Late during the night, a messenger rode madly into the town of Segovia where the Princess Isabella was living.
"The King of Avila is dying!" the messenger gasped. "He calls for his sister, the Princess Isabella!"
Isabella rode furiously through the night and when she reached Cardenosa, she was met by the Archbishop of Toledo. He held out his hand to her, and in his face there was pity and grief. Before he even told her, Isabella knew that her beloved brother was dead.
| MIRAFLORES MONASTERY, BURGOS |
Some claimed that enemies had given him poisoned fish. Others believed that he had died of a fever. Still others told the story which you have just heard. But whether or not it is true will remain a mystery forever.
There is a wonderful cathedral in Burgos, whose Gothic spires point upward like lace fingers. They point to a hill above the city, upon which rests the Miraflores Chapel.
Inside this chapel is a beautiful statue of a boy. He wears a royal mantle and kneels before a praying desk. The boy is Alfonso.
When Henry died, it was the earnest little Isabella who became queen. Today in the Cathedral of Granada—that white and gold and silver cathedral—are the tombs of Queen Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand.
They are carved of marble, and Isabella's pillow sinks down deeper than Ferdinand's with the weight of her head. They say that this is because her head held more brains than his.
We know she was a wise, good queen and we love her because she helped Christopher Columbus and listened to his dreams.