Children of Juana “The Mad” of Castile & Philip “The Handsome” of Habsburg

Children of Hana the Mad of Castile and Philip the handsome of Hapsburg. The marriage between the heir to all of Spain and the heir to the Holy Roman Empire was one of the most illustrious in history. But in reality, it was a hot mess of infidelity, jealousy, and melodrama. Their offspring launched a legacy of inbreeding which would haunt Europe for centuries. Among their six children were two Holy Roman emperors and queens of France, Portugal, Denmark, and Hungary. Let's meet the children of Hana and Philip and find out what happens when the mad marries the handsome. Philip was the only son of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, also known as the rich. She had inherited significant property in the Low Country, but King Louis XI 11th of France refused to recognize a woman's rule and began seizing Burgundy. The only groom powerful enough to keep the French at bay was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Maximleian. They had two children, Philip and Margaret, before Mary fell off her horse and died at 25. Philip was just three when he became lord of the Netherlands and count of Artois, Burgundy and Charule. By his teens, he was a wellrespected leader. He favored policies that would ensure peace and prosperity. Many have sneered at Philip's epithets, the handsome and the fair, as his portraits don't exactly fit the modern aesthetics of male beauty. Some have even assumed that the nicknames were ironic, but Philip was indeed considered exceptionally attractive in his own time. The Venetian ambassador described him as physically beautiful, vigorous, and rich. When Louis V 12th of France saw him, he remarked, "What a handsome prince. " So perhaps in this case, it is the artists who are at fault. Philip was skilled on horseback, knew how to dress, and impressed the ladies. Meanwhile, France was making another play for power and inadvertently pushing their enemies into each other's arms. Charles VII invaded Italy. The Hapsburgs ruled northern Italy, while southern Italy was controlled by relatives of King Ferdinand of Aragon. The two affronted rulers decided to seal their alliance with a double marriage. Maxmillian's children, Margaret and Philip, would marry Ferdinand's children, Juan and Hana. Hana was the third surviving offspring of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the power couple who combined most of Spain, conquered Ranada, funded Christopher Columbus, and tortured their own people in the Inquisition. In 1496, 16-year-old Hana set sail for Flanders. She was also considered pretty good-looking with a fair complexion, strawberry blonde hair, and brown eyes. When 18-year-old Philip laid eyes on her, it was lust at first sight. Their wedding was scheduled for the next day, but he insisted that a priest bless the marriage immediately so that they could disappear into the bedroom. Hana was pregnant with her first child when she learned that both her elder brother Juan and sister Isabella had died, leaving her heir to their parents' thrones of Castile and Aragon. On November 15th, 1498, she gave birth to her first child, Eleanor. During her childhood, her parents' relationship unraveled. Philip had a wandering eye and Hana was jealous and melancholy. When Hana inherited Castile, Philip tried to take control of his wife and her lands. She resisted, so he locked her in her room to break her will. He ordered her servants to keep track of her erratic behavior, which was used as proof that she was insane and unfit to rule. Huana's father, Ferdinand, was happy to corroborate this. He too wanted to control Castile, but he wanted his son-in-law out of the picture. In 1506, Philip fell ill, possibly of typhoid fever, though there were rumors that his father-in-law had poisoned him. He died at 28. Hana, pregnant with her sixth child, supposedly refused to leave his side and kissed his corpse during the week-long journey to Granada, where he was buried. Hana attempted to rule Castile for several months, but her father usurped

her power. Ferdinand promptly had his daughter locked away in a convent where she would remain for the rest of her life. Eleanor was only eight when she was effectively orphaned. She and three of her siblings were raised in Brussels by their aunt Margaret of Austria. She was both fiercely intelligent and religious. She made sure that her nieces and nephew received an excellent education. Margaret had been appointed a regent of the Low Country by her father, Emperor Maxmillian. He began to negotiate his eldest granddaughter's hand. First to Prince Henry, heir to the English throne. In addition to the political advantages, preventing Henry from marrying Catherine of Aragon would piss off Ferdinand. And Maxmillian hated his son's father-in-law. But when Henry VIII became king, the 18-year-old didn't want to marry Eleanor, a princess he had never seen who was only 11. However, her aunt Catherine was beautiful, intelligent, 24, and right there. Other candidates for Eleanor's hand included Louis V 12th of France, who was 52, Polish King Ziggismund, who was 43, and the Duke of Lraine. But no husband could be settled on. At 19, Eleanor had an affair with Friedrich II, Elector Palatine. Her younger brother Charles discovered their love letters and forced his sister to swear that she had not been secretly married. He then expelled her lover from court. When Ferdinand died, Charles inherited Aragon and Eleanor accompanied him to Spain. The pair visited their mother for the first time since childhood, but they barely remembered the woman who had been ravaged by years of isolation. Eleanor was Charles's favorite sibling, but he made it clear who was in charge. He ordered her to marry King Manuel I of Portugal, 30 years her senior, and with a pronounced hunchback. Eleanor gave birth to two children, Charles, who died in infancy, and Maria. After three years, Manuel died of the plague, and Eleanor's stepson became Kingho III. She was forced to leave her daughter behind and returned to her brother, who had recently become Holy Roman Emperor. He was at war with France and managed to capture King Francois. As part of his ransom, Charles demanded that the French king marry his sister. Eleanor was crowned queen of France at the Basilica of Sanden. Francois had been widowed by Claude, Duchess of Britany. Before she died of exhaustion, she gave him seven children, including three healthy sons. Francois didn't need a wife, and he found Eleanor very unattractive. The notorious ladies man rarely visited her bed and publicly flaunted his mistress. Elellanor maintained her composure. She was devoted to charity and kind to her stepchildren. She welcomed her stepdaughters Meline and Margaret into her household and was a second mother to them. She attended the wedding of her stepson Henri to Catherine Demetic. She tried to negotiate a marriage between her daughter Maria whom she hadn't seen since she was 6 months old and her stepson Francois. But the Dolon died of tuberculosis at 18. And Eleanor's hopes of being reunited with her child were dashed. She attempted to keep the peace between her husband and brother, but could not prevent further war. Francois died after 18 years of marriage, and the 49-year-old Daajager queen returned to Spain. She lived with her sister Maria. When Charles retired to a Spanish monastery, they visited him often. For years, Eleanor had been advocating for her daughter Maria on the royal marriage market. Eleanor, now nearing the end of her life, was desperate to see her daughter once more. But Maria blamed her mother for her own singledom. Finally, she consented to a meeting. Her mother professed her love, but Maria acted hottily and cut the meeting short. Heartbroken, Eleanor fell ill on the journey home. She was taken into a farmhouse where she died in her sister's arms at 59. Charles was born on February 24th, 1500 in Flanders. His mother had gone into labor while attending a ball. The birth of an heir inspired the people to cheer with joy for 3 hours. On the few occasions that Charles met his father, Philillip, they played together and had a lot of fun. But his parents' many

royal obligations meant Charles and his siblings were mostly raised by servants. He was just six when his father died and he became ruler of the low countries. His aunt Margaret took over his upbringing and ruled as regent on his behalf. Charles was also heir to his mother, Hana. His maternal grandfather objected to his throne being taken by a grandson who had been raised outside of Spain and his own influence. Ferdinand took a second wife, Jaine Devois, in the hopes of producing a male heir to displace Charles. Jaine did give birth to a son, Juan, but he died after birth. In 1516, Ferdinand died at 63, and Charles, now 17, arrived in Spain to stake his claim on his mother's thrones. Hana's isolation had made her unstable, and he easily obtained her signature to allow him to rule. He did not make any attempts to improve her situation, but kept her locked up for another 30 years and rarely visited. Charles had not inherited his father's handsome looks or athleticism. He was pale, quiet, and studious. He suffered from epilepsy and mandibular prognism, an enlarged lower jaw, which became known as the Hapsburg jaw. The condition would become even more pronounced and debilitating amongst his descendants. But Charles was a king, so he managed to have numerous love affairs. He was quite taken with his grandfather's 29-year-old widow, Germaine, and may have been the father of her daughter. In 1519, Charles's paternal grandfather, Emperor Maxmleon died. The 19-year-old was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Castile and Aragon thus became part of a personal union with the empire. This outraged the Spaniards, who revolted and tried to put Hana back on the throne, but she refused to act against her son, and rebels gave up and returned her to prison. At 21, Charles was betrothed to Princess Mary of England, the six-year-old daughter of his aunt, Katherine of Aragon, but he didn't want to wait a decade to start a family. So, he instead married another first cousin, Isabella of Portugal. The couple fell deeply in love, and there is no record of him having been unfaithful. With one of the largest empires of all time under his rule, Charles focused not on conquering more but on maintaining what he had. He faced three major obstacles. The aggression of King Francois in the west, the expansion of the Ottomans in the east and the Lutheran Reformation in the heart of his empire. He had success against the French and over the course of several wars managed to keep hold of his possessions in the Netherlands and western Italy, but they came at the cost of Ottoman raids on his eastern borders which penetrated all the way to Vienna. In 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 thesis which criticized the sale of indulgences and other practices of Catholicism, thus kicking off the Protestant Reformation. As a devout Catholic, Charles saw it as his duty to defend the church. He called Luther to the diet of verms and ordered him to renounce his heretical beliefs. But all this achieved was drawing more attention to the movement. During her seventh pregnancy, Empress Isabella contracted a fever and miscarried. She died at the age of 35. Charles was devastated and shut himself up in a monastery for 2 months to pray for her soul. He addressed in black for the rest of his life and refused remarry. He commissioned Tishon to paint portraits of his late wife and made sure that there was an image of her wherever he traveled. The emperor had many wars to pay for, but was legally prohibited from raising taxes in his own empire. He relied on income from the Netherlands, Spain, and the New World. He wanted to end the subjugation of indigenous people. But when he ordered an end to slavery, the concistadors ignored him. After three decades of trying to suppress the Protestant Reformation, Charles had no choice but to sign the peace of Augsburg. which allowed German princes the right to determine their own religion and meant that the Holy Roman Empire was no longer entirely holy. Charles saw his rule as an abject failure and suffered depression and debilitating gout. At 56, while leaning on his adviser, William the Silent, and

weeping, he announced his abdication. He spent the last two years of his life in a Spanish monastery surrounded by clocks and portraits of his beloved dead wife. He staged a rehearsal of his own funeral, then rose from his coffin and walked to lunch. Emperor Charles died at 58 and was buried next to his wife in the Basilica of LS Goreal. Isabella was raised well by her aunt Margaret. She and her siblings received an exceptional education with emphasis on Renaissance humanism. When Isabella was six, she and her younger sister Maria contracted the measles and had to be isolated from their family. Luckily, they both survived the deadly disease. Christian II, King of Denmark and Norway, was interested in marrying one of the emperor's granddaughters. In addition to the political advantages, Hapsburg princesses were famous for their voluuptuous dowies, Isabella came with $250,000 Gilden, approximately $118 million today. One week shy of her 13th birthday, she was married by proxy to King Christian with her grandfather standing in for the groom. She was expected to remain at home for a few years, but she reportedly fell in love with the portrait of her husband and begged to be sent to Copenhagen. With tears in her eyes, she bid her siblings and aunt farewell. Her ship was tossed in a raging storm, but Isabella arrived in Denmark unharmed. 34year-old King Christian greeted his young bride with an elaborate entourage and presented her with a gold and sapphire ring engraved with the beginning of the Hail Mary. Isabella was crowned queen of Denmark and Norway on August 12th, 1515. Her marriage started off rather coldly. Christian had been with his mistress for 8 years and she wasn't about to step aside for a slip of a girl. Though Queen Isabella had far less power at court than the mistress. When her imperial grandfather found out what was going on, he was furious and nearly cancelled the alliance. The mistress died suddenly from eating poison cherries. A Danish nobleman was blamed and executed, but many suspected an imperial agent had murdered her. With her rival out of the way, Isabella got more time with her husband and their relationship improved. She gave birth to six children, though only three survived infancy. In 1520, Christian took the throne of Sweden by force. He was known there as the tyrant. He imprisoned hundreds of Swedish nobles who rebelled against him. He ordered 100 men to be hanged or beheaded during the Stockholm bloodbath. Christian reportedly planned to let the women and children starve to death, but Queen Isabella begged for mercy and they were spared. One of the few survivors, Gustav Vasa, rebelled and drove Christian out. When he got home, the Danish nobles were also furious. He was forced to flee his kingdom and his uncle Friedrich I was handed the throne. The new king wanted to remain on good terms with the Hapsburgs. He wrote to Isabella personally in German offering her permission to remain in Denmark with the Daager Queen's pension. But she replied, "Where my king is, there is my kingdom. " The former Danish royal family traveled Europe seeking support. They visited Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon at Hampton Court, then toured the many monarchies of Germany, but no crowned heads were willing to put their money on the line to win Christian back his throne. While staying in Berlin, Isabella heard the teachings of Martin Luther. She was intrigued and even took Protestant communion. This so outraged her Hapsburg family that her husband advised her to keep her heretical beliefs to herself. In spring 1525, Elizabeth came down with an unknown illness. It lasted all summer as the itinerant royals traveled. Isabella died at 24 years old. She received both Catholic and Protestant final communions and was buried at St. Peter's Abbey in Gent. People across the Low Countries and Denmark mourned her, and Martin Luther included her in his list of holy women. Ferdinand was born on March 10th, 1503, his maternal grandfather's birthday. He was also named after the illustrious king of Aragon. While his siblings grew up in the Low Country, he was raised in

Spain by his grandfather. Ferdinand was a good student and became a patron of the arts, music, and science. At 12, he was married to Anne Yagalonica, daughter of King Vladislo II of Hungary and Bohemia as part of a double marriage alliance. His sister Maria married Anne's brother Louie. The young couple did not live together for the first few years. But once they were both 17, they got to work. Anne, who was not closely related to her husband, gave birth to 15 children, 13 of whom survived. When Ferdinand's brother became Holy Roman Emperor, Charles sent him to govern the Hapsburg hereditary lands, modern-day Austria and Slovenia. He had to learn German, but got on well with local lords, and acted as regent of the empire, when his brother was away. When his brother-in-law Louie was killed in battle against the Ottomans, Ferdinand was elected king of Bohemia and Hungary, he managed to make a peace deal with Sultan Solomon the Magnificent, but the Ottomans continued to threaten the empire. In 1531, Ferdinand was elected king of the Romans, making him Charles's designated heir to the empire. At first, he had followed his brother's orders unquestioningly, but over time he began to follow his own conscience. In 1555, he ended religious strife between Catholics and Protestants by promoting the peace of Augsburg. Devoutly Catholic, Charles was peeved. He wanted to hand his entire empire to his equally fanatical son, Philip. But Ferdinand was far too popular in Germany. When Charles abdicated in 1556, he had no choice but to divide his realms. Spain, its colonies, Naples, Sicily, Milan, and the Netherlands went to his son, while his brother got the Holy Roman Empire. This division created two powerful branches of the Hapsburg family. To maintain peaceful ties, they passed brides back and forth for centuries. Cousins married cousins and uncles married nieces. Thus, the Hapsburggs became notorious as the most inbred family in Europe. Ferdinand was 53 when he became emperor. He ushered in an era of peace, overhauled the government, and formed a tax system which allowed his successors to dig themselves out of mountains of debt. After just 8 years officially on the throne, he died at 61. Ferdinand was buried in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The empire went to his son Maximleian II. Maria was born in Brussels on September 15th, 1505 in a difficult delivery which nearly killed her mother. She was raised by her aunt Margaret. When she was just one, her grandfather, the emperor, promised her to the as yet unborn first son of King Vladislaus II of Hungary. At nine, she was married to her 8-year-old groom, Prince Louie. She was educated with her double sister-in-law, Anne. In addition to the usual subjects for noble girls, Latin, music, and dancing, they were instructed in handling weapons. Maria was inquisitive and learned the practical skills of governing. Within a year, King Vladislos died and Louie and Maria became king and queen. The couple were finally united and they formed an attachment, but they didn't have enough time to have children. In 1526, Solomon the Magnificent invaded Hungary. Louie marched 20,000 men to defend his kingdom, but in 2 hours they were annihilated. Louie tried to flee, but he slipped from his frightened horse and drowned in the river. Maria wore his gold heart medallion for the rest of her life. The daager queen was named regent of what was left of Hungary. Her brother Charles tried to arrange another marriage for her, but she was determined never to wet again. When her aunt Margaret died, Charles asked her to take over as governor of the Netherlands. Maria reluctantly agreed. She understood well the requirements of ruling, but had none of her aunt's charm and was blunt and authoritarian. Like Margaret, Maria was given charge of her motherless nieces. Dorothia and Christina of Denmark. Christina was just 11 when Emperor Charles arranged her marriage to the Duke of Milan and agreed to an immediate consummation. Horrified, Maria made numerous excuses to avoid sending her

young niece to the marriage bed. Christina was widowed young and Henry VIII sent Hans Holine to paint her so that he could judge her as a potential fourth bride. But her aunt Maria disapproved and Henry went with Anne of Cleves instead. Maria had long been sympathetic towards Protestantism. But her brother informed her that any kin who followed Luther would be counted as an enemy. He insisted that she suppress Protestantism. And while she agreed on paper, she often neglected to enforce it. She had to deal with internal economic problems and French aggression. She met her sister Eleanor and brother-in-law Francois and made a peace deal. Meanwhile, Scottish pirates had been attacking Dutch ships. So, Maria set up the Netherlands first permanent navy to defend their vessels. When her brother Charles abdicated and handed Spain and the Netherlands to his son Philillip, Maria, now 50, decided to resign as well. Both father and son begged her to stay on, but she didn't get along with Philip and didn't want to take his orders. She moved to Castile with her sister Eleanor. They enjoyed a quiet life for 2 years before Eleanor died in Maria's arms. Soon after she learned of the death of her brother Charles, the distress caused two heart attacks. Maria died a few weeks later and was buried at Les Goreal. Katina was in her mother's womb when her father Philip died. When she went into labor on the 14th of January 1507, Hana had no midwife to help her, so she was assisted only by a lady in waiting. She named her baby Katrina in honor of her aunt, who would soon be queen of England. All of her older siblings, save Ferdinand, had been raised in Flanders, but Katherina remained with her mother as Hana was held captive in the convent of Toisas. She was her increasingly unstable mother's only companion for 18 years. But as soon as she turned 18, her brother Charles sent her off to marry her first cousin, Kingo III of Portugal. Katherina never saw her mother again. As queen of Portugal during the age of exploration, she was presented with many beautiful and curious objects from around the world. She collected hundreds of pieces of porcelain from Asia and created one of the first curio cabinets containing sharks teeth, a snake's head encased in gold, heart-shaped jasper stones thought to stop bleeding, a coral branch believed to protect against evil spirits, bezor stones, a unicorn's horn, which was actually a norwall tusk, and piles of loose rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. Katarina gave birth to nine children, but only two, Princess Maria and Prince survived infancy. The Queen's primary concern was their education. She collected a substantial library and started an early salon so that she could have intellectual conversations with learned people, including several female scholars she invited to court. Prince had been unwell since birth. We now know that he had type 1 diabetes. To ensure the succession, he was married at just 14 to his cousin Charles's daughter, Yana of Austria. At 16, and 18 days later, his wife gave birth to Prince Sebastian. Kingo died of epoplexy at 55 and his only heir was his three-year-old grandson. Daajer Queen Katherina and her niece daughter-in-law Johanna argued over who should rule Portugal as the baby king's regent. Emperor Charles was called in to mediate and he sided with his sister. Katherina was regent of Portugal for 5 years until she turned the task over to her brother-in-law, Cardinal Henrique. She died in 1578 at the age of 71, the last surviving child of Hana of Castile and Philip the Handsome. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe, comment your thoughts, and check out my other history videos. You can also join my Patreon to support my work and get early access to all of my multi-part series.