Joanna of Austria – Mother of the King (Part one)

Joanna of Austria was born in Madrid on 24 June 1535 as the daughter of Isabella of Portugal and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. She would be their last surviving child, and she had two elder surviving siblings: the future King Philip II of Spain and Maria of Austria. At the time of her birth, her father was away on campaign, while her mother acted as regent.

Her father had little interest in the education of his daughters, although he did arrange for the employment of his late wife’s former ladies-in-waiting as educators for them. Isabella had died in 1539 following the birth of a stillborn son. Following their mother’s death, the two sisters were raised separately from their brother, Philip. Their household eventually settled in Alcalá, while Philip remained in Madrid.

After morning prayers, the rest of the morning was dedicated to the learning of reading and Christian prayers. They also learned traditionally feminine domestic activities.¹ In 1548, Maria married their first cousin, the future Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, after which Joanna joined the household of her nephew, Carlos. When she eventually left to marry, both she and Carlos reportedly cried for three days.²

On 11 January 1552, Joanna married the heir to the Portuguese throne by proxy. John had been a sickly child who was often treated with bloodletting, which served to weaken him further. In his infancy, it was feared he was deaf and mute, as he could not speak at the age of three. However, with the deaths of many of his siblings, all hope was now vested in him, and his parents fretted over him. After the proxy wedding, John was given his own establishment. He reportedly fathered an illegitimate daughter during this time.³

After her departure was repeatedly postponed, Joanna finally arrived in October 1552. John had been impatient for her arrival, and he had written, “If I love her now, I will love her much more when I see her.” ³ As a wedding present, John’s mother, Catherine, presented her new daughter-in-law with a diamond necklace with a diamond cross and a pearl necklace. Catherine and Joanna appeared to be getting along, and Joanna “asks her for her opinion and advice in everything.”⁴ After the wedding, Joanna and John moved into a house close to the Ribeira Palace. Joanna fulfilled her primary duty almost immediately as she quickly fell pregnant. However, it became clear that John was sick as he was quickly losing weight. This was likely caused by diabetes, which had no treatment. On 31 December, he fell unconscious, and he died on 2 January 1554 at the age of 16.

Just 18 days later, Joanna gave birth to a son with Catherine holding her hand. He was named Sebastian, as he was born on the feast day of Saint Sebastian. It was likely that Joanna was only told of her husband’s death after the delivery. His parents had tried to conceal the news from her and changed out of mourning clothes when they visited her. She was devastated and threw herself onto her bed in tears. Catherine had now lost all of her children, although her new grandson now represented the future of the monarchy. He was baptised eight days after his birth, and Catherine was one of his godparents. The birth of a new heir was celebrated throughout the country, and the future King was baptised eight days later.

Even before her son had been born, Ambassador Luis Sarmiento wrote to Joanna’s father that she should return to Castile to act as regent in her brother’s absence. However, her parents-in-law expressed “with many tears and emotion the desire, which was also that of the whole kingdom, that the princess remains in Portugal, with the little Prince.”⁵

Her brother Philip would be travelling to England to be married to Queen Mary I of England. Catherine and Manuel reluctantly gave their consent to this on the condition that she would return to Portugal when Philip returned to Spain. However, Joanna never returned to Portugal and never saw her son again. On 15 May, Joanna and Catherine stayed overnight at the Convent of Consolacao with little Sebastian. She was handed over to her brother at the Alcantara, and he stayed with her for five days before heading to England. Joanna travelled to Valladolid via Tordesillas, where she visited her namesake grandmother, Queen Joanna.

Joanna entered Valladolid in her capacity as regent of Castile, a role she would fulfil until 1559. She was reunited with young Carlos, with whom she had lived before her marriage. For the first years, Joanna fielded letters from both her father and her brother during her regency. Charles initially resisted the appointment of Joanna as regent because he believed she was too young.⁶ Nevertheless, Joanna was considered to be a capable regent, and she worked with a regency council. After her father’s formal abdication in 1556, Joanna was formally only the regent for Philip, but Charles remained involved as an authority that needed to be consulted.⁷

In 1557, her former father-in-law died, making her young son Sebastian the new King of Portugal. Her former mother-in-law, Catherine, was appointed as regent for the young King with the assistance of his uncle, Henry. Joanna felt that this task was meant for her, as his mother, but her father vetoed her aspirations.⁸ Joanna’s letter regarding the regency for her son was intercepted by her father, and he wrote to her,” ‘With these things one has to act with all possible courtesy, especially you being a daughter.”⁹

Read part two here.

1. The Making of Juana of Austria by edited by Noelia García Pérez p.82
2. Habsburg Female Regents in the Early 16th Century by Tupu Ylä-Anttila p.102-103
3. Catarina de Austria by Ana Isabel Buescu p.291
4. Catarina de Austria by Ana Isabel Buescu p.304
5. Catarina de Austria by Ana Isabel Buescu p.309
6. Habsburg Female Regents in the Early 16th Century by Tupu Ylä-Anttila p.127
7. Habsburg Female Regents in the Early 16th Century by Tupu Ylä-Anttila p.197
8. Catarina de Austria by Ana Isabel Buescu p.323
9. Habsburg Female Regents in the Early 16th Century by Tupu Ylä-Anttila p.205