Juan III of Aragon may have been a full 39 years younger than his eldest sibling, and 24 years younger than his youngest elder sibling, but upon his birth to King Ferdinand of Aragon and Germaine de Foix, he was immediately known as the Prince of Girona, and was the child that would break the Hapsburg inheritance and cause trouble for his nieces and nephews across Europe for 60+ years. A man of ambition, of action and, most importantly, of great skill in politics, he would come to be known as possibly the greatest King of his time.
Born May 3rd, 1509, the only child of an aging King and his young, vibrant bride, Juan’s very birth upset the balance of power. The powerful Hapsburg Dynasty’s policy of marrying well had paid off to amazing dividends, and without the Prince of Girona, they would have controlled Spain, Burgundy, Austria and the whole of the Holy Roman Empire.