Philip I of Habsburg

The son of Emperor Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy, Philip I, known as “the  Beautiful” (1478-1506) was King of Castile, following his marriage to the daughter of the Catholic Kings Joanna, and duke of Burgundy through maternal inheritance. Born in Bruges, Flanders, Philip was the first Habsburg to preside on a throne thanks to the Iberian marriage policy orchestrated by the father, but also due to fortuitous circumstances: at the time of the wedding, in fact, his wife Joanna was the third in the line of succession to the throne, but she became the first following the death of her older brothers John and Isabella and the son of the latter. His marriage to Joana produced six children, including the future Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) and Ferdinand I (1503-1564). A competent sovereign beloved in the Netherlands, Philip ascended to the throne of Castile after the death of his mother-in-law Isabella I (1504), relegating Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Joanna to the sidelines. According to tradition, in the meantime Joanna became mad because of her obsessive love of her husband and his constant infidelity. The Philip’s reign, however, did not last long: he died at the age of 28, leaving a great inheritance to his eldest son Charles.