Everyday life for this future Queen of Spain was not easy. Isabel's father died, her older brother became king, and both she and her younger brother were forced to live in isolation. Then some of the nobles declared her younger brother king and the civil wars began. There was treachery and deceit everywhere among the princes, the church leaders, and even her personal servants. At 15, Isabel was a frightened, lonely teenager, in a country torn between two rulers. Her older brother constantly tried to marry her off to his friends in other countries, but Isabel was determined not to be forced into marriage with an older man that she didn't know or love. Fortunately, she was finally married to her true love, Prince Ferdinand of Aragon and King of Italy, and eventually she became the Queen of Spain. Under her rule art and literature would flourish, but sadly there would also be the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition that destroyed anyone for disagreeing with the church's teachings.