulted with the ministers.
As time passed, she took a more active role in the policy-making process, suggesting her own solutions rather than merely accepting the ministers recommendations.
Isabella would tend to the kingdom, and give Charles seven children.
Only three survived, including King Philip II of Spain and Maria, future Holy Roman Empress.
For several years, Isabella and the court traveled from city to city, moving in part to avoid exposure to disease and epidemics.
There is speculation that she suffered from consumption, with a contemporary describing her:
“The Empress is the greatest pity in the world, she is so thin that she does not resemble a person”.
In 1539, Isabella became pregnant for the seventh time, but contracted another fever in the third month that caused complications.
Isabella gave birth to a stillborn son, and sadly followed her son to the grave two weeks later.
Isabella died on 1st May 1539 without her husband by her side, she was 35 years old.
Charles was left so devastated that he couldn’t bring himself to accompany his wife’s body to the Royal Chapel of Granada, the burial place of the Catholic Monarchs.
Charles never recovered from her death, and wore black for the rest of his life to show his mourning.
He never remarried, though he had an affair long after her death that resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son.
Charles died as a widower in 1558, while holding the same cross in his hand which Isabella held in her hand when she died.
In 1574, Isabella’s body was transferred to the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where she was originally interred into a small vault along with her husband Charles, directly underneath the altar of the Royal Chapel.
They remained in the Royal Chapel while the famous Basilica of the Monastery and the Royal Crypt, were still under construction.
In 1654, after the Basilica and Royal Crypt were finally completed during the reign of Isabella and Charles’ great-grandson Philip IV.
The couple’s remains were moved into the Royal Pantheon of Kings, which lies directly under the Basilica.
🥀 Portrait of Isabella in 1548~By Titian
