Juana I the Mad: The story of a queen who did not want to part with her deceased husband

Juana I of Castile loved her husband, Philip the Handsome, incredibly much. Her love was so strong that it crossed the boundaries of reason. This woman was not interested in the crown and power — she wanted to be a loving wife and mother. Unfortunately, Juana's feelings were constantly used for their own purposes by both her parents and her husband, which gave the first prerequisites for her insanity. The death of her beloved husband completely deprived this woman of her mind and marked the beginning of a terrible story with the corpse of the king.

The marriage of Juana's parents, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile marked the beginning of the unification of Spain into a single state, which was completed only by their grandson, Charles V. Isabella's confessor was the notorious inquisitor Torquemada, so it is not surprising that she raised her daughter as a fanatical Catholic.

Juana's parents completed the Reconquista, recapturing from the Moors their last stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula — Granada. The royal couple's fanatical commitment to Catholicism turned into religious intolerance, which, for all its unattractiveness, caused many geographical discoveries. The idea of converting other peoples to Christianity forced Ferdinand and Isabella to organize one expedition after another.

The fanaticism of the royal couple left its mark on the fate of their daughters Catherine and Juana. Catherine, the wife of King Henry VIII of England, loves her wayward husband very much, forgives him all his antics and fights for her marriage to the last, not giving a divorce. As a result, Henry gets rid not only of his wife, but also of Catholicism with her.

Juana was not considered as the heir to the Castilian throne. The girl was the third of five surviving children of the royal couple, who managed to produce a total of ten offspring. Juana was brought up in strictness and she was not familiar with such a concept as luxury.

At the age of 17, Juan was married to Archduke Philip of Austria, who was nicknamed Philip the Handsome for his appearance. He was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and ruled in Burgundy. At the court of Philip, morals were completely different from those of Castile. The young Archduke was a great lover of women, feasting and hunting.

All European marriages at that time were concluded exclusively for political purposes, but it was increasingly difficult with Juana — she fell in love with her Philip at first sight and her feeling was as fanatical as faith. It seemed to the girl that her husband reciprocated her - he was sweet, affectionate and caring.

But it didn't last much longer than the honeymoon. Soon Philip the Handsome began to avoid the company of his lawful spouse, and then completely twisted another affair with the maid of honor. It was obvious that Juana irritated her husband with her piety, jealousy and obsession.

Juana herself felt very lonely—everyone except her husband was against her. The courtiers were scared away by the girl 's religiosity and her refusal to participate in court entertainments. In addition, Philip's wife was noticed by uncontrollable outbursts of anger, which signaled her shattered psyche.

But Juana did not have to miss for a long time, since Juan of Asturias, her elder brother and the main heir to the Castilian throne, died soon after. The next in line for the crown was Princess Isabella of Asturias, but she also gave her soul to God just a year later, during childbirth. Thus, quite unexpectedly, Juana became the heir to the crown.

The future queen returns home with her husband and two children born during their marriage. But Juana deeply disappointed Ferdinand and Isabella — she was completely uninterested in state affairs and her love for Philip began to take on a manic tinge.

The parents of the heir to the throne, who began to lose her mind, noticed with alarm that Philip the Handsome himself was not averse to taking the throne, but his views on foreign policy did not suit the Castilian monarchs much. The Archduke longed for an alliance with France, with which Spain was just at war.

Wishing to protect herself and her kingdom, Isabella of Castile writes a will in which Juana is indicated as the heir to the throne. In case she turned out to be incapacitated, Ferdinand should have become king, and not Philip the Handsome at all.

Philip himself was delicately but persistently kept at court. Every time he and his entourage tried to leave Castile, horses were seized from him under various pretexts. Far from the first attempt, the Archduke managed to escape from Castile and returned to Burgundy, to his friends and mistresses.

Because of the separation from her husband, Juana's mental state worsened and she, being pregnant with another child, decided to go to her husband. The distraught woman was not stopped even by the fact that for this it was necessary to cross France, with which her country was at war.

The parents could not allow this extravagant act and imprisoned Juana in the castle. There, Philip's wife spent time in prayer, pausing only to fall into another tantrum or start banging her head against the wall. In prison, the woman gave birth to a third child — Ferdinand.

The birth of her son did not affect Juana in any way — she began to refuse to eat, stopped washing and fell into severe depression. Convinced that it will not be possible to influence their daughter, Ferdinand and Isabella let her go to Burgundy. I must say that Philip, for his part, also demanded a reunion with his wife, although it is not easy to understand his logic in this case.

Meeting after a long separation made Juana happy for a few days. Soon Philip went back to his old ways and completely stopped noticing his wife. A new favorite appeared in his life, occupying all his attention. Not wanting to tolerate her husband's infidelity, Juana attacked her rival with scissors, cutting off her hair and slashing her face. Philip was furious at this act, hit his wife and put her under lock and key.

The woman continuously screamed, demanding her husband, and it became absolutely clear to everyone that she was insane. However, the cunning Philip was only pleased with this circumstance — he understood that if his crazy wife became queen, he would actually rule Castile.

For Philip the Handsome, everything is going as well as possible — Isabella of Castile is dying and, according to her will, Juana should become queen. Philip the Handsome, together with his wife and children, goes to Spain again. Before setting out on his journey, the Archduke had to fulfill many insane demands of his wife, one of which was the complete rejection of women in their retinue.

Juana was recognized as the queen, but, as expected, she did not want to rule and could not. Therefore, a power struggle broke out between her husband and father, while Juana was left out of work again. Her husband no longer ran after mistresses, but devoted himself entirely to court intrigues.

The struggle lasted a year and ended very unexpectedly. Young, blooming Philip the Handsome suddenly falls ill with smallpox and dies. The events that followed gave rise to contemporaries and descendants to call Juana I of Castile "Mad".

The Queen categorically forbade burying her husband and wept at his coffin for several days. Despite the fact that Juana was pregnant again, she could not be taken away from her husband's body even by force. She came to her senses briefly when the corpse began to decompose and spread a stench. Then the inconsolable widow ordered him to be embalmed and prepared for transportation across the country to Granada, where the family tomb was located.

A huge funeral procession moved out on a long journey, while Juana was constantly at the coffin. Historians claim that the coffin was opened at least four times before the funeral. Twice the mad queen wanted to make sure that her beloved's body was in place, once on her daughter's birthday and even before the burial.

But if you believe the legend - Juana opened the coffin every night and fell to the remains of her husband. She did not part with the corpse for 8 months, which led to rumors not only about insanity, but also about necrophilia. At the same time, the queen continued to be jealous of her husband for any women who happened to be near the coffin.

One day, during an overnight stay in one of the nunneries, Juana was pierced by the thought that there were so many unmarried women near her beloved. She immediately ordered to interrupt the rest and continue the journey at night. During the trip, Juana gave birth to a daughter, but this circumstance interrupted her sorrowful journey for only a couple of months.

But before Juana of Castile was not destined to reach Granada. On the way, she was overtaken by her father, Ferdinand, who, according to the will, was to take over the reins of government in the event of her daughter's death or incapacity. He took Juana and the baby and took them to the castle of Tordesillas, where he imprisoned them in a tower, away from prying eyes.

Catherine of Austria, the last child of Philip the Handsome, was imprisoned together with her crazy mother. All attempts to take the child away from the woman did not bring success. Mother and daughter lived in conditions of terrible unsanitary conditions — they did not wash and ate only bread and goat cheese.

Juan and Catherine were remembered when Ferdinand the Catholic died and Charles, the eldest son of the mad queen, ascended the throne. Together with his sister Eleanor, he decided for the first time in many years to visit his mother and, perhaps, give her freedom. But when he saw the condition of his mother, the king said these words:

These words of Karl became Juana's verdict — she spent the rest of her days in the castle of Tordesillas. Her youngest daughter, Catherine of Austria, was released from prison, already being a marriageable maiden. Surprisingly, the long years spent alone with the mad mother had almost no effect on her mental state. Only at first some oddities were noticed for the girl, but then she completely adapted to normal life.