Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 20th October 1496, the second daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Juana, married Philip, Duke of Burgundy. The marriage was part of a double treaty. The bride’s brother, Juan, Prince of the Asturias (Crown Prince) was married to the groom’s sister, Marguerite of Austria. At the time of the marriage, Juana, as well as a brother, had an older sister living, so it was not anticipated that she would bring anything to the marriage other than her dowry. Philip, Duke of Burgundy, since the death of his mother, Mary, when he was a small child, was the son of the Emperor Maximilian, and was likely to be Emperor himself in due course. The marriage, passionate at first, descended into utter misery, as Philip’s philandering enraged his wife, and her reaction, seen as hysterical and unseemly, become the talk of Europe. Both the siblings ahead of Juana in the succession died, leaving her as Queen of Castile in 1504. Philip tried to dominate the government of Castile, and came into conflict with Juana’s father, Ferdinand, who did not want to cede control. Philip died suddenly, and Juana spent most of the rest of her life held under restraint, first by her father, then her son, the Emperor Charles. There is an excellent book on Juana and her sister Katharine, by Julia Fox, read our review here

On 19th October 1469 a marriage took place that would shape the course of European history for hundreds of years. Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Aragon, married his distant cousin, Isabella, heir to the throne of Castile. It was agreed in the marriage treaty that each remained sovereign in their own territory, but, over the course of a long, affectionate marriage (although he was frequently unfaithful) they ruled the united kingdoms of Spain together. During their reign, they drove the Moors out of Spain, funded the exploration of Christopher Columbus and married their children into the ruling houses of Europe – the Infantas Isabella and Maria into Portugal, Juan and Juana into Burgundy and the Empire, and their youngest, Katharine, into England. Amongst their grandchildren were two Holy Roman Emperors, a King of Portugal, Queens of France, Portugal, Hungary, England and Denmark. Read more on the political situation in Europe in the late fifteenth century here

On 18th October 1541, Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots, died at her castle of Methven, near Perth. Margaret had been married, aged 13, to James IV of Scotland as part of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland. The marriage appears to have been happy, although, despite several pregnancies, only one of their children survived infancy. After James’ death at Flodden, Margaret married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. Their marriage was annulled in 1527 (much to the disgust of her brother, Henry VIII, who took a very moral line on these matters!). She then married Henry Stewart, Lord Methven who was an even worse husband than Angus had been. Margaret had a fairly good relationship with her son, James V and his two wives, Madeleine of France and Marie of Guise, but her pro-English policy was not followed by him. She probably died of a stroke.