Ferdinand II was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504. He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered the de facto first king of Spain, and was described as such during his reign, even though, legally, Castile and Aragon remained two separate kingdoms until they were formally united by the Nueva Planta decrees issued between 1707 and 1716.
Portrait by Michael Sittow
Ferdinand the Catholic swearing the fueros as the Lord of Biscay at Guernica in 1476
Columbus soliciting aid of Ferdinand's wife Isabella.
Wedding portrait of Ferdinand and Isabella
Isabella I, also called Isabella the Catholic, was Queen of Castile and León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her death as the wife of King Ferdinand II. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs.
Anonymous portrait c. 1490
Isabella in the Rimado de la Conquista de Granada, from 1482, by Pedro Marcuello
The wedding portrait of Ferdinand and Isabella, c. 1469
Ferdinand and Isabella