Isabel de Borbón and the Governance of the Spanish Monarchy

The eldest daughter of French monarch Henri IV and Marie dé Medici, Isabel de Borbón's marriage as consort to King Philip IV of Spain and the governance of the Spanish monarchy as queen, is explored. Count-Duke of Olivares' assessment of the queen's role as governor is especially noteworthy, given that many historians have insisted on the longtime enmity between the royal favorite and the young queen consort. There has been much scholarship on early modern queens, but there is still a great deal to learn about their exercise of power, particularly by queens consort, as historians have been more interested in those who inherited the crown and were therefore queens regnant. While Spanish women could inherit the throne in the absence of a male heir, there have been only two such queens in their own right during the early modern period Isabel I of Castile and her daughter Juana I of Castile.