Henry IV of Castile

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Enrique IV (5 January 1425 - 11 December 1474), King of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent (ruled 1454-1474), was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile. During Enrique's reign the nobles increased in power and the nation became less centralised. He was born in 1425 and was the son of John II of Castile and Maria of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon.

At the age of fifteen he was married to Blanca of Navarre (1420-1464) . Blanca was considered to have remained a virgin, not only on her wedding night, but for the rest of her marriage. After thirteen years, Enrique sought a divorce. An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanca, and a priest questioned the prostitutes of Segovia, who confirmed that Henry was sexually capable. A divorce was granted by the Pope on the grounds that some "witchcraft" had prevented Enrique from consummating the marriage. Blanca was sent home, where her family imprisoned her, and she was later killed by poison in 1464. It was widely believed at the time that the king was homosexual.

In 1455, Enrique married Princess Juana, sister of Afonso V of Portugal. She, too, was said to have remained untouched on her wedding night, and soon took a lover, Beltran de la Cueva. In the course of the attempts to produce an heir, artificial insemination was attempted. After six years of marriage, in 1462, she gave birth to a daughter, Joanna, also Juana, nicknamed "La Beltraneja". Miller maintains that the question of her paternity cannot be answered. The doubt of her legitimacy as an heir, the weakness of the king, the adultery of the queen, and the unruliness of the nobilty all set the stage for a struggle for succession after Enrique's death. Enrique divorced his wife after her scandalous behavior with Bishop Fonseca's nephew. Juana was supported by Portugal, while the eventual winner, his half-sister Isabella of Castile had the support of Aragon via her husband Fernando and, later in the war, France. After a long period of conflict between the rival factions, Enrique finally agreed to name Isabella his successor, provided she allow him to arrange her strategic marriage. Isabella would go on to break this stipulation of the agreement anyway.

[edit] References

Miller, Townsend: The Castles and the Crown. Coward-McCann, New York, 1963.

More about Henry IV

House of Trastámara Born: January 5 1425; Died: December 11 1474
Preceded by: John II	King of Castile and León 1454-1474	Succeeded by: Isabella I
Vacant Title last held by Prince John	Prince of Asturias 1388-1390	Vacant Title next held by Princess Juana