The union between Charles and his cousin Isabella had been proposed by the parliaments of both Castile and Aragon. Charles agreed to marry the Infanta Isabella purely out of political reasons.[1] Early in 1526, the infanta travelled to Seville, where the wedding took place on 10 March in the palace of Alcázar of Seville.[2][3] Isabella brought with her a huge dowry that greatly assisted Spanish finances. Although it began as a political union, the marriage proved to be a love-match. Records recorder that during their honeymoon "when [Charles and Isabella] are together, although there are many people around, they do not notice anyone else; they talk and laugh, and nothing else distracts them."
Isabella also proved to be a competent politician. She served as regent of Spain during her husband's absences between 1529–1532 and 1535–1539. She was noted for her intelligence and beauty.
Isabella died in May 1539, when her sixth pregnancy ended in a stillbirth.[4] The emperor was away at the time, and her premature death affected him deeply. He never remarried, and he dressed in black for the rest of his life. In 1547, the nobleman Francis Borgia conveyed her corpse to her burial-place in Granada. It is said that when he saw the effect of death on the beautiful empress, he decided to "never again serve a mortal master" and later retired to a monastery.
In 1580, more than 40 years after her death, her son Philip succeeded the Portuguese throne. It was he who claimed the successory rights to the throne of Portugal that temporarily united the Iberian peninsula under one crown in what would later b