Council of Castile

The Council of Castile (Spanish: Real y Supremo Consejo de Castilla), known earlier as the Royal Council (Spanish: Consejo Real), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself.

It was established in 1480 under Queen Isabella I, as the chief body dealing with administrative and judicial matters of the realm. With the 1516 ascension of Charles I (later Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) to the throne of both Castile and Aragon, the Royal Council came to be known as the Council of Castile because Charles was king of many dominions other than Castile, while the Council retained responsibility only over Castile.

During periods in which there was no monarch, or while the monarch was absent or incompetent, the Royal Council would rule in place of the monarch as a regency council. The Council weakened in the 19th century, during which it was abolished and re-established several times before being dissolved permanently.

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