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Juana was imprisoned for nearly 50 years, her right to regal power usurped in manoeuvrings by her mother Isabella I, father Ferdinand II, husband Philip I ‘the Handsome’ and son Charles I (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).
Her parents established the Spanish Inquisition, which coloured her childhood: at her mother's behest she was tortured for religious rebellion. She married Philip in 1496. He was unfaithful, cruel, intimidated and impoverished her, squandering her funds; her response was marked by jealousy, rage and violent behaviours: throwing herself against the wall in despair; and hacking off a rival's hair and stabbing her in the face.
Queen of Castile from 1504, around February 1505 the Cortes (parliament) was informed of Juana's unspecified ‘infirmity’, presumably by Ferdinand, and legitimised his right...