Eleanor of Castile (
Castilian: ''Leonor de Castilla''; 10 September 1423 – 22 August 1425) was
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the
throne
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...
of the
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
and
Princess of Asturias
Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
from 1424 until a few months before her death.
Eleanor was born an
infanta
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
of Castile. She was the second child of King
John II of Castile
John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405.
Regency
John was the ...
and his first wife,
Maria of Aragon. Eleanor's elder sister,
Catherine, Princess of Asturias, died seven days after Eleanor's first birthday. Thus, the one-year-old infanta became heir presumptive to the throne. Her father had her recognised as successor to the kingdom and as Princess of Asturias by the
Cortes of Valladolid
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
shortly after her sister's funeral. The new Princess of Asturias received
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
in the presence of her father, the King, in City of
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...
.
[Enrique Flórez, Manuel Risco: ''España sagrada: De la Iglesia Exenta de Oviedo desde el medio del siglo XIV hasta fines del siglo XVIII''; En la Oficina de la Viuda e Hijo de Marín, 1795]
Princess Eleanor held this title and status for two months only. On 5 January 1425, she was displaced by the birth of a brother, the future King
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...
. Now merely infanta and second-in-line to the throne again, Eleanor died the same year near the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery in
La Espina. She was buried there, near the altar. She succeeded her sister,
Catherine, Princess of Asturias, as
Princess of Asturias
Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
in 1424.
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor Of Asturias
1423 births
1425 deaths
Castilian infantas
House of Trastámara
Princes of Asturias
People from Burgos
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish people of Italian descent
Spanish people of Portuguese descent
Spanish people of English descent
Spanish people of French descent
15th-century Spanish women
15th-century Castilians
Royalty and nobility who died as children
Daughters of kings