Mad Kings & Queens, Week III [Monday, Period 4]
"Isabel of Portugal was a beautiful young princess who fell in love with a king, but her marriage was tainted by his weak nature, and her possessive behavior, obsessions, paranoia, and her chronic depression," Ghanima said. "She ended her days alone, hidden away in a bleak tower."
"Isabel is another prime example of inherited instability. Her father, Prince Joao, married his illegitimate brother's daughter, Isabella of Braganza. While inbreeding is often used with animals to cement desirable characteristics, breeding too close can create problems when undesirable characteristics are carried by both parents."
"In 1447, King Juan II of Castile, a widower in his early forties, was keen to find himself and eligible young bride. Alvaro de Luna, the King's closest confidant since childhood, steered him in the direction of the captivating teenage beauty Isabel. Juan was immediately entranced, as Isabel was, by all accounts, a very beautiful and intelligent woman, and he wasted no time in proposing marriage."
"Isabel was soon to discover the extent of her husband's reliance upon Alvaro. He advised when the royal couple should consummate the marriage, how frequently, and upon which occasions they should bed each other," Ghanima said smoothly. Any inappropriate giggling would be met with a glare. ""Isabel was not pleased, for obvious reasons. De Luna was used to running the King and kingdom, and no doubt thought that by choosing a young queen, he could continue to do so."
"He thought wrong."
"Isabel became jealous and possessive, her insecurities stoked by her husband's devotion to another man. De Luna's interference in their sex life drove her into alternating bouts of melancholia and rage, and her wild mood swings began to become more and more prominent."
"In April of 1451, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter that they named Isabel. This experience only aggravated Isabel's depressive tendencies. She began to demonstrate her inclination towards reclusive isolation, which would be a pattern for the rest of her life. Isabel secreted herself away in her apartments, spending her days alone, motionless, and mute, except when in the presence of her husband. Her fears and paranoia about De Luna grew more and more fanatical, and became the focus of frenzied and furious rages."
"Finally, worn down by his wife's bouts of insanity, Juan gave in and approved a plot to oust Alvaro from the court. He was arrested and executed in 1453."
"King Juan never recovered from Alvaro's death. Although Isabel gave birth to a son, Alfonso, later that year, Juan weakened and died in 1454, supposedly of a broken heart. Isabel, only twenty-six, was now a widow."
"Henry, Juan's son by his first wife, was called to assume the crown. After Henry ascended the throne, he sent his stepmother, who was three years younger than himself, and his two little half-siblings to the Castle of Arévalo, a grim and isolated tower, the previous royal grandeur of their lives nothing more than a memory. She remained obsessively true to her late husband, refusing even to be alone in male company, even with her son."
"Her children were soon removed from her care, as Henry deemed them to be at-risk with her deteriorating mental health." Ghanima paused, looking at the students. "I would like to note that Henry, unlike many of his contemporaries did not try to remove his half-siblings because of any threat they might have posed. In fact, many accounts say he was quite fond of them, and was heartbroken when Alfonso died of plague. For every story of a mad king, there is a good one, and you would all do well to remember that."
"Isabel-the-elder, however, was by this time considered quite mad. Now deprived of all company, her depression intensified. She became increasingly disturbed, troubled by disembodied voices. Her haunting paranoia infected all aspects of her life, and eventually she would receive visits from her children only if her face was hidden. This caused the children to become even more estranged, and they eventually stopped visiting completely."
"When her daughter eventually came to visit her on her deathbed, Isabel was incapable of recognizing her. She had spent the last forty-two years of her life completely alone in the tower."
[OOC: You know the rules, wait for the OCD is up, so it's all yours.]
"Isabel is another prime example of inherited instability. Her father, Prince Joao, married his illegitimate brother's daughter, Isabella of Braganza. While inbreeding is often used with animals to cement desirable characteristics, breeding too close can create problems when undesirable characteristics are carried by both parents."
"In 1447, King Juan II of Castile, a widower in his early forties, was keen to find himself and eligible young bride. Alvaro de Luna, the King's closest confidant since childhood, steered him in the direction of the captivating teenage beauty Isabel. Juan was immediately entranced, as Isabel was, by all accounts, a very beautiful and intelligent woman, and he wasted no time in proposing marriage."
"Isabel was soon to discover the extent of her husband's reliance upon Alvaro. He advised when the royal couple should consummate the marriage, how frequently, and upon which occasions they should bed each other," Ghanima said smoothly. Any inappropriate giggling would be met with a glare. ""Isabel was not pleased, for obvious reasons. De Luna was used to running the King and kingdom, and no doubt thought that by choosing a young queen, he could continue to do so."
"He thought wrong."
"Isabel became jealous and possessive, her insecurities stoked by her husband's devotion to another man. De Luna's interference in their sex life drove her into alternating bouts of melancholia and rage, and her wild mood swings began to become more and more prominent."
"In April of 1451, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter that they named Isabel. This experience only aggravated Isabel's depressive tendencies. She began to demonstrate her inclination towards reclusive isolation, which would be a pattern for the rest of her life. Isabel secreted herself away in her apartments, spending her days alone, motionless, and mute, except when in the presence of her husband. Her fears and paranoia about De Luna grew more and more fanatical, and became the focus of frenzied and furious rages."
"Finally, worn down by his wife's bouts of insanity, Juan gave in and approved a plot to oust Alvaro from the court. He was arrested and executed in 1453."
"King Juan never recovered from Alvaro's death. Although Isabel gave birth to a son, Alfonso, later that year, Juan weakened and died in 1454, supposedly of a broken heart. Isabel, only twenty-six, was now a widow."
"Henry, Juan's son by his first wife, was called to assume the crown. After Henry ascended the throne, he sent his stepmother, who was three years younger than himself, and his two little half-siblings to the Castle of Arévalo, a grim and isolated tower, the previous royal grandeur of their lives nothing more than a memory. She remained obsessively true to her late husband, refusing even to be alone in male company, even with her son."
"Her children were soon removed from her care, as Henry deemed them to be at-risk with her deteriorating mental health." Ghanima paused, looking at the students. "I would like to note that Henry, unlike many of his contemporaries did not try to remove his half-siblings because of any threat they might have posed. In fact, many accounts say he was quite fond of them, and was heartbroken when Alfonso died of plague. For every story of a mad king, there is a good one, and you would all do well to remember that."
"Isabel-the-elder, however, was by this time considered quite mad. Now deprived of all company, her depression intensified. She became increasingly disturbed, troubled by disembodied voices. Her haunting paranoia infected all aspects of her life, and eventually she would receive visits from her children only if her face was hidden. This caused the children to become even more estranged, and they eventually stopped visiting completely."
"When her daughter eventually came to visit her on her deathbed, Isabel was incapable of recognizing her. She had spent the last forty-two years of her life completely alone in the tower."
[OOC: You know the rules, wait for the OCD is up, so it's all yours.]