Constance Of Castile, Duchess Of Lancaster
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Constance of Castile (1354 – 24 March 1394) was a claimant to 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 Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...
. She was the daughter of King Peter, who was deposed and killed by his half-brother, King Henry II. She married the English prince John of Gaunt, who fought to obtain the throne of Castile in her name, but ultimately failed.


Family

Constance was the daughter of King Peter and María de Padilla. Peter had secretly married María, but was forced to repudiate her. Their relationship endured throughout his subsequent marriages, however. Peter was killed in 1369 by his half-brother Henry II, who then ascended the throne. Constance remained outside Henry's control, besieged at Carmona, until 1371. On 21 September, at
Roquefort Roquefort () is a sheep milk blue cheese from southern France. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European Union law, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the na ...
, near
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, Guienne, she married the English prince
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...
. Constance's younger sister, Isabella, married John's younger brother Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. John and Constance had a son, John (1374–1375), and a daughter, Catherine.


Claim

A third son with no prospect of ascending the English throne, John intended to claim the throne of Castile in Constance's name. On 9 February 1372 Constance made a ceremonial entry into London as the queen of Castile, accompanied by John's eldest brother,
Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...
, and an escort of English and Castilian retainers and London dignitaries. Crowds lined the streets to see her as she processed to the Savoy Palace in the Strand where she was ceremonially received by her husband, who had proclaimed himself king of Castile on 29 January. John insisted that English nobles address him as "my lord of Spain", but was unsuccessful in his attempts to obtain the crown. His and Constance's daughter, Catherine, was married to Henry II's grandson, Henry III, thus uniting these two rival claims. Constance was made a lady of the Garter in 1378. She died at Leicester Castle and was buried at the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke,
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
.Charles James Billson, ''Mediaeval Leicester'' (Leicester, 1920)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Constance of Castile, Duchess of Castile, Infanta Constance of Castile, Infanta Constance of Duchesses of Aquitaine English princesses Lancaster Castilian House of Burgundy Pretenders to the throne of the kingdom of Castile Ladies of the Garter Constance 14th-century Castilians Castilian infantas 14th-century Spanish women 14th-century English women 14th-century English nobility Daughters of kings