Infanta Catherine of Castile (1403–1439) was

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

Duchess of Villena and, by marriage, Infanta of Aragon, Countess of Alburquerque and Countess of Ampurias. Catherine was the second child born to King

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was born ...

and

Catherine of Lancaster Catherine of Lancaster ( Castilian: ''Catalina''; 31 March 1373 – 2 June 1418) was Queen of Castile by marriage to King Henry III of Castile. She governed Castile as regent from 1406 until 1418 during the minority of her son. Queen Catherine ...

. In 1418, she was married off to her first cousin and brother-in-law, Infante Henry of Aragon. The marriage was a part of an agreement by which Henry's older brother Alfonso married Catherine's older sister

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

and by which Henry's sister

married Catherine's brother, 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 ...

. The Infanta was forced to follow her husband into exile after he failed to take the power away from her brother's favourite,

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

, in 1420. They did not receive all of her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

until 1427. Her dowry included the Dukedom of Villena. Their marriage was childless. The Duchess of Villena died following a miscarriage in 1439. After her death, her brother confiscated the dukedom.

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine, Infanta, Duchess Of Villena Castilian infantas Aragonese infantas Spanish duchesses House of Trastámara Daughters of kings