Urraca of Castile (1186/28 May 1187 – 3 November 1220) was a daughter of

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

and

Eleanor of England Eleanor of England ( es, Leonor; – 31 October 1214), was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Early life and fa ...

. Her maternal grandparents were

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

Life

Urraca was originally considered as a prospective bride for

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

, but Eleanor of Aquitaine objected to her name (Urraca means ''

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

'' in Castilian), preferring the Castilian name of Urraca's sister Blanche, Blanca. In 1206, Urraca married twenty-one-year-old

Afonso II of Portugal Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, who was the "infante", the intended heir to the throne. In 1212, her husband became king and she became queen. Afonso II indicated in his will in 1214 that Urraca should be the regent for his heir should he pre-decease her. However, she died before him at a relatively young age in 1220. Urraca was buried at the Alcobaça Monastery.

Issue

Sancho II of Portugal Sancho II (; 8 September 1209 – 4 January 1248), nicknamed the Cowled or the Capuched ( pt, o Capelo), alternatively, the Pious ( pt, o Piedoso), was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. He was succeeded on the Portuguese throne by his bro ...

Afonso III of Portugal Afonso III (; rare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse''), or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin), the Boulonnais ( Port. ''o Bolonhês''), King of Portugal ( ...

* Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark * Fernando, Lord of Serpa

References

, - 1180s births 1220 deaths

Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female given name, first name. In Spanish language, Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the ...

Portuguese queens consort 12th-century Spanish women 13th-century Spanish women 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 13th-century Castilians 13th-century Portuguese people 13th-century Portuguese women Daughters of kings {{Portugal-royal-stub