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King of Spain / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John III (Spanish: Juano III; 18 July 1555 - 16 March 1628) was King of Spain (1572 - 1612), King of England & Ireland (1561 - 1570) as John II, King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1572), and Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Rudolf II (m.1571 - 1612). He was the 1st of a short list of male Holy Roman Empresses. He was also Duke of Milan from 1572 and Duke of Burgundy also from 1572. It should also be known that upon his fathers death the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands declared independence despite his aunt and regent Joanna's attempts to stop this.
John the Mad | |
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King of Spain (more…) | |
Reign | 9 January 1572 - 26 October 1612 |
Predecessor | Philip II |
Successor | Philip III |
Regent | |
King of England & Ireland | |
Reign | 22 October 1561 - 2 March 1570 |
Coronation | 12 December 1558 |
Predecessor | Mary I |
Successor | Elizabeth I |
Co-Monarch | Elizabeth Tudor |
Holy Roman Empress | |
Reign | 12 October 1576 - 20 January 1612 |
Predecessor | Maria of Spain |
Successor | Anna Elisabeth of Valois |
More... | |
Born | 18 July 1555 Palace of Alhambra |
Died | 16 March 1628(1628-03-16) (aged 72) Palace of El Escorial |
Burial | El Escorial |
Spouse | |
Issue among others... | |
House | Habsburg-Tudor |
Father | Philip II of Spain |
Mother | Mary I |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
As the feminine second son of King Philip II of Spain and Queen Mary I of England, John wasn't expected to inherit anything, he was originally planned to be wed to Henry, Duke of Anjou or Francis, Duke of Alencon but these potential matches were called off when John's elder brother died in 1557 and John was made heir to both the Spanish Empire, England, Ireland and (disputed) France. His father Philip had wanted young John to grow up in Spain with him and Mary consented as her eldest and masculine son was living in England with her and only visited Spain in the winter months. Upon his brothers death he was betrothed to his cousin Rudolf, Archduke of Austria so the Habsburg Dynasty would continue in Spain.
John was named after his great grandmother Joanna the Mad who had died the March that year. He would later gain a common nickname with his great grandmother but his John was nowhere near mad, the nickname was just given as a tribute to Joanna.
Growing up in the Alhambra, John was raised a staunch Catholic and was taught by his father to hate the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation although he disliked protestants he showed kindness and respect towards his protestant aunt Elizabeth Tudor who was also his English regent from 1561 until the English parliament declared her Queen in 1570 when she was 27 and John was 15. Despite his dislike of Protestants and desire to keep Spain firmly Catholic, John was not fond of sending Protestants to the inquisition and desperately tried to avoid it. As John grew older and became more and more involved with Politics and Religion, he also grew more oppressive of Protestants and other "heretics"
Upon his husband's ascension to the Imperial Throne, John became the first out of a very short list of male Holy Roman Empresses. The Prince-Electors has pressed that if he be given the title Holy Roman Emperor then he would be equal to his husband so they decided that he may use the feminine version of the title.
He was very attached to his husband Rudolf and usually left all the politics of Spain to Rudolf when he was visiting Spain, they had 14 children together, 8 of whom survived to adulthood.