What was life really like for a Spanish royal woman? Catalina Micaela, the younger daughter of Philip II of Spain, wrote extensively to her husband Carlo Emanrele I of Savoy giving fascinating insights into the events at court and the pressures on the families, providing a glimpse into sixteenth-century Spain and the Spanish Empire.

In this talk, Professor Sánchez discusses the research she carried out for her book on Catalina and how the correspondence affects our understanding of life and politics at that time.

About our speaker:

Magdalena Sánchez is professor of early modern European history at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania.  Her research centres on sixteenth and seventeenth-century Spanish history. Her current work focuses on the two daughters of Philip II of Spain, with her most recent publication focusing on the younger of Philip II's two daughters, titled Infanta: The Short, Remarkable Life of Catalina Micaela (Yale University Press, 2025).