Isabel is a Spanish historical fiction television series, directed by Jordi Frades and produced by Diagonal TV for Televisión Española. The series is based upon the reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile. It was broadcast on La 1 of Televisión Española from 2012 to 2014.
Synopsis This series is a biography about Isabel, Queen of Castile. The first season chronicles the period between 1461 and 1474: from the end of her childhood to her marriage with Fernando of Aragon and her difficult arrival to the Crown.
The second season chronicles the period between 1474 and 1492: from her crowning to the conquest of Granada and the beginning of the journey of Christopher Columbus.
The third season covers the marriages of Juana with Philip and Juan with Margarita, the subsequent deaths of Isabella's children Juan and Isabel as well as the latter's son Miguel along with the marriages of Maria and Catalina.
Cast
Episodes and ratings
Season 1 (2012)
Season 2 (2013)
Season 3 (2014)
Episode Summaries History before the series begins. Isabella is born on April 22, 1451, in a modest palace in the small town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres, on the windswept Castilian plain. Her mother, Isabel of Portugal (1428-1496) is the second wife of King Juan II of Spain. The palace where she was born was later incorporated into a convent (still functioning); the room where she was born can still be seen on the tour of the palace given by the nuns. Isabella’s father, Juan II, dies on July 22, 1454, shortly after Isabella’s brother Alfonso (1453-1468) is born. The throne passes to Isabella’s half-brother, Enrique IV (1425-1474). Mother and two children are then sent to a crumbling palace in the town of Arévalo, not far from Madrigal, on a very limited pension, where Isabella lived from 1454 to 1462. The castle is still there and can be visited, though much changed from Isabella’s time. Little is known of these years, because nobody thought she would be important, certainly not a great ruler and perhaps the greatest woman ruler in history. Though poor, she was able to learn to ride horses (which many aristocratic women did not), and the fields around the castle were perfectly suited for it. Among her tutors, sent from Ávila, was Gonzalo Chacón (1429-1507), who became her lifelong advisor. She would have grown up speaking Portuguese (her mother was Portuguese) and Spanish. At this time she also befriended Beatriz de Bobadilla (1440-1511), daughter of the governor of Arévalo castle and her lifelong friend. Beatriz, a dark-haired fiery woman, was in some ways the opposite of, or perhaps a complement to Isabella, who had a strawberry blonde complexion, probably from her English grandmother, Catherine of Lancaster (1373-1418). Here the series picks up.
Comment on the Blu-Ray DVDs. For the Blu-Ray version (recommended), the box is labeled Region B, which is Europe. However, it appears that it was actually produced region-free, as it plays on US players (Region A). I purchased my set in Spain, but it can be purchased in the US through Amazon. There are English subtitled versions of some of the episodes on the Internet, but of low resolution and with lots of ads.
Series 1 (1461-1474)
Episode 1. “Isabel the Queen” (1461-1464). Flash forward to coronation on Sunday, December 13, 1474. Back to about 1461 when a child at Arévalo. Then call to court about 1462, up to celebration of her majority estimated at 1464. Includes beginning of attempted coup in 1464 against King Henry by Pacheco and Archbishop of Toledo Alfonso Carillo (1410-1482). Also includes birth of Juana la Beltraneja (1462-1530). Isabella is godmother to Juana (March 1464).
Episode 2. “Wedding Bells” (1464-1465). Revolt against King Henry by Juan Pacheco, Marques de Villena (1419-1474), Archbishop of Toledo Alfonso Carillo (1410-1482), and others. Alfonso to be betrothed to little Juana and to be heir to throne (1464), and Isabella to be given to king of Portugal (agreement between Juana wife of Henry and her brother, king of Portugal), which she publicly refuses (April, 1464). Gonzalo of Córdoba (1453-1515) becomes bodyguard of Alfonso (later Gonzalo becomes one of the greatest generals in history). Henry’s friend and possibly lover Beltrán de la Cueva (1443-1492) is sent away as part of negotiations with rebels, but later called back. Mock dethroning of Henry in Avila (June 6, 1465). Alfonso (age 12 or 13) is hoodwinked by the rebels who pretend that he is the real king. Pacheco hatches plot to kidnap Henry and kill Beltrán, but plot is discovered and foiled. Isabella settled in her own household in Segovia (1465).
Episode 3. “Negotiation” (1466) The civil war and the effort to marry Isabella to Don Pedro Girón Pacheco (1423-1466), brother of Juan Pacheco. Beatriz’ father wants her to marry Andrés Cabrera (1430-1511), the keeper of the treasury and a high official to Enrique, later Isabella’s friend and counselor. The civil war faction is headed by Pacheco and Carillo. To resolve the civil war, Enrique’s councilors hatch a scheme to have Isabella (age 15) married to Don Girón, arguably the worst person in Spain at the time, completely immoral and corrupt, though a good fighter (March, 1466). Isabella is told and has no way out. Girón is on his way to marry her. She fasts and prays a day and a night, saying “Let him die, or let me die.” Famously, Beatriz swears to kill him herself. On his journey, there was a sign: a huge flock of storks flies overhead and blots out the sun (storks don’t fly in flocks), taken as a bad omen. He dies shortly thereafter on the way (this is in the historical record). In the movie (not confirmed in the historical record), Girón is done in by the brother of a woman that he raped and who died. This sets the stage for resumption of the civil war. Alfonso wants to fight in the war but has no skills.
Episode 4. “Tragedy in the Court” (1467-1468). Battle of Olmeda and death of Alfonso. Alfonso fails to fight at the important [Second] Battle of Olmeda (20 August 1467). The battle is a draw, or at least Enrique will not declare victory. The civil war continues. Alfonso is still treated as king by the rebels, and shows some noble character despite his failure on the battlefield. Enrique meanwhile insists on negotiation, and part of the deal forces him to go back on his word to his wife that they and little Juana will be together. She is sent off to the estate of Archbishop Fonseca of Seville, Juana is kept separately. Isabella and Alfonso are back with their mother for a short while. Later another battle is brewing for Toledo, and Alfonso is there with Isabella. He eats trout for dinner and by the next morning is extremely ill, dying soon thereafter (July, 1468). The movie intimates that Pacheco poisoned him, though this is not in the historical record.
Episode 5. “The Pact of Guisando” (1468). Events leading to the Pact of Toros de Guisando. Juana becomes pregnant by her paramour in Fonseca’s castle, who, when discovered, represents an insoluble problem for Henry as everyone knew that he could not be the father. This leads to him renouncing little Juana as heir, and agreeing to proclaim Isabella as the real heir. Isabella agrees with Enrique that there has been too much bloodshed in the civil wars. They meet at Toros de Guisando on September 19, 1468 to publicly proclaim the agreement (the place is still there with the four toros and can be visited). Isabella agrees to honor Enrique and not try to assume the throne as long as he is alive. The papal legate tells everyone that any prior declarations are nullified. The idea is for Castille to have peace.
Episode 6 “The King’s Figure”. (1468). Civil war continues. Enrique refuses to abide by treaties and pacts that he has signed, always under the influence of the last person to talk to him. Signs pact with Isabella declaring her Princess of Asturias (meaning next in line for throne, 1468), after being told that she knows about Juana’s illegitimate child and fact that bull allowing Enrique to marry Juana is invalid. Attempts made to marry Isabella to King of Portugal again, and to brother of King of France. Pacheco tries to negotiate his daughter’s marriage to Ferdinand, who makes his first appearance (together with mistress Aldonza Roig de Iborra (1454-1513), with whom he had a boy, Alonso de Aragon, (1469-1520)). Enrique does not bring up the agreement with Isabella to the Cortes, which accepts his recommendation that she marry the King of Portugal, betraying her again. Pacheco tricks Chacon and Carreras into coming to Segovia, throws them into prison, threatens Isabella with lifetime incarceration unless she signs onto marriage contract. Isabella refuses, rescued by Gonzalo de Córdoba and Carillo, whose forces kill most of Pacheco’s raiding party.
Episode 7. “The Queen in Position”. (1469). Pacheco has promised his daughter that she will marry Fernando. Enrique wants Isabella to marry the Duque de Guyenne, brother of the king of France. Carillo and Chacon convince her that the only choice she has is the Duque or Ferdinand, prince of Aragon. Cardenas is dispatched by Isabella to meet both Fernando and the Duque and tell her about them. Since the Duque is crippled and bent over, he is able to convince Isabella to marry Ferdinand. She has to promise Enrique that she’ll marry the Duque, though she knows it is a lie. She is kept under watch in Ocoña, but the marriage preparations with Ferdinand continue, for the wedding to be held in Valladolid. The legate from France comes and realizes that she has no intention of marrying the Duque. Carillo tells Isabella that there is a Bull that authorizes Fernando to marry in the family (Isabella and Fernando are second cousins, but it was never signed by the Pope, though he doesn’t tell her that. After some stormy negotiations, all is set, but Fernando has to travel in secret to Valladolid for the wedding. Isabella is rescued by Gonzalo and taken off to Valladolid, much to the chagrin of Pacheco, who now realizes that he has been betrayed and that his daughter won’t be marrying Fernando.
Episode 8. “New War”. (1469). Events leading to the first in-person meeting of Isabella and Ferdinand. Enrique, under the influence of Pacheco, wants to prevent the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, and tries various means to thwart it, including arresting her. The borders of Castile are blocked so that Ferdinand could be captured if he tried to enter. He accepts that challenge and sets out meet up with her in Valladolid. On October 12, Isabella writes Enrique a letter informing him of her intention to marry Ferdinand, reminding him of all the agreements that had been made, going back to Guisando. Enrique consoles himself with the conviction that the marriage cannot take place because there is no papal Bull exempting the second cousins from the prohibition to marry. The Bull exists but was never signed, and the pope at the time (Paul II) has been essentially bribed by Enrique with money to fight against the Moslems so he refuses to sign it, in the video. Pacheco makes a last-ditch effort to change sides, but is rebuffed by Archbishop Carillo, his uncle.