Joan of Austria Facts
Known for: Habsburg princess; regent of Spain for her brother, Philip II
Title by marriage: Princess of Portugal
Dates: June 24, 1535 - September 7, 1573
Also known as: Joan of Spain, Joanna, doña Juana, Dona Joana
Background, Family:
Joan of Austria's own heritage had many cousin and other close marriages.
- Mother: Isabella of Portugal (1503 - 1539). Her mother was Maria of Castile, daughter of Isabella I and Ferdinand II.
- Father: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles was Isabella of Portugal's first cousin. Charles' mother was Juana (Joanna) of Castile, another daughter of Isabella I and Ferdinand II.
- Isabella's brother, John III of Portugal, had married Catherine of Austria, sister of Charles V, in 1525.
- Siblings:
- Philip II of Spain, who married four times: Maria Manuela of Portugal, Mary I of England, Elizabeth of France, and Anna of Austria
- Maria, Holy Roman Empress, married to Maximilian II
Marriage, Children:
- husband: Infante John Manuel, Prince of Portugal (married 1552)
- one child:
- Sebastian of Portugal (1554 - 1578)
- John Manuel was a double first cousin of Joan of Austria. His father was John III of Portugal, brother of Joan's mother Isabella. His mother was Catherine of Austria, sister of Joan's father Charles V.
Joan of Austria Biography:
Joan was born in Madrid. Her father was King of Aragon and King of Castile, the first to rule the united Spain, as well as Holy Roman Emperor. Joan was therefore also an Infanta of Spain as well as an Archduchess of Austria, part of the powerful Habsburg family.
Joan was married in 1552 to John Manuel, Infante of Portugal and expected heir to that throne. He was her double first cousin. The Habsburg family tended to marry cousins; both their parents were also first cousins of each other. Joan and John Manuel shared the same grandmothers, who were sisters: Joanna I and Maria, daughters of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon. They also shared the same two grandfathers: Philip I of Castile and Manuel I of Portugal.
1554
1554 was a momentous year. John Manuel had always been sickly, surviving four brothers who died before him. On January 2, when Joan was pregnant with her first child, John Manuel died, of consumption or diabetes. He was only 16 years old.
On the 20th of that month, Joan gave birth to their son Sebastian. When his paternal grandfather John III died three years later, Sebastian became king. His paternal grandmother, Catherine of Austria, was regent for Sebastian from 1557 to 1562.
But Joan left later in 1554 for Spain, without her son. Her brother, Philip II, had married the English Queen Mary I, and Philip joined Mary in England. Joan never saw her son again, though they corresponded.
Convent of the Poor Clares
In 1557, Joan founded a convent for the Poor Clares, Our Lady of Consolation. She also supported the Jesuits. Joan died in 1578, only 38 years old, and was buried at the convent she had founded, which became known as the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales.
Sebastian's Fate
Sebastian never married, and died on August 4, 1578, in battle when attempting a crusade against Morocco. He was only 22 years old. Myths of his survival of the battle and immiment return led to him being called The Desired (o Desejado).
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