Tordesillas, 1554. Seventy-four years old, Queen Joanna of Castile, called Joanna the Madwoman, still mourns her husband who died a half-century before. Joanna remembers with emotion the man she loved passionately, but who brought her ruin. She does not fear death, she says, because death would reunite her with him. Their story goes back almost 60 years. In 1496, Joanna, third child of the
Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and
Isabella I of Castile, is leaving Spain. She is headed to
Flanders to marry the Archduke of Austria, Philip, nicknamed the Handsome, a man she has never seen. The marriage has been arranged for political purposes. Joanna's siblings and her mother, Queen Isabella, bid her farewell. In Flanders, Joanna, young and inexperienced, is immediately smitten by her fiancé. He is equally pleased with his beautiful bride and orders the marriage to take place instantly so they can consummate it straightaway. Their union is initially a great success. The political alliance between their two countries has been consolidated and Joanna and Philip are very attracted to each other. Their passionate lovemaking soon produces results. Joanna has a daughter, followed shortly by a son. Her love for her husband becomes consuming, but the intensity of her passion turns Philip away. He is a restless man who finds entertainment in hunting and in other women. Several family deaths unexpectedly make Joanna heir of the Castilian and Aragonese crowns. However, she is not interested in government. Obsessed with her husband, Joanna surprises him in bed with a lover; in a fit of jealousy, Joanna cuts her rival's hair. While Joanna despairs at her husband's unfaithfulness, she receives further bad news. Her mother has died: Joanna, now Queen of Castile, must return to her kingdom. Her tantrums over her husband's infidelities have brought her the nickname Joanna the Mad. At the Castilian court in
Burgos, the Queen is welcomed by her subjects, but her marital life is still in turmoil. Philip becomes bewitched by Aixa, a
Moorish prostitute who uses her sexual attraction and black magic to secure Philip's favour. The King becomes noticeably indifferent toward his wife, which adds to her increasingly insane jealousy. Two political parties form at court, one Flemish, the other Castilian. The conspiring Flemish usurpers are headed by Señor de Veyre, Philip's right-hand man. Their objective is to have Joanna declared insane so Philip can seize her power. Joanna's supporters, the loyal Castilian royalists, are headed by the
Admiral of Castile. He and the Queen's confidant, Elvira, try to rescue Juana from her marital obsessions. However the Queen is fixated on retaining her husband's love. To avoid any temptations at court, she hires only ugly maids of honour, but Philip has brought Aixa to court under the name Beatriz de Bobadilla. Unaware of this, the Queen asks Beatriz for a spell to help her retain her husband's love. Equally misguided is Joanna's attempt to regain Philip's attention by simulating a love affair with Captain Álvaro de Estúñiga, a close friend from childhood. The Queen's lack of control permits her enemies to have her declared incompetent to rule. The King, encouraged by Señor de Veyre, resolves to take the kingdom for himself and remove Joanna from power. He finds an unlikely ally in Joanna's own father, king Ferdinand, who has remarried and has no further interest in either his daughter's fate or the kingdom of Castile. While her fate is decided at a court assembly, Joanna makes her case successfully, counting on her subjects' unquestionable support. However, her powerful speech coincides with Philip falling gravely ill. Although she cares devotedly for her husband, the doctors cannot save him. On his deathbed, Philip apologises to his wife. After his death Joanna, heavily pregnant, begins a long journey southward to bury her husband. She does not go far. Forced to stop to give birth to a
daughter, Joanna never reaches her destination. Her mental health plummets further, and she is deemed incapable of rule. Although Joanna retains her title, at the age of 28 she is locked as a madwoman in the castle of Tordesillas for the rest of her long life. Philip was buried in a nearby monastery, which Joanna was allowed to visit occasionally. == Cast ==