Joanna of Castile, the nominal Queen of Castile and Aragon, was born on 6th November 1479. She was the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Through her marriage to Archduke Philip, called the Handsome, she became the ancestress of all subsequent Habsburg rulers. Although she was the rightful queen, she spent most of her life confined in a convent, declared mentally incapable (or “mad”) — first by her father and husband, and later by her son, Emperor Charles V.
Aside from the obvious political motives behind Joanna’s confinement, her temperament, such as her extreme jealousy towards her husband Philip, also contributed to the strained relations within her family. However, one aspect of her personality has often been overlooked, or at least underestimated — namely, her remarkable indifference to religion, to the extent that she had to be forced to confess regularly and attend Mass. Given the omnipotent position of the Catholic Church in Joanna’s kingdoms, and the fact that the Reconquista had been completed by her parents as recently as 1492, such a scandalous lack of faith was met with total incomprehension by her contemporaries. At the same time, it makes Joanna’s personality especially intriguing.
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