List of Castilian monarchs


This is a list of kings regnant and queens regnant of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts.

Kings and Queens of Castile

Jiménez dynasty

MonarchImageEpithetReign beganReign endedNotes
Sancho IIthe Strong27 December 10656 October 1072Eldest son of Ferdinand I of León, who ruled León and Castile, and declared himself Emperor of Spain.
Ferdinand did not, however, pass both of his kingdoms on to Sancho but on his death gave instructions to divide the kingdoms among his sons, with Sancho receiving Castile, Alfonso receiving León, and Galicia elevated as a separate kingdom for Garcia. But it did not go well. In 1071, Garcia's kingdom of Galicia was attacked, conquered, and divided between his brothers, and in 1072, Alfonso's kingdom of León was attacked and conquered by Sancho. Sancho did not enjoy his conquests long, however, as in that same year, Sancho was assassinated. He died without children.
Alfonso VIthe Brave
the Valiant
6 October 107230 June 1109Son of Ferdinand I, brother of his predecessor Sancho II.
Ferdinand had ruled León and Castile, and on his death attempted to divide his kingdoms between his sons, with Sancho receiving Castile, Alfonso receiving León, and Garcia receiving a newly elevated kingdom of Galicia. Alfonso had first participated with Sancho in dividing Garcia's kingdom between them in 1071, only to lose his own to Sancho in 1072.
Happily for Alfonso, Sancho, who was still childless, was almost immediately assassinated, creating opportunities for his brothers to return and attempt to reclaim their father's kingdoms. As it happened, this only worked out for Alfonso, who captured and imprisoned Garcia, taking all three kingdoms under Alfonso's control. Alfonso also seems to have adopted the title Emperor of All Spain, sometimes used by his father.
Urracathe Reckless30 June 11098 March 1126Daughter of Alfonso VI, and sister to Sancho Alfónsez. Urraca came to the throne on the death of her father, as her brother had died in 1108.
As Alfonso was king of León as well as Castile, he passed both kingdoms to Urraca. An attempt to create a dynastic unity with neighboring Aragon by a marriage with its king, Alfonso I of Aragon, spectacularly failed. Not only was the marriage childless, Alfonso actively waged war on his wife until their divorce in 1114. Urraca did seem to sometimes use the title Empress of All Spain.

House of Ivrea / Burgundy

The following dynasts are descendants, in the male line, of Urraca's first husband, Raymond of Burgundy.

Civil War

In 1366, Peter's conduct led to an uprising by his illegitimate half-brother Henry with support from France and Aragon. After three years, Henry triumphed in 1369, and personally executed Peter.

House of Trastámara

Henry II, the founder of the Trastámara dynasty was installed after victory in the Castilian Civil War.
MonarchImageEpithetBeganEndedNotes
Henry IIThe Fratricidal23 March 136929 May 1379Illegitimate son of Alfonso XI and his mistress Eleanor de Guzmán. Also half-brother to Peter. Peter's unpopularity led to Henry's successful rebellion against him in the Castilian Civil War, beginning in 1366 and ending in 1369 with Henry on the throne.
John I 29 May 13799 October 1390Eldest son of Henry II. A dynastic challenge by John of Gaunt, son-in-law of Peter I, was resolved by marriage, with John I's son Henry taking John of Gaunt's daughter Catherine as his wife and queen.
Henry IIIThe Infirm9 October 139025 December 1406Eldest son of John I. He was age 11 on ascension, but after an unstable regency, took power while still only 13.
John II 25 December 140621 July 1454Eldest son of Henry III. He was a minor on ascension, and so placed under a regency. From 1406, his mother Catherine and uncle Ferdinand I of Aragon were co-regents until his death in 1416. From then his mother alone until her death in 1418.
Henry IVThe Impotent21 July 145411 December 1474Eldest son of John II. Henry was childless except for a single daughter, Joanna, who was widely regarded as illegitimate. Henry was forced in 1464 to declare his half-brother Alfonso as his heir. Alfonso's death, however, meant that his heir designate would be his half-sister, Isabella I.
Isabella IThe Catholic11 December 147426 November 1504Half-sister of Henry IV. Her succession was disputed by partisans of Henry's daughter Joanna, resulting in the War of the Castilian Succession, which lasted until 1479, with the resolution in Isabella's favor.
Isabella's husband Ferdinand, ruled with her as co-monarch of Castile, while on his ascension to the Crown of Aragon, she ruled as co-monarch of Aragon.
Ferdinand VThe Catholic15 January 147526 November 1504Co-monarch through his wife Isabella. In 1479, Ferdinand succeeded his father to the Crown of Aragon, uniting the realms by marriage, laying the foundation for the modern nation of Spain.
On Isabella's death, as she was succeeded by their daughter Joanna I and her husband Philip I. Ferdinand, no longer king, then left the Castile and returned to Aragon.
But after her husband Philip's death in 1506, Joanna proved unable to rule, and Ferdinand was recalled, after which he governed Castile as her regent until his death in 1516.
Joanna IThe mad26 November 150412 April 1555In name, with her husband Philip I. From 1506 to 1516, she was under two regencies: Archbishop Cisneros and her father Ferdinand V. In 1516, her son Charles I, had himself crowned co-monarch. From 1508 onwards she was kept confined, with no public life, much less power, first by her father, then her son.

House of Habsburg

MonarchImageEpithetBeganEndedNotes
Philip IThe Handsome26 November 150425 September 1506jure uxoris king ruling on behalf of his wife, Joanna I. As the Eldest son of Mary of Burgundy, Philip also inherited the titles of Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy on his mother's death in 1482.
Charles IThe Emperor13 March 151616 January 1556Son of Philip I and Joanna I. In 1516 he was made co-monarch with his mother, becoming sole monarch of Castile on her death in 1555.
Charles also inherited the titles Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy on his father's death in 1506, King of Aragon on the death of his maternal grandfather Ferdinand II in 1516, and Archduke of Austria on the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I in 1519. In 1519, he was also elected to the non-hereditary position of Holy Roman Emperor.
Governing such a vast and disparate set of realms proved exceedingly difficult. In Castile, his rule was challenged in 1520-1522 by the broadly-based Revolt of the Comuneros, and in neighboring Aragon in 1519-23 by the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. Both were overcome by a combination of force and compromise.
After a long reign Charles abdicated in 1556, dividing his lands between his son Philip II and his younger brother Ferdinand, who inherited the rest.
Charles died in 1564.
Philip II100pxThe Prudent16 January 155613 September 1598Son of Charles I. Through his father's abdication, he inherited not only the lands of the Crown of Castile but also those from the Crown of Aragon,, the Duchy of Milan, as well as the titles of Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy.
His rule in the Netherlands was challenged by a powerful rebellion, leading to the establishment of the Dutch Republic in 1579 and the Eighty Years' War, which expanded to include multiple other wars, ending only with Spanish recognition of Dutch independence in 1648.
In 1580, during a succession crisis in the Kingdom of Portugal when there was no obvious heir to the throne, Philip invaded and was made king that same year. Through his marriage to Mary I of England in 1554, Philip was nominal King of England until her death, but he never exercised any power there.
Philip III100pxThe Pious13 September 159831 March 1621Son of Philip II. Philip III became heir to the crown after the death of his older brother, Carlos, who died insane and in captivity in 1568.
Philip IV100pxThe Great31 March 162117 September 1665Eldest son of Philip III.
A revolt against Philip in Portugal led to Portugal's regaining its independence in the Portuguese Restoration War, from 1640-1668.
Charles II100pxThe Bewitched17 September 16651 November 1700Eldest surviving son of Philip IV. His reign was marked by his life-long ill-health and he died childless, leading to the War of the Spanish Succession, from 1701 to 1714.

House of Bourbon

MonarchImageEpithetBeganEndedNotes
Philip V1 November 17001715 Named as successor by Charles II. His ascension triggered the War of the Spanish Succession, which was resolved by his giving up his territories in the Low Countries and Italy. In 1715, the Nueva Planta decrees dissolved the Crown of Castile.

The Crown of Castile existed in its own right within the Spanish crown and with its own law until the arrival of the Bourbon dynasty after the War of Spanish Succession.