That being said, if I understand correctly, Juana la Loca was not allowed to rule in either Castile or Aragon: she was declared mentally unfit -- just like some of her famous descendants later on in Bavaria (e.g. "Mad" King Ludwig II and his brother, Otto). Her father first served as regent in Castile, and later on, her son.
And that son, who became the famous powerful Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, served as regent in Aragon after the death of his maternal grandfather. So in the end, Juana was mainly a queen in name only ...
Aragon was reluctant to accept female as heirs. Juana had a lot of problems to be sworn in as heir, although it was finally.
Just what exactly was the succession law there, anyway, prior to the unification of Spain? I believe it was male-preference primogeniture in most of the other kingdoms (e.g. Castile). The reason for my asking is that I read somewhere that the Aragonese law did not allow females to inherit the throne in their own rights.
Yet, when Infante Juan (the only son of King Fernando II) died, and Infanta Isabel (who by then had become the queen of Portugal, as well as heir presumptive to her mother, Queen Isabel I of Castile) gave birth to a son, that son (Infante Miguel de la Paz) was automatically first in line to the throne of Aragon.
Despite bypassing his mother in the succession (perhaps a moot point, in light of the fact that she died in childbirth), such a thing obviously would not have been possible, had the kingdom been bound by the Salic law -- like in France. As it was, Miguel was immediately recognized -- even welcomed -- as heir presumptive to his maternal grandfather ...
282
Message Thread
« Back to index