Joanna of Castile

Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (Spanish: Juana la Loca), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Joanna was married by arrangement to the Austrian archduke Philip the Handsome on 20 October 1496.[1] Following the deaths of her elder brother John, elder sister Isabella, and nephew Miguel between 1497 and 1500, Joanna became the heir presumptive to the crowns of Castile and Aragon. When her mother died in 1504, she became queen of Castile. Her father proclaimed himself governor and administrator of Castile.[2]

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Joanna
Portrait by the Master of Affligem, c. 1500
Queen of Castile and León
Reign	26 November 1504 – 12 April 1555
Predecessors	Isabella I and Ferdinand V
Successor	Charles I
Co-monarchs	Philip I (1506) Charles I (from 1516)
Regents	See Ferdinand V & II (1504–1506; 1507–1516)
Queen of Aragon
Reign	23 January 1516 – 12 April 1555
Predecessor	Ferdinand II
Successor	Charles I
Co-monarch	Charles I
Born	6 November 1479 Toledo, Castile
Died	12 April 1555(1555-04-12) (aged 75) Tordesillas, Castile
Burial	Royal Chapel of Granada, Granada, Castile
Spouse	Philip I of Castile ​ ​ (m. 1496; died 1506)​
Issue	Eleanor, Queen of France and Portugal Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Isabella, Queen of Denmark Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Mary, Queen of Hungary Catherine, Queen of Portugal
House	Trastámara
Father	Ferdinand II of Aragon
Mother	Isabella I of Castile
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

In 1506, Joanna's husband Philip became king of Castile jure uxoris as Philip I, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms. Philip died that same year. Despite being the ruling queen of Castile, Joanna had little effect on national policy during her reign as she was declared insane and confined in the Royal Palace in Tordesillas under the orders of her father, who ruled as regent until his death in 1516, when she inherited his kingdom as well. Catalina de Medrano, together with her husband, Hernando de Rojas y Sandoval, participated in the custody, or care, of Queen Joanna in Tordesillas.[3] Her son Charles I became king, and during his reign Joanna was nominally co-monarch but remained confined until her death. Joanna died aged 75 in 1555, at which point her son Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor, became the sole ruler of Castile and Aragon.