John II of Castile and León dies in 1454; his thirty-year-old son succeeds him as Henry IV.

Henry had married Blanche of Navarre in 1440, promised in 1436 to the heir of Castile in the peace treaty between Navarre and Castile.

After thirteen years of childless marriage, Blanche had complained that the debitum conjugale remains unpaid.

An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche.

A divorce was granted by the Pope on the grounds that some "witchcraft" had prevented Henry from consummating the marriage.

After this, Blanche had been sent home to Navarre, where she is imprisoned by her family.

For this reason, the new king comes to be called “Henry the Impotent.”