Spain appeared on the world map only at the end of the 15th century, after the Castilian-Aragonese union of 1479. Until then, several separate states existed on the Iberian Peninsula. Although they were quite closely interconnected, each of them had their own kings and queens. Spain as such did not exist.
Princess Isabella of Castile
In fact, it is she who is the first and still extremely revered queen of Spain. Isabella was born in 1451 and was the daughter of Juan II, as well as her sister Enrique IV. She grew up far from the palace, in the wilderness of Arevalo, where she was brought up in piety.
In her youth, Isabella never thought about royal power, as the lands were ruled by her elder brother Enrique, who legally occupied the throne when her sister was only three years old. In addition, the royal family had another child, whose name was Alfons. Only as a teenager, the girl was able to appear in the palace. The gossip, squabbles and intrigue that prevailed there were alien to her - she preferred to pray to God rather than give orders to her subordinates.
Power struggle
I must say that the royal brother of Isabella, Enrique IV, was nicknamed "El Impotente." And, as they say, not without reason. In 1462, his wife, Juan of Portugal, gave birth to a daughter, and almost everyone was sure that her lover Beltran de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque, was the father of the child.
It was this circumstance that greatly influenced the subsequent political events that took place in 1468. The fact is that at that time the brother of Isabella and Enrique, Alfons, who was barely 14 years old, unexpectedly dies. The question immediately arose: who will be the next heir to the Castilian throne?
According to the law, the daughter of Enrique IV, Juan Beltranekh, was to inherit the crown. But the opposition, consisting of the highest nobility, whose head was the Archbishop of Toledo, did not want to hear about the illegitimate royal offspring, thereby preferring Princess Isabella.
Princess Marriage
After the sudden death of Alphonse, under pressure from the nobility, Enrique was forced to conclude an agreement with his sister Isabella, according to which she was to become his heir. But the king made the princess one condition - she could not marry without his consent. By this agreement, he actually confirmed the betrayal of his wife, thereby removing his only daughter, Juan, from the succession to the throne. However, the king’s wife was not going to give up so easily and longed to rehabilitate herself both in front of her husband and courtiers, and in front of the people. The conflict was brewing.
He broke out in 1469, before Isabella decided to secretly marry Ferdinand II of Aragon. Then Enrique IV again proclaimed his own daughter, Juan, as his heir, accusing his sister of violating the agreements. This discontent of the king was caused by Isabella's refusal to marry the Portuguese king Afonso V, the brother of his wife, Joan.
First queen of spain
After the death of Enrique IV, a real civil war broke out in the country - supporters of Juana Beltraneha and Isabella of Castile fought not for life, but for death. The culmination of this confrontation is the battle of Thoreau, which took place in 1479. After it, the Union of Castile and Aragon was signed, which elevated Isabella I to the Spanish throne.
During her reign, literally in some 20-30 years, she, together with her husband Ferdinand II, managed to unite almost all of the Spanish lands. In 1492, the conquest of Granada took place, as well as the conquest of the Canary Islands, which were once called Happy. It was with the support of Queen Isabella I that Columbus went in search of new lands and discovered America. Contemporaries, and in particular Hernando del Pulgar, noted her calm character, gentleness and cheerfulness, but at the same time she could give tough orders and make unexpected and correct decisions.
The indomitance of her spirit was clearly manifested during the time she accompanied her husband during the Spanish invasion of Granada in 1491. She experienced all the vicissitudes of the war and entered with her husband the conquered capital. By the way, it was in Granada, in the Royal Chapel, that this couple was buried.
Queen of Spain Isabella I gave birth to seven children. She survived most of them for several years. The last and most powerful blow for her in 1497 was the death of her son and heir to the throne of don Juan of Asturias. Isabella died in 1504 at the age of 53 years. Her successor was the daughter of Juan, later nicknamed Mad, who, even during the life of the queen, had a very unbalanced character. Given this fact, several special conditions were introduced into the will.
Isabella Portuguese
Her husband Charles V of Habsburg rallied all the Spanish lands even more firmly, and after being declared ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Isabella also became the Queen of Italy, Germany, Sicily and Naples, as well as the Duchess of Burgundy. For many years she remained regent of Spain, as her husband was often absent, doing important public affairs outside the home.
Isabella, Queen of Spain, was born on October 24, 1503. She was the eldest daughter in the family of the Portuguese King Manuel I and his second wife, the Infanta Maria of Castile and Aragon. The future husband of Charles V was her cousin. Their union was concluded in November 1525 for political reasons, but, despite this, later it still turned into a love marriage. As her contemporaries noted, Isabella was extremely smart and beautiful.
She died while in Toledo at the beginning of May 1539, having contracted either flu or pneumonia. At that time, Isabella was pregnant for the sixth time. The emperor was not near, but her sudden death struck him to the core. After this tragedy, he never married again and for the rest of his life wore only black clothes.
Elizabeth of France (Valois)
She was born on April 2, 1545. Elizabeth was a representative of the famous Valois dynasty. Her father is the king of France, Henry II, and her mother is Catherine de Medici. Despite the fact that the princess was originally engaged to another Spaniard, the infantry Don Carlos, she was married off to another.
It turned out that the peace treaty signed in Kato Cambresi in 1559 on the occasion of the end of the war between Spain and France had one clause where the indispensable condition for its conclusion was the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and King Philip II. She was then just a teenager when she had to get used to a new life away from home. Contemporaries noted that Elizabeth - the queen of Spain - could not help but admire her beauty, fashionable clothes and elegant manners. In this way, she conquered not only her husband and courtiers, but also the whole nation.
The fact that the husband loved and treasured her very much is indicated by the following fact: when the young queen fell ill with smallpox, Philip II almost did not leave his wife and selflessly looked after her. And this despite the danger of becoming infected yourself! As you know, the king was very inhospitable, cold-blooded and prudent, but after marriage he turned into a loving husband and a cheerful person.
This queen of Spain was pregnant five times, but she was never able to give her husband the heir to the throne. For the first time, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, but he died just a few hours later. The next birth was premature, as her health was very poor. But still in 1566, she gave birth to a daughter, Isabella, Clara, Eugene, and a year later, to Katalin Michaela. In 1568, during another pregnancy and unsuccessful childbirth, she died at the age of 23 years. Soon the monarch married for the fourth time. The chosen one of the king was his own niece, Anna of Austria, who gave him a son, the long-awaited heir to the throne.
The history of Spain knows a lot of queens, which are worth telling in more detail, but in one article it is impossible to do. Therefore, let's talk about the now living.
Sofia, Greek and Danish
She was born in Athens on November 2, 1938. Sofia is a representative of the Glucksburg dynasty. Her mother is Princess Frederick of Hanover, and her father is King Paul I. In addition, she is related to the Russian imperial Romanov family and is the great-granddaughter of Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna, who became Queen of Greece by marrying George I.
Sofia was the eldest child in the family. In addition to her, there was also a brother, who, after the death of his father, King of Greece Constantine II, who was deposed from the throne in 1967, and Irena's younger sister. After the country adopted the new constitution, the royal titles completely lost their meaning.
In mid-May 1962, Sophia of Greece and Denmark married the Spanish Prince Juan Carlos. She had to abandon Orthodoxy and accept the faith of her husband - Catholicism. At the end of November 1975, immediately after the death of dictator Franco, Juan Carlos was proclaimed king. So the Greek princess became the queen of Spain. To date, the monarch couple has three children and eight grandchildren.
Social work
In addition to the fact that Sofia travels everywhere with her husband both within the country and abroad, she also does charity work. She is the president of her own fund, which in 1993 allocated a lot of funds that contributed to the liberation and subsequent economic support of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, now the former Queen of Spain is involved in education and support for the disabled. But she pays special attention to the Foundation, which was specially created to combat drug addiction.
Now we can confidently say that Sofia is the queen not only by blood, but also by profession, since on her fragile shoulders lies the whole burden of family problems that occasionally appear in her house. It is she who masterly smooths out all the conflicts that arise in connection with the rather hot-tempered disposition of her husband.
Laetitia Ortiz: a girl from the people
She was born on September 15, 1972 in a small town located in northwestern Spain in the family of the journalist Jesús Ortiz Alvarez and the nurse Maria Rocasolano. Letizia had two more sisters: the eldest - Thelma and the youngest - Erica, who had long suffered from depression and in 2007 died from an overdose of drugs. After graduating from school, the girl entered a college organized at the University of Madrid, where she graduated and became a journalist.
Before meeting with the heir to the Spanish crown, Prince Philip, Letizia Ortiz managed to make a wonderful career. She first got married when she was 26 years old. Her chosen one was Alfonso Perez, a literature teacher. This marriage did not last long and broke up a year later, while the former spouses broke up peacefully and still maintain friendly relations.
Spanish Cinderella
Crown Prince Philip, the son of King Juan Carlos I and his wife Sophia Grecheskaya, first met Letizia Ortiz in 2003. At that time, she was conducting a journalistic investigation into the oil tanker wreck off the Spanish coast. Arriving at the place, the girl hastened to take comments on the incident from officials. It was from them that she learned that Prince Philip had also arrived here.
It is worth noting that interviewing the royal offspring was not some great journalistic achievement - everyone knows that the Spaniards no longer have particularly reverent feelings for the monarchy. In addition, it is no secret that Prince Philip is a very open person, quite willingly communicating with ordinary people. He gave an interview to Letizia, in which he commented on the whole situation, and then asked her for a phone number. After that, the lovers began to meet, but at first their dates were secret, as Philip was afraid of condemnation from his parents. A few months later, Letizia quit her job, and a few days later they announced their engagement.
Attacks on the Princess of Asturias
Needless to say, that for the relatives of the groom, and throughout Spain, such a statement was a real surprise. The future Queen Leticia and Philip were married on May 22, 2004. This event was broadcast by all the largest television channels, so more than one and a half million people around the world were able to see this ceremony. After the wedding, the princess did rhinoplasty. According to the official version, Letizia revealed an inborn curvature of the nasal septum. However, in journalistic circles they talked, supposedly they did the operation because it did not look well enough in the photo with the prince.
I must say that the attacks did not end there. On October 31, 2005, the first daughter of Leonor was born to the couple, and two years later, on April 29, the second was born - Sofia. After giving birth, the future Queen Leticia began to lose its former shape, so she decided to go on a rigid diet. As a result, she lost a lot of weight in a few weeks. For this, she was openly accused of almost propagating anorexia, while recalling that young Spaniards were taking her as an example. Such a wave of criticism provoked street protests. To avoid further accusations against her, the prince was forced to leave with his wife on vacation, where he literally forced her to eat normally.
Queen of Spain Letizia
In June 2014, the 76-year-old King Juan Carlos I abdicated. The monarch announced his decision himself in a special appeal to the people. His successor was the son of Philip, Prince of Asturias. So the former TV journalist became the queen of Spain. After Letitia married the prince, she had to abandon her beloved trouser suits and put on more feminine clothes. Elegant dresses and skirt sets appeared in her wardrobe.
Over time, journalists ceased to pay public attention to scandalous episodes from the past, since, by the way, the current 43-year-old queen of Spain is not so flawless, and increasingly began to talk about her as a worthy heiress to the wife of the former monarch, Sofia. For several consecutive years, the wife of Philip VI has been spoken of as the most elegant and beautiful woman in Europe. At the same time, it is noted that the country received not only a monarch perfectly prepared for the throne, but also a woman worthy of being near him, who is the former journalist, and now the Queen of Spain - Letizia Ortiz.