Empress Isabella of Portugal (1428 -1496) was Queen consort of Castile and Leon. She was the mother of Queen Isabella I "the Catholic".She died on May 1, 1539, at the age of 35. Her death affected Emperor Charles terribly. He refused to remarry and remained single for the rest of his life.He dressed in black for the rest of his life, mourning his wife’s death.

She was the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, the Duchess of Burgundy, and the Queen of Germany, Italy, Spain, Naples, and Sicily, Isabella of Portugal was a symbol of power and wisdom. The beautiful queen with a massive empire married Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1526. Isabella of Portugal was born on October 24, 1503, in Lisbon, Portugal to King Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife, Maria of Argon. She was the second child and the eldest daughter of the king.Isabella was the granddaughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Fernando II of Argon. She was named after her maternal grandmother and her aunt Isabella, Princess of Asturias, who was also her father’s first wife.Isabella had a happy childhood with her wealthy family. She spent her young life at the Ribeira Palace which was later destroyed by an earthquake.Isabella loved learning new languages and was also a lover of literature. She owned a vast library.She was only twelve when she became the wife and Queen of King Denis of Portugal.  As queen, she set an example of abstinence, modesty, and cheerfulness.  She dedicated herself to helping the poor by establishing orphanages, institutions for the sick, housing for the homeless, and a convent for nuns.  She cared for abandoned babies and even took care of her husband's children by other women.  Often depicted wearing an apron, St. Isabella hid bread in her garment to feed the poor.  One story tells that her unfaithful husband, King Denis, who was not supportive of her work with the destitute, confronted his Queen about her apron's contents.  Upon unfurling it, the bread that St. Isabella had hidden had miraculously turned to roses, echoing the phenomenon of her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who had a similar experience.  She learned Latin, Spanish, and French, before she became old enough to get married..Although they were first cousins, the love of Emperor Charles and Isabella blossomed as beautifully as a red rose. Isabella also served as a regent in her husband’s absence, from 1529 to 1532, from 1535 to 1536, and from 1538 to 1539. She had six children with Charles. Of them, only three survived to reach adulthood. In 1539, she gave birth to a stillborn child, after which her health deteriorated. Two weeks later, on May 1, 1539, Isabella died of chronic tertian fevers and a hemorrhage. Her death affected Emperor Charles deeply. He never remarried. He introduced the red carnation to Spain as a token of his love for his queen. Isabella came to be known as the ‘Empress of the Carnation’ because of this gesture of the emperor.Charles of Habsburg was considered to be the best match for Isabella. Moreover, her mother, Maria, had clearly mentioned in her will that her daughter must consider only a king or a legitimate son of a king for marriage.Charles was the son of Maria’s sister Joanna of Castile and Philip the Handsome, the Duke of Burgundy. That made him Isabella’s first cousin.The marriage of Charles and Isabella was to be of great importance to Portugal and Spain. Since Portugal was the wealthiest kingdom and Charles was elected as the ‘Holy Roman Emperor,’ their alliance was to become the strongest in Europe.The alliance of the two kingdoms would have ensured stability, peace, and safety in Europe. However, Charles was advised by William de Croy, one his advisors, to marry Mary Tudor, Charles’s other first cousin and daughter of Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon.Marrying Mary Tudor would have meant establishing an alliance with Europe and rejecting Isabella. However, this supposed and initial rejection did not affect Isabella’s determination to marry him, as she had made it clear that she would either marry him or enter a convent.Mary Tudor was 16 years younger than Charles. Charles got engaged to her in 1521. However, he dropped the idea of getting married to her by 1525, since Mary was still a child then, and Charles did not want to wait anymore.He reconsidered marrying Isabella of Portugal, since she was only three years younger to him. She was also willing to bring a dowry of 900,000 Portuguese cruzados with her that he believed would improve the economic condition of his kingdom, which was suffering after the Italian War of 1521–1526.Isabella’s ability to speak Spanish fluently became another reason for Charles to marry her. Finally, he decided to marry Isabella, while his youngest sister, Catherine of Austria, agreed to marry Isabella’s brother, John III of Portugal.In 1526, Isabella traveled to Spain, where she met the ‘Duke of Calabria,’ the Archbishop of Toledo,’ and the ‘Duke of Béjar,’ before she left for Seville. She was supposed to meet Emperor Charles at Seville for a political meeting.She reached Seville in March and was joined by Emperor Charles a week later. He instantly fell in love with Isabella and decided to marry her the very day he met her.They got married on March 11, 1526, at the ‘Palace of Alcázar of Seville’ They were so in much in love that on their honeymoon, they did not notice anyone around and were busy laughing and talking to each other.After spending their honeymoon at the ‘Alhambra’ in Granada, they were separated because of Charles’s responsibility toward his kingdom. Isabella served as a regent of Spain while he was away.She served as a regent from 1529 to 1532, from 1535 to 1536, and from 1538 to 1539. She was an able woman who was determined to solve the kingdom’s problems with ease and grace.Isabella was both beautiful and intelligent. She was clearly born to be a royal power and not just a wife and mother.When Charles was away, she wrote letters to her husband, sharing the news of their kingdom and asking about his well-being. Charles often wrote back, but when he could not write for more than a few days, Isabella always checked on him.Isabella even scolded him once for not keeping her aware of his whereabouts and told him that she would write to him every 20 days. On Emperor Charles’s return to his kingdom, Isabella welcomed him with a grand party.

Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain, Germany, Italy, Naples and Sicily and Duchess of Burgundy by her marriage to Emperor Charles V, and regent of Spain during the absences of her husband during 1529-1532, 1535-1536 and 1538-1539.

Although she threw Charles a big reception, Isabella lived a very simple life. During the marriage, Isabella was described as jealous, possessive and violently irrational. These first signs of insanity were exacerbated when, in 1450, Isabella became pregnant and began showing signs of additional melancholy and depression. Her long and difficult confinement led her to alternate between a stupor or a deep depression during which she refused to speak to anyone but her husband. After the birth of a daughter, whom Isabella named after herself, her symptoms and traits came to a head. She shut herself away and fell into “profunda tristeza”. Historians generally agree that this “deep sadness” was what is now called postpartum depression or psychosis. Isabella would sit motionless, void of emotions, and stare into space. She was described as a “nervous invalid” after the birth and continued to speak and show emotions only to the King, whom she tired out with hysterical tantrums. Her insanity abated somewhat in time but was repeated during a second pregnancy and delivery of a son in 1453.To the dismay and dislike of the nobles and Queen Isabella, King John was in thrall to his favourite, Álvaro de Luna, the noble who arranged their marriage. de Luna took great personal and political advantage of his hold over the King and was even rumoured to have masterminded several political murders, including that of Queen Maria, whose death has been considered suspicious. de Luna expected to be able to control Queen Isabella as well and even attempted to limit the frequency and amount of intimacy between the Royal couple. Isabella chafed at the influence of de Luna over her husband and was in constant competition with him for the King’s affection. After de Luna was implicated in the murder of the King’s accountant, Isabella was finally successful in persuading the King to have de Luna arrested. He was soon tried, condemned to death, and executed by beheading.Eight months after the birth of their son, King John died, and the Crown went to his son, who became Henry IV of Castile. Immediately, Henry had Isabella and her two children exiled to the Castle of Arévalo. Having spent her entire life in luxury, she struggled with their new extremely austere life which was sometimes just above poverty level. This lifestyle change caused Isabella to sink deeper into the melancholy and paranoia that began after childbirth.Though still in her twenties, Isabella never remarried and led a socially isolated life. Every passing year saw a further worsening of symptoms, especially when she was separated from her daughter, who was sent to a convent to continue her education, and again when her son was taken away and brought to the Royal court, to be officially named as Henry’s heir. This separation from her children, combined with a state of seclusion and constant depression, caused her to become totally and completely unhinged.The dowager queen withdrew into a complete state of melancholia. She forgot everyone she had previously known, was unable to recognise even her children and in time even forgot who she was. Isabella became physically aggressive with her servants, spent days talking to herself, and loudly raged and cursed at imaginary conspirators, tormentors and enemies.  She would run up and down the castle stairs, fleeing from spirits and ghosts, especially those whose voices supposedly taunted her. She even claimed to be haunted by de Luna, her husband’s favourite and lover, whose execution she had contrived at.After their separation, Isabella never again saw her son, Alfonso. He died suddenly at age 14, possibly of an illness but also rumoured to have been deliberately poisoned by his enemies. During this time, Isabella’s care was supervised by her daughter, who intentionally kept her separate from the court, but no visits took place until 1496 when it became obvious that she was dying. The visit didn’t go well since the deranged and distraught Isabella did not recognise her daughter anyway and then covered her own face so no one could look at her.She was clearly a very loving wife.Apart from being a good wife, Isabella was also a devoted mother. She had six children, of which only three survived. However, she nurtured her remaining children with a lot of love and cared a lot about their education.Apart from being a good wife, Isabella was also a devoted mother. She had six children, of which only three survived. However, she nurtured her remaining children with a lot of love and cared a lot about their education.Isabella had a total of seven pregnancies and suffered two miscarriages. It is said that the pain of losing her children had devastated her.Her seventh pregnancy turned fatal. On April 21, 1539, she gave birth to a stillborn son. After two weeks of giving birth, Isabella died of fevers and hemorrhage.She died on May 1, 1539, at the age of 35. Her death affected Emperor Charles terribly. He refused to remarry and remained single for the rest of his life.He dressed in black for the rest of his life, mourning his wife’s death. Her death had affected him badly, and he could not bring himself to be with her during her burial.Isabella was buried by her son Philip at the ‘Royal Chapel of Granada,’ while Charles locked himself up in a monastery for two long months in order to mourn and cope with the loss of his wife.He honored his wife in incredible ways. He paid her several tributes through art and music.In 1540, he hired composer Thomas CrecQuillon to make new music in the honor of his late wife. In 1543, he hired a painter named Titian to paint Isabella.Titian painted several portraits of Isabella, including ‘Portrait of the Empress Isabel of Portugal’ and ‘La Gloria.’ Charles kept the paintings with him even while he retired to the ‘Monastery of Yuste.’Isabella was known as the ‘Empress of the Carnation’ after Charles introduced a flower, the red carnation, to his kingdom. This was a token of his love for her. This was the flower that eventually became the floral emblem of Spain.In 1574, after Charles’s death, Charles and Isabella were placed side by side at the ‘Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial,’ according to Charles’s last wish. In 1654, they were transferred to the ‘Royal Pantheon of Kings’ by their great-grandson Philip IV. This was considered by many as a sign of disrespect to the royal couple.Much of St. Isabella's personal life was filled with strife.  She sought to mediate feuds between her father and grandfather, her son and husband, and her son and grandson.  For this she became known as The Peacemaker.  It is said that she had the ability to calm people by her presence alone.She died in 1336 and was canonized almost 300 years later in 1625. At her canonization, she became known as St. Elizabeth of Portugal.  In Portugal, her feast day on July 4th is known as Rainha Santa, literally, Queen Saint, and is a widely celebrated day.Isabella I of Castile. Married Ferdinand II of Aragon, she became Queen of Castile and united Aragon with Castile.Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453-1468) who rebelled against his half-brother, Henry IV of Castile He died of a sickness, probably the plague, no issue.

Death of Empress Isabella,in 1539 Empress Isabella of the Holy Roman Empire passed away very prematurely. All of Europe knew her to be a stunningly gorgeous young lady, but death unexpectedly snatched away her riches, her fame, and her beauty.