Eleanor of Aragon (2 May 1402 – 19 February 1445) was
Queen of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the nea ...
as the spouse of
Edward I of Portugal
Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...
Leonora of Aragon (1405–1445) Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia and the regent of Portugal as the guardian of her son. She was the daughter of
Ferdinand I of Aragon
Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicily ...
and
Eleanor of Alburquerque
Eleanor, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. In Spanish, she is known as ''Leonor Urraca de Castilla, condesa de Alburquerque''. She was the regent of Aragon ...
.
Biography
Eleanor's father died when she was 14 years old. Her mother eventually arranged her marriage to the future King
Edward of Portugal
Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...
, which happened on 22 September 1428. They had nine children, of whom five survived to adulthood. None of them lived past age 50. In 1433, she became Queen of Portugal on the same day her eldest child died. As queen she was not active politically and quickly became unpopular.
When her husband died on 9 September 1438, she was appointed regent of Portugal in his will, which was confirmed by the
Portuguese Cortes
In the Medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing.O'Ca ...
. However, she was inexperienced, in poor health and, as an Aragonese, unpopular with the people, who preferred the late king's brother
Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra
Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt ...
. The confirmation of her regency therefore caused a riot in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. The riot was suppressed by her brother Count John of Barcelona, later King
John II of Aragon
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
. Eleanor was supported by the nobility and the will, while Peter was supported by a fraction of the nobility and by the people. Negotiations for a compromise arrangement were drawn out over several months, but were complicated by the interference of the Count of Barcelos, who supported her, and the Archbishop of Lisbon, who supported Peter. This period also witnessed the birth to her of a posthumous daughter, Joan in March 1439 and the death of her eldest daughter, Philippa from tuberculosis.
Eventually, the Cortes appointed Peter the sole regent. Eleanor continued conspiring, but fell seriously ill and was forced to go into exile in Castile in December 1440. She died at Toledo after a prolonged respiratory illness in February 1445 and is buried in
Batalha, Portugal
Batalha () is a town and a municipality in Leiria District, Pinhal Litoral Subregion, Centro Region, Portugal. The town's name means "battle". The municipality population in 2011 was 15,805, in an area of . The town proper has around 8,548 inhabi ...
.
Issue
Eleanor had a total of nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood.
*Infante John, October 1429 – 14 August 1433.
*Infanta Philippa 27 November 1430 – 24 March 1439.
*
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Afri ...
15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481; who succeeded Edward as 12th
King of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the n ...
.
*Infanta Maria, 7 December 1432 – 8 December 1432.
* Infante Ferdinand, 17 November 1433 – 18 September 1470; Duke of
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...
and father of future king
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...
.
*
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
, 18 September 1434 – 3 September 1467; married
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...
.
*Infante Edward, 12 July 1435 – 12 July 1435.
*
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, 26 November 1436 – 17 June 1463.
*
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
, 31 March 1439 – 13 June 1475; married 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 ...