Juana Enríquez

Juana Enriquez de Córdoba (1425 - 13 February 1468) was a Castilian noblewoman who became Queen of the Kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon.

She was a daughter of Fadrique Enríquez, Count of Melba and Rueda and Mariana de Córdoba. Juana married John II of Navarre in April 1444, three years after death of his first wife, Queen Blanche I of Navarre. Although John ceased to be de jure uxoris monarch of Navarre on his wife's death, he never ceded power to his heir, Charles, Prince of Viana, and Juana was thus styled Queen of Navarre. Juana supported her husband in his decision not to cede power to his son and later to his daughter, who was de jure Blanche II of Navarre. Such breaking of the law of succession and the conflict between farmers and nobles led to the outbreak of Navarrese Civil War. Accused of having ordered the poisoning of Carlos, her stepson, Juana fled to Girona, seeking the protection of the bishop.

Juana became Queen of Aragon, Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily in 1458 on the death of her brother-in-law, King Alfonso V of Aragon.

Queen Juana's children were:

• Fernando II of Aragon who married the future Queen Isabella I of Castile and reigned with her as King of Castile
• Joanna who married Ferdinand I of Naples and thus became Queen of Naples.

Juana's greatest wish was to have her son married to Infanta Isabella, half-sister and heiress presumptive of King Henry IV of Castile. Ferdinand did marry Isabella and their marriage, which lasted for 35 years, produced a prince and four queens. However, Juana died on 13 February 1468 from breast cancer, a year before the marriage occurred. She was survived by her husband, who never remarried and reigned until his death in 1479.

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