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.

Royal arms of Castile

See also: List of Castilian royal consorts

Kings and Queens of Castile

Jiménez dynasty

Further information: Jiménez dynasty

Monarch	Image	Epithet	Reign began	Reign ended	Notes
Sancho II		the Strong	27 December 1065	6 October 1072	also King of Leon (January- October 1072)
Alfonso VI		the Brave the Valient	6 October 1072	30 June 1109	also King of León
Urraca		the Reckless	30 June 1109	8 March 1126	also Queen of León

House of Ivrea

 

The Royal Bend of Castile, adopted since Alfonso XI in 1332 as a personal standard of the monarchs

Further information: Anscarids

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

Monarch	Image	Epithet	Began	Ended	Notes
Alfonso VII		The Emperor	10 March 1126	21 August 1157	also King of León
Sancho III		The Desired	21 August 1157	31 August 1158
Alfonso VIII		The Noble	31 August 1158	6 October 1214	16 July 1212 won a decisive victory for the Reconquista at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Henry I			6 October 1214	6 June 1217
Berengaria		The Great	6 June 1217	30 August 1217	abdicated in favor of her son, Ferdinand III; died 1246
Ferdinand III		The Saint	30 August 1217	30 May 1252	also King of León from 1230; all later kings were King of León as well
Alfonso X		The Wise	30 May 1252	4 April 1284	elected King of the Romans in 1257, a title which he claimed until he renounced it in 1275
Sancho IV		The Brave	4 April 1284	25 April 1295
Ferdinand IV		The Summoned	25 April 1295	7 September 1312
Alfonso XI		The Just	7 September 1312	26 March 1350	Infected and killed by the Black Death during the Fifth Siege of Gibraltar (1349–1350)
Peter		The Cruel	26 March 1350	23 March 1369	Killed by Henry II of Castile

Succession crisis

Following the death of Peter, a succession crisis arose between Peter's illegitimate half-brother Henry of Trastámara and the Englishman John of Gaunt, a great great grandson of Ferdinand III of Castile, who claimed the title of King of Castile and Léon by virtue of his marriage to Constance, daughter of Peter. Henry took the throne by force, and faced several military actions by John of Gaunt, who had forged an alliance with John I of Portugal in an attempt to enforce his claim, however John of Gaunt was unsuccessful in his campaigns, and Henry established the House of Trastámara as the new ruling dynasty of Castile.

House of Trastámara

 

Royal arms of the Crown of Castile by the time of John II

Further information: House of Trastámara

Henry II was the illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. He was made count of Trastámara.

Monarch	Image	Epithet	Began	Ended	Notes
Henry II		The Bastard	23 March 1369	29 May 1379	also claimed the throne from 1366
John I			29 May 1379	9 October 1390
Henry III		The Infirm	9 October 1390	25 December 1406
John II			25 December 1406	21 July 1454
Henry IV		The Impotent	21 July 1454	11 December 1474
Isabella I		The Catholic	11 December 1474	26 November 1504	After ruling for a month on her own, Isabella was then joined by her husband, Ferdinand, who ruled Castile jure uxoris as Ferdinand V.
Ferdinand V		The Catholic	15 January 1475	26 November 1504	In Concordia de Segovia, Archbishop Carrillo and Cardinal Mendoza wrote the opinion on 15 January 1475 that Ferdinand was jure uxoris King of Castile. Succeeding to the throne of Aragon as Ferdinand II on 19 January 1479, Ferdinand then ruled all of non-Portuguese Iberia except Granada (added in 1492) and Navarre (added in 1515) effectively creating a de facto united realm of España.
Joanna		The mad	26 November 1504	12 April 1555	in name, with her husband Philip I (1504–1506). with regent Archbishop Cisneros (1506-1508). in confinement from 1509, with her father Ferdinand V (1508–1516). in confinement, with her son Charles I (1516–1555)

House of Habsburg

Further information: House of Habsburg

 

Coat of Arms of Philip I

Monarch	Image	Epithet	Began	Ended	Notes
Philip I		The Handsome	26 November 1504	25 September 1506	jure uxoris king ruling on behalf of his wife, Joanna I
Charles I		The Emperor	13 March 1516	16 January 1556	jointly with his mother Joanna I in confinement to 1555, abdicated in favor of his son 1556, died 21 September 1558.
Philip II		The Prudent	16 January 1556	13 September 1598	son of Charles I and Isabella of Portugal
Philip III		The Pious	13 September 1598	31 March 1621	son of Philip II and Anna of Austria
Philip IV		The Great	31 March 1621	17 September 1665	son of Philip III and Margaret of Austria
Charles II		The Bewitched	17 September 1665	1 November 1700	son of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria

House of Bourbon

Further information: House of Bourbon

 

Coat of Arms of Philip V

Monarch	Image	Epithet	Began	Ended	Notes
Philip V			1 November 1700	1715 (Nueva Planta decrees dissolve the Crown of Castile)	Duke of Anjou, half-grandnephew of Charles II (via Maria Theresa 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.

See also

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monarchs of Castile.

• List of Castilian consorts
• Kingdom of Castile
• List of Aragonese monarchs
• List of Leonese monarchs
• List of Navarrese monarchs
• List of Spanish monarchs

Further reading

• Barton, Simon. The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century León and Castile. Cambridge University Press, 1997. Appendix I: "The Counts of Twelfth Century León and Castile and Aragon, pp. 235–302.