I wrote/edited the major portions of the Wikipedia page on the descendants of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon which I thought this board would find of interest (I did not do the portion concerning the children and grandchildren of the couple which I find incomplete). Here's the entry:
On October 19, 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile. They were the most powerful monarchs in all of Europe and their marriage produced many children, five of whom survived to adulthood. They arranged strategic political marriages for all of these children to powerful monarchs and well-connected women. In time, many of their grandchildren became emperors and kings of various countries, and their first and second generation of descendants caused the genealogical lines of Isabella I and Ferdinand II to spread throughout Europe.
The most famous living descendants of Isabella I and Ferdinand II are probably the current European monarchs. Obviously, the Kings of Spain are descended from their union, with their current major dynastic heir being King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who reigns in their native territory. However, it is also the case that
all the other monarchs currently reigning in Europe -- King Albert II of Belgium, Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Queen Elizabeth II of the U.K., Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Harald V of Norway, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands -- descend from Isabella I and Ferdinand II. This is also true of the Sovereign Princes of Europe: Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Albert II of Belgium and Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg are, given the frequent intermarriage between Catholic dynasties, both descended from the medieval monarchs through multiple lines. The non-Catholic dynasties also share several lines of descent -- the following are but a few examples. Elizabeth II of the U.K. descends from the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family and that line descends from Isabella I and Ferdinand II beginning with the 1636 marriage of Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg (1619-1680) to Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1601-1675) (Elisabeth Sophie being a descendant through Isabella and Ferdinand's daughter Joanna of Castile). Margrethe II of Denmark, Harald V of Norway, and Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden also trace their mutual descent from Isabella I and Ferdinand II through that same line as Elizabeth II of the U.K. In addition, Margrethe II, Harald V, and Carl XVI Gustaf also trace their descent from the Iberian couple through Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen-consort to King Oscar I of Sweden. Josephine, like Queen Beatrix discussed in the following sentence, is descended from the Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt and that family is also descended from the Iberian couple. Beatrix of the Netherlands is descended from Isabella I and Ferdinand II through her great-great-great grandmother Wilhelmine of Prussia, wife of the first king of the Netherlands, William I. Queen Wilhelmine descends from the Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Landgraves are descendants by virtue of the aforementioned 1636 marriage of Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (Elisabeth Sophie and Ernest I's daughter, Elisabeth Dorothea, married Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt).
The Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt connection also provides the descent of Albert II, Prince of Monaco from Isabella I and Ferdinand II. Prince Albert's great-great-great grandmother, Princess Marie of Baden, was in turn the granddaughter of Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein is descended from Isabella I and Ferdinand II through his grandmother, Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria; Elisabeth Amalie descends from the Iberian couple via the Spanish and Hesse-Darmstadt houses, as well as through the formerly-reigning Catholic imperial or royal houses of Austria-Hungary, Portugal, and Bavaria (these formerly-reigning houses all descend from Isabella I and Ferdinand II).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendant ... _of_Aragon*********************************************
Some examples:
Elizabeth II of the UK is descended from the Iberian couple many times over:
1. Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516) married in 1469 Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504) and they were parents of:
2. Juana of Castile (1479-1555) who married in 1496 Philip von Hapsburg, Duke of Burgundy (1478-1506) and they were the parents of:
3. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, (1503-1564) who married in 1521 Anne of Bohemia (1504-1547) and they were parents of:
4. Maria of Austria (1531-1581) who married in 1546 William V of Julich-Cleves-Berg (1516-1592) and they were the parents of:
5. Anna of Julich (1552-1632) who married in 1574 Philip Louis of Neuberg Zweibrucken (1547-1614) and they were parents of:
6. Anna Maria of Neuberg (1575-1643) who married in 1591 Frederick William I of Saxe-Weimar-Altenburg (1562-1602) and they were parents of:
7. John Philip of Saxe-Altenburg (1597-1639) who married in 1618 Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel (1593-1650) and they were the parents of:
8. Elizabeth Sophia of Saxe-Altenburg (1619-1680) who married in 1636 Ernest, Duke of Gotha-Altenburg-Coburg (1601-1675) and they were parents of:
(a) Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha
(b) John Ernest of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
(c) Bernard of Saxe-Meiningen
(d) Ernest of Saxe-Hildburghausen
(e) Elizabeth Dorothea who married Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt
All five [8(a) through 8(e)] are ancestors of Elizabeth II. For instance, John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld [8(b)], had a son Francis Josias, who in turn became Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Francis Josias had a son, Ernest Frederick who later became the next Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and he in turn had a son Francis who also held the title of Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Francis had a daughter, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and they had a daughter, Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
Another example: Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha [8(a)] had a daughter, Dorothea Marie. who married Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Ernst Ludwig was the son of Bernard of Saxe-Meiningen [8(c)]. Ernst Ludwig had a daughter, Luise Dorothea, who married Frederick III Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg. They had a son, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Ernst II had a daughter, Louise Dorothea, who married as her first husband Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Ernst I and Louise had a son, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, who married Queen Victoria.
Because Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Harald V of Norway, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden all descend from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their descent from the Iberian couple follows the same path.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands also descends from the 1636 marriage of Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg to Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha. Referencing the chart above, Elizabeth Dorothea married Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt [8(e)]. They had a son, Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Ernest Louis had a son, Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Louis VIII had a son, Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Louis IX had a daughter, Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. Frederica married William II of Prussia and they had daughter, Wilhemine, who married William I, first King of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix descends from that line.
