Isabella of Portugal

Isabel de Avis y Trastámara, known as Isabella of Portugal, was born in Lisbon on October 24, 1503, and is the second daughter of King Manuel I the Fortunate and his second wife María de Aragón y Castilla. In the prosperity of the Portuguese court, Isabella is educated under the tutelage of her mother, with severity and sobriety, who instills in her daughter a deep religious piety, daily prayer and meditation.

Due to her beauty, Isabella is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world and, due to her moral qualities, the best candidate for the imperial throne. On March 10, 1526, she married Charles I in Seville and, despite the fact that the marriage was for political reasons, they ended up being a happy couple, with five children; being the future Philip II of Spain, the oldest, the only male to survive childhood.

When the young Francisco de Borja appears at court in 1528, an exceptional affection develops between them. Charles V has him as a trusted person and the empress captivates the gentleman that Borja has inside.

Charles V appointed him stableman of the empress and Leonor, his wife, became the chief waitress.

On April 20, 1939, in Toledo, and in the absence of Charles, Isabella suffers an abortion. After five days the situation becomes seriously complicated, the empress begins to tremble and sweat with an attack of strong fevers. On May 1, Isabella passes away at the age of thirty-eight. Charles receives the news returning from Madrid. Dejected, he does not want to see Isabella dead and locks himself in the Sisla monastery.

His son Philip and Borja will be in charge of moving the body to the royal pantheon of Granada. They are 16 days of travel with intense heat that end up rotting the body of the deceased. Francisco is in charge of certifying that the corrupted body of the coffin corresponds to that of the empress and the Dantesque vision of her shocks him deeply. Ten years of cordial adoration, loyal and affectionate trust have been cut short.