The current work pretends to address the creation and projection of the image that Juana of Austria (1535-1573), youngest sister of Philipp the Second, had as Portugal’s princess, before and after her brief stay in the Portugal kingdom (1552-1554).

The aim is to approach this subject from an interdisciplinary perspective that consider the cultural history of politic, the history of Court, the history of women and the history of art. Research that, at the same time, will be nourished by the use of primary sources - located in different national and international archives and libraries - as well as secondary sources. On the other hand, the curse of this thesis will be supported by the Virtuosa Pars researching group, composted by specialists like Elisa García Prieto and her works about the feminine’ s Courts of the second half of the sixth century and beginning of the seventeenth century; or my thesis director, Fernando J. Bouza, who stands out for his research on Portugal “of the three Felipes” (1580-1640) and, in general, on the Iberian world.

In a broad sense, this thesis come up from the initiative to alleviate the historiographical abandoned that exists around the stay of Juana of Austria in Portugal as a result of her marriage with the heir of the Portugal’s throne: the prince Juan Manuel. Term that, although it has not attracted the interest of the historiography, allowed to the “eternal” princess of Portugal built power networks that she will use on her return to Castile to become ruler of the Hispanic kingdom (1554-1559). 

On the basis of the above, the subject of this study is of particular interest as it allows us to better understand the figure of Juana of Austria as a historical subject and to introduce her into a broader framework of reasoning, where the princess serves as an essential vector from which to explain the political, social and cultural relations between Portugal and the Hispanic Monarchy in the mid-sixteenth century. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that these relations had already been closely forged as a result of the continuous marriages between the two kingdoms since the fifteenth century. 

These circumstances will also allow us to fulfil the following objective, which is to study the relations between the two kingdoms through the continuous transfer of servants that allowed the formation of Portuguese power groups in Castile and vice versa. Issue that, together with the previously mentioned objectives, was addressed in my Master’ s thesis, supervised by my thesis’ director, Fernando J. Bouza.

In short, through the study of Juana's Portuguese influence from her childhood - especially from the female environment and the ladies of the Empress Isabella, her mother; and Princess Maria Manuela, Philip II's first wife - until her marriage to prince Juan Manuel and her stay in Portugal, the aim is to improve our understanding of Juana of Austria and the role played by Portugal in the projection of her image, which will be explored through different formats (portraits - on canvas, medals or engravings -, plays, poems, religious foundations...).