Portrait of Joan the Beltraneja.

Princess Joanna of Castile, known also as the Beltraneja, was born in 1462 and died in Lisbon in 1530. Her birth caused a scandal in the Castilian court. Her mother was Joana, princess of Portugal, the consort queen of king Henry IV of Castile. The king had no other children from this or the previous marriages and rumour said he was impotent. Because of this and the fact that Joana of Portugal was having a notorious affair with Beltrán de La Cueva, a Castilian noble, Joan was never considered legitimate. Moreover, she was nicknamed the Beltraneja (a mocking reference to her assumed real father) since the cradle. Her birth also caused the king of Castile to divorce her mother. Joana of Portugal then returned in shame to her brother's (king Afonso V of Portugal) court. Download high resolution version (768x1024, 46 KB) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or more. ... Download high resolution version (768x1024, 46 KB) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or more. ... Events Settlers from Portugal begin to settle the Cape Verde islands. ... District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Pedro Santana Lopes PSD Area 84. ... Events June 25 - Augsburg confession presented to Charles V of Holy Roman Empire. ... A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... Joan of Portugal (Portuguese: Joana) was a Portuguese Princess daughter of King Edward of of Portugal and his wife Leonor of Aragon. ... Henry IV of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent (ruled 1454-1474), was not a strong king. ... Afonso V of Portugal - Alfonso, Alphonso -, the African (Port. ...

Legitimate or not, Joanna remained the only child that could be remotely attributed to Henry IV of Castile and the king was very fond of the child. He even made the nobles of Castile swear alliance to her and promise that they would support her as queen. After a few unsettled arrangements, that included French and Burgundian princes, Joanna was promised in marriage to her uncle, king Afonso V of Portugal, that swore to defend her (and his own) rights to the crown of Castile. But when Henry IV died in 1474, nobody took Joan's cause seriously and the crown went to Isabella I of Castile, her aunt. In the following year, Afonso V married Joan in Plasencia and prepared for the fighting. In 1476 he invaded Castile, but was defeated in the battle of Toro by Ferdinand II of Aragon, Isabella of Castile's husband. After this, Afonso V tried to procure, without success, an alliance with the king of France. In 1479, the king of Portugal gave up on the pretension and signed a treatise with the Catholic kings. Meanwhile their marriage had been anulled by the Pope on account of their family relation. Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Ysabel, Isabel or Isabela) (22 April 1451 - 26 November 1504) was queen of Castile. ... Plasencia Cathedral Plasencia is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres, in Western Spain. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ... Ferdinand and his wife Isabella of Castile Ferdinand II (Fernando de Aragón in Spanish and Ferran dAragó in Catalan), nicknamed the Catholic (March 10, 1452 – June 23, 1516) was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples, Valencia, Sardinia and Navarre and Count of Barcelona. ... Events January 20 - Ferdinand II ascends the throne of Aragon and rules together with his wife Isabella, queen of Castile over most of the Iberian peninsula. ... The Catholic monarchs (Spanish: Reyes Católicos) is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. ...

Following the death of Afonso V, Joanna of Castile refuse to marry Juan, the son of Isabella and Ferdinand and had to retire into a convent in Coimbra. The princess lived in Portugal for the rest of her life, dedicating her life to charities and social works. Her denial to get herself involved in political intrigues and her devotion to God and the poor, gave her the nickname of excellent lady. Coimbra is a city and the capital of the district of Coimbra in Portugal. ...