A Better Life for Isabella of Aragon(1470 - 1523).
Isabella was the firstborn son of the Catholic kings Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. In 1490 she married Afonso, the heir to the Portuguese crown. The prince and princess fell in love with each other at first sight and the marriage should have been a happy one, but a year after the wedding Afonso fell off his horse and died.Isabella was heartbroken and mourned her spouse around the clock. She convinced herself that God was punishing her and even wanted to go to a convent to pray for the salvation of her husband's soul, as well as to pray for her sins, but the parents of the Infanta refused her request.In 1497, her brother Juan's wedding took place, and a few months after that Isabella also remarried.Her husband became King Manuel I of Portugal. The Infanta did not want to remarry, but Ferdinand and Isabella insisted on it. The girl did not love her second husband, and Manuel on the contrary, very much loved Isabella and for several years asked for her hand, but she constantly refused him. And when finally, they joined the bonds of marriage king was very happy and hoped that Isabella can still someday love him. A month after the wedding Isabella learned of the death of her brother and now she was heir to the Castilian crown. For the sake of his wife, the king appointed a regent in Portugal and moved with her to Castile. Manuel surrounded his wife with love and attention. After a while, Isabella stopped resisting and accepted his advances.In 1504 Isabella's mother died and she became Queen Isabella II of Castile. Manuel did not take the crown and the power of his wife, but on the contrary helped and gave her wise advice. The king began to live on two countries, after his wife ascended the throne. Isabella, unlike her mother, did not become a powerful queen, but in her reign in the kingdom was calm. After many years, the queen still managed to love Manuel. And after the king's death in 1521, she noticed that she missed him. Isabella died in 1523. In the last years of her life, she became very religious and practiced self-defense, as well as keeping fasts and refusing to eat. Because of this, she became sick often and died of cold complications. After the queen's death, the throne passed to her eldest son Miguel. Isabella and Manuel had five children.
