Eleanor of Sicily (1325–1375) was Queen of Aragon from 1349 until 1375 as the third wife of King Peter IV.

Early life

Eleanor was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the second of eight children, six of whom survived to adulthood.

Queen of Aragon

Eleanor married in Valencia on 27 August 1349 to

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

, on the condition that he renounce all rights to any Sicilian Crown. He was twice-widowed, had two surviving daughters:

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

and Joanna but no surviving sons. Eleanor became a powerful influence at the Aragonese court, replacing

Bernardo de Cabrera Bernat II de Cabrera (Spanish: ''Bernardo II de Cabrera''. 1298–1364) was an Aragonese nobleman, diplomat, and military commander. Born in Calatayud, he participated in the conquest of Majorca (1343). He commanded the naval squadron that defe ...

as Peter's chief adviser. Eleanor's brother Frederick III the Simple, married Constance of Aragon (Eleanor's stepdaughter). Frederick and Constance had a daughter, Maria, but no sons. Then in 1357 Frederick proposed to transfer the duchies of Athens and Neopatria to Eleanor in return for military help from her husband in Sicily, but was refused. In 1373 Eleanor's eldest son John married Martha of Armagnac, a calm and conciliatory woman. Eleanor treated Martha as her own daughter. Upon a stay at her home in Empordà, Eleanor made

Sibila of Fortia Sibila is a village and rural commune in the Cercle of Ségou in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Ma ...

her lady-in-waiting; she eventually married Eleanor's widower.

Death

In Lérida on 20 April 1375, Eleanor died leaving her husband a widower and her three surviving children. Her husband remarried to Sibila, a girl that was over thirty years his junior. Most of the family, including Eleanor's children, came into conflict with Sibila.

Issue

Eleanor and Peter had four children: * John I of Aragon (1350–1396), succeeded his father and was father himself of Yolande of Aragon, however he had no male issue so the throne passed to his younger brother * Martin I of Aragon (1356–1410), succeeded John but had no surviving issue * Eleanor (1358–1382), who married John I of Castile and was the mother of Ferdinand I of Aragon. * Alfonso (1362–1364), died young

References

Sources

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External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor Of Sicily 1325 births 1375 deaths House of Aragon House of Barcelona (Sicily) Aragonese queen consorts Countesses of Barcelona Majorcan queens consort 14th-century Sicilian people 14th-century Italian women People of Byzantine descent Burials at the Poblet Monastery Daughters of kings