Juana la Beltraneja definition of Juana la Beltraneja in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Juana la Beltraneja (hwä`nä lä bĕltränā`hä), 1462–1530, Castilian princess, daughter of Juana of Portugal, queen of Henry IV Henry IV, 1425–74, Spanish king of Castile and León (1454–74), son and successor of John II. His weakness opened the way to civil strife and anarchy.
..... Click the link for more information. of Castile. Her paternity was generally attributed to the court favorite Beltrán de la Cueva, whence her name. Juana was recognized as legitimate heiress to the throne by the Cortes of Castile, but later Henry IV designated as successor first his half-brother Alfonso (d.1468) and then his half sister Isabella (later Isabella I Isabella I or Isabella the Catholic, 1451–1504, Spanish queen of Castile and León (1474–1504), daughter of John II of Castile.
..... Click the link for more information. ). In 1470, Henry recognized Juana again, but when he died (1474) Isabella seized the throne. Juana's partisans called upon Alfonso V of Portugal for help and arranged his marriage to the young princess. After five years of struggle Alfonso was decisively defeated at Toro (1476), and Isabella was recognized (1479) as queen of Castile. Juana retired to a convent in Portugal.