Denis of Portugal ( Portuguese: 'Dinis' or 'Diniz' ), occasionally surnamed Castro (1353 – ), was an

infante Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He was the son of Portuguese King Peter I and a Galician noblewoman named Inês de Castro who had arrived in Portugal as a maid of princess

Constance of Castile Constance of Castile (1136 or 1140 – 4 October 1160) was Queen of France as the second wife of Louis VII of France, Louis VII, who married her following the annulment of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a daughter of Alfonso VII o ...

, recently married to Pedro I (Heir Prince at the time). Peter and Inês were not married at the time of Denis birth but Peter had him and his siblings legitimized once he became king.

History

Considering Denis an '' Infante of Portugal'' is a debatable subject. Some historians consider him a natural son of Peter I, so the title Infante of Portugal could never be attributed to him. Other opinions refer that after the death of Inês de Castro, ordered by Pedro's father King

Afonso IV of Portugal Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave (), was King of Portugal from 1325 ...

, the Prince after inheriting the throne admitted that he had married Inês secretly, and because of that she was a lawful Queen of Portugal. After the death of his mother Denis left Portugal to Castile with his brother but during the 1383–85 Crisis he was one of the claimants to the throne along with

Beatrice of Portugal Beatrice (, ; 7–13 February 1373 – ) was the only surviving legitimate child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Teles. She became Queen consort of Castile by marriage to King John I of Castile. Following her father's d ...

(his niece), John, Master of Aviz (his half-brother) and John (his brother). Although he managed to be acclaimed King in the city of Santarém his connections with Castile eventually lost him the throne and at the time of the

Battle of Aljubarrota The Battle of Aljubarrota was fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the a ...

he was already out of the country like his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Family

He married in 1372 Joan of Castile, 2nd? Lady of Cifuentes, born c. 1360, illegitimate daughter of

Henry II of Castile Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first List of Castilian monarchs, King of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from the House of Trastámara. He became ...

by Juana, 1st? Lady of Cifuentes, born c. 1340, by whom he had: * Pedro de Portugal, called «de Colmenarejo», married to María de Toledo, daughter of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo el Viejo, 1st Lord of Higares and Teresa Vázquez de Ayala, 3rd Lady of Pinto; * Beatriz de Portugal (died 1470), unmarried and without issue. Illegitimate children: * Fernando de Portugal, ''Comendador'' of Oreja, married to María de Torres, daughter of Fernán Ruiz de Torres and Inés de Solier; * Juan de Portugal; * Beatriz de Portugal, nun; * Inés de Portugal, nun. He died in about 1403.

Ancestry

Citations

References

* * * * * 1353 births 1397 deaths Burials in Extremadura Portuguese infantes House of Burgundy-Portugal People from Coimbra People of the 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum 14th-century Portuguese nobility Sons of kings Pretenders to the Portuguese throne Children of Peter I of Portugal {{Portugal-royal-stub