| Joanna of Castile | |
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| Reign | 30 May 1475 – 1479 |
| Spouse | Afonso V of Portugal |
| House | House of Trastámara |
| Father | Henry IV of Castile or Beltrán de la Cueva, 1st Duke of Alburquerque |
| Mother | Joan of Portugal |
| Born | 21 February 1462 |
| Died | 1530 (aged 67–68) |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
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Joanna of Castile, known also as la Beltraneja (21 February 1462 – 1530) was a princess and claimant to the throne of Castile. She was also Queen consort of Portugal.
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Her birth caused a scandal in the Castilian court. Her mother was Joan of Portugal, the spouse of Henry IV of Castile. The king had no other children from this or the previous marriage and rumour said he was impotent. Because of this and the fact that Joan of Portugal was having a relationship with Beltrán de La Cueva, a Castilian noble, she was considered illegitimate. She was nicknamed the Beltraneja (a mocking reference to her assumed real father) from the cradle.
Her mother was banished to Bishop Fonseca's castle where she fell in love with Fonseca's nephew and became pregnant. Henry divorced her in 1468.
Joanna remained the only child who could be remotely attributed to Henry IV of Castile. On 9 May 1462, Joanna was officially proclaimed heir to the throne of Castile and created Princess of Asturias. Henry had the nobles of Castile swear allegiance to her and promise that they would support her as monarch.
In 1464, however, her father was forced by a rebellion to promise her in marriage to his half-brother, Infante Alfonso, her uncle, who was proclaimed her future spouse and co-monarch. In 1468, her half-uncle died and she was stripped of her succession-rights by the separation of her parents. Her half-aunt, Infanta Isabella, was placed before her, on condition that Isabella marry a man chosen out by the monarch, although Joanna was considered the heir after Isabella.
Joanna was kept hostage by the Mendoza family from 1465 to 1470, and by Juan Pacheco from 1470-1475. In 26 October 1470, she was engaged and then married by proxy to the Duke of Guienne, and again proclaimed as legitimate heir to the throne. The duke died in 1472. There were many marriage negotiations in order to marry her to someone who could defend her succession. After a few unsettled arrangements, which included French and Burgundian princes, Joanna was promised in marriage to her maternal uncle, King Afonso V of Portugal, who swore to defend her (and his own) rights to the crown of Castile.
When Henry died in 1474, she was recognized as monarch by some noble fractions, while other recognized her half-aunt as Queen Isabella I of Castile initiating a four-year War of the Castilian Succession. Joanna sent a letter to the cities in which she explained the will of her father that she should rule, and proposed that the cities vote for which succession they wished should be recognized. Galicia was held by her, while the south was held by Queen Isabella I. Joanna held court at Toro, and was considered a promising ruler by her courtiers, though too young.
On 30 May 1475, her uncle Afonso V of Portugal married Joanna in Plasencia and prepared for the fighting. In 1476 Afonso invaded Castile. Afonso was defeated in the battle of Toro by Ferdinand II of Aragon, Isabella I's husband. After this, Afonso V tried to procure, without success, an alliance with Louis XI of France. In 1478, the marriage between Joan and Afonso was annulled by Pope Sixtus IV on account of their family relation. She was then forced to renounce her titles as Infanta of Castile, Queen regnant of Castile, and also as Queen consort of Portugal.
In 1479, the king of Portugal gave up on the pretension and signed a treaty with the Catholic Monarchs. Joanna was given the choice to marry the son of Isabella when he became an adult and if he then chose to consent, or to enter a convent. Joanna entered the convent Santa Clara in Coimbra, and the ceremony was witnessed by Isabella, who praised her decision. She was not incarcerated in the convent, and was eventually allowed to reside in the Castle of São Jorge in Lisbon. In 1482, King Francis of Navarre, nephew of Louis XI of France, proposed to her as a French warning to Castile, who threatened Roussilon, but he died soon after. At the death of Isabella in 1504, Ferdinand is alleged to have proposed to her to keep the throne from his son-in-law, but she refused.
Joanna signed her letters "La Reina", meaning "the Queen", until the day she died. She died in Lisbon, having survived her aunt Isabella I. Joanna's own claim to the throne passed to her cousin, Queen Isabella I's daughter Joanna, who was already monarch of Castile.
A drama entitled "Juana la Beltraneja" has been published in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades by the author Santiago Sevilla. Here the role of Juan Pacheco and Beltrán de la Cueva shows the pernicious influence of certain members of the nobility towards princess Joanna.
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Joanna la Beltraneja
Born: 1462 Died: 1530 |
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| Portuguese royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Isabella of Coimbra |
Queen consort of Portugal 30 May 1475–1479 |
Succeeded by Eleanor of Viseu |
| Spanish royalty | ||
| Preceded by Prince Henry |
Princess of Asturias 1462–1464 |
Succeeded by Infante Alfonso |
| Preceded by Infanta Isabella |
Princess of Asturias 1470–1474 |
Succeeded by Infanta Isabella |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Henry IV |
— TITULAR — Queen regnant of Castile 1475–1530 Reason for succession failure: Joanna's aunt and uncle, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, were proclaimed monarchs. |
Succeeded by Joanna |
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