Henry IV of Castile

Timeline

1. 1451–1453Segovia · Iberian PeninsulaIn 1451 Henry, as Prince of Asturias, continued building his political base around Segovia. His father John II's favorite Álvaro de Luna dominated the government, and tension between father and son built up over years. In 1453 Henry joined with Castilian nobles to pressure his father, ultimately leading to Álvaro de Luna's arrest and execution, clearing political obstacles for his smooth accession the following year.
2. 1454–1456Valladolid · Iberian PeninsulaHis father John II died in July 1454, and Henry IV declared his accession at Valladolid. He promptly repudiated his first marriage to Blanche of Navarre (declared void on grounds of infertility) and in 1455 married Princess Joanna of Portugal, hoping for a new legitimate heir. Early in his reign Henry launched raiding campaigns against Granada to display royal power but achieved no decisive results. He strongly promoted his confidant minister Beltrán de la Cueva, a move later fiercely criticized by the nobility.
3. 1457–1460Toledo · Iberian PeninsulaBetween 1457 and 1458 Henry IV personally campaigned several times on the Granada frontier, achieving only small-scale gains and never taking the city of Granada. After the queen gave birth to their daughter Joanna (the 'Infanta') in 1462, the nobility fiercely disputed her right of succession, some suspecting court favorite Beltrán de la Cueva was her true father and mocking her as 'La Beltraneja'. Around 1460 an anti-Henry noble coalition began gathering in Toledo and elsewhere, deeply planting the seeds of internal division in the kingdom.