Archduchess Joan of Austria (1535–1573)

Joan of Spain (in Castilian, "Juana de Austria", 24 June, 1535 - 7 September, 1573), Infanta of Spain, of the Habsburg family.

She was born in Madrid to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (who was the first king of united Spain, officially King of Aragon and King of Castile) and his consort Infanta Isabel of Portugal, daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal.

As such, Juana was an Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile and of Aragon, princess of Burgundy and Flanders, daughter of a Holy Roman Emperor, etc.

She married her first cousin, Infante John of Portugal, who was the heir of Portugal, the sole surviving son of her paternal aunt Catherine of Habsburg and her maternal uncle King John III of Portugal. Their teenage marriage led to pregnancy (João was 15 years old when his wife conceived), and their only child Sebastian of Portugal was born posthumously in 1554 a couple of weeks after the teenage father João had perished of juvenile diabetes at the age of 16 years.Shortly after Sebastian's birth Joanna was called back to Madrid, by her brother King Philip II, to run the kingdom while he was away in England to marry Queen Mary. She filled this role admirably and was intelligent and efficient, a "take charge" kind of woman.

She never remarried and she never returned to Portugal to see her son, Sebastian, again, although she sent him letters and had portraits of him painted at various ages so she could see what he looked like. One of these, of him at age 11, is now in the Convento de Las Descalzas Reales that she founded in the royal palace where Charles V had lived when in Madrid. She is reputed to have been admitted to the Jesuit order, being the only female in the history of the Order.

Ancestors

Bibliography

There is a new biography of her by Villacorta Baños-García