Eleanor of Alburquerque

Eleanor of Alburquerque
Queen consort of Aragon
Tenure	1412–1416
Spouse	Ferdinand I of Aragon
Issue	Alfonso V of Aragon Maria, Queen of Castile John II of Aragon Henry, Duke of Alburquerque Eleanor, Queen of Portugal Pedro, Count of Alburquerque Sancho of Aragon
House	House of Trastamara
Father	Sancho of Alburquerque
Mother	Infanta Beatriz, Countess of Alburquerque

Eleanor of Alburquerque (Aldeadavila de la Ribera , now in National Park since 2002 of Arribes del Duero Natural Park, province of Salamanca, Spain, 1374–Medina del Campo, province of Valladolid, Spain, 1435) became Queen consort of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. In Spanish she is known as Leonor Urraca de Castilla, Condesa de Alburquerque.

Family

Her father was Sancho of Alburquerque, who was an illegitimate son of King Alfonso XI of Castile and his mistress Eleanor of Guzman, and a brother of King Henry II of Castile. Her mother was Infanta Beatriz, Countess of Alburquerque, who was daughter of Peter I of Portugal and Ines de Castro.

Eleanor's brother was Don Fernando Sánchez, 2nd Count of Alburquerque.

Marriage

Eleanor was originally betrothed to Fadrique, illegitimate son of Henry II of Castile, however this engagement was broken off.

Upon the death of the sickly John I of Castile on October 9 of 1390 the Regency Council addressed the issue of the heir presumptive, Infante Henry at the time eleven years of age and his brother Infante Ferdinand, who was then ten years. It was agreed that Ferdinand could not marry before his brother Henry reached the age of fourteen. Then he would be granted the privileges and social policies majority.

Peter I of Castile was murdered in March 1369 by his bastard brother Henry. The representatives of the clergy, the nobility, the state of the gentry and merchants, as well as the authorized legal representatives of some Castillian cities agreed that Henry's grandson Infante Henry should marry the granddaughter of the murdered Peter, this was the England princess Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. As the elder brother, Henry, fulfilled these requirements then so should his brother Infante Ferdinand, with a good wife who was honorable and rich.

It was then heard that Dona Eleanor of Alburqueque was sixteen and old enough to marry. She expressed her agreement in marriage but could not yet take place as Ferdinand was no ten years old yet. She owned the towns: Haro, Briones, Vilforado, Ledesma with the five towns, Albuquerque, the Codesera, Azagala, Alconchel, Medellin, Alconétar and Villalon, a gift from John I of Castile. This made Eleanor a very attractive offer to Ferdinand.

In 1394 Eleanor and Ferdinand were married. They had eight children:

• Alfonso V of Aragon (1394–1458), also king of Sicily and Naples
• Maria of Aragon, first wife of John II of Castile, (1396–1445)
• John II of Aragon (1397–1479)
• Henry of Aragon, Duke of Alburquerque, Count of Villena, Count of Empuries and Grand Master of the Order of Santiago (1400–1445)
• Eleanor of Aragon (Queen of Portugal), who married Edward I of Portugal (1402–1445)
• Pedro of Aragon, Count of Alburquerque and Duke of Noto (1406–1438)
• Sancho of Aragon (1410–1416)

Later Life

In 1412 Ferdiand and Eleanor were crowned King and Queen of Aragon after the Compromise of Caspe. However they reigned for only four years, when Ferdinand died in 1416, aged 36 years. Eleanor, who was then 42 years old, retired to Medina del Campo. In 1421 her sons, the princes of Aragon were taken prisoners of the Genoese after the naval battle of Ponza.

The Royal Palace of Medina del Campo, birthplace of her husband Fernando and her children, was transformed into the Convent of Santa María la Real. There, Eleanor witnessed her children fighting against the royalist party led by Álvaro de Luna. Eleonor lost some of her possessions as a benefit for the latter.

Eleanor died in Medina del Campo, province of Valladolid, in 1435. Her grave is in the Convent of Santa María la Real, in a simple grave on the floor. It has a tablet that is stone Toledo dark, with the Royal Arms carved on it.

Ancestors

Family of Eleanor of Alburquerque

16. Sancho IV of Castile (=#26) 8. Ferdinand IV of Castile 17. María de Molina (=#27) 4. Alfonso XI of Castile 18. Denis of Portugal (=#24) 9. Constance of Portugal 19. Elizabeth of Aragon (=#25) 2. Sancho, 1st Count of Alburquerque 20. Álvaro Perez de Guzman 10. Pedro Núñez de Guzmán 21. Maria Giron 5. Eleanor of Guzman 22. Fernán Pérez Ponce de León, Lord Cangas and la Puebla 11. Beatriz Ponce de León 23. Urraca Gutiérrez de Meneses Eleanor of Alburquerque 24. Denis of Portugal (=#18) 12. Afonso IV of Portugal 25. Elizabeth of Aragon (=#19) 6. Peter I of Portugal 26. Sancho IV of Castile (=#16) 13. Beatrice of Castile 27. María de Molina (=#17) 3. Infanta Beatrice of Portugal 28. Fernando Rodriguez de Castro 14. Pedro Fernandes de Castro 29. Violante Sanchez, Lady of Uzero 7. Inês de Castro 30. Lourenço Soares de Valadares 15. Aldonça Suárez de Valadares 31. Sancha Nunes de Chacim

References

Some references

• http://www.aldeadavila.com/historia/la-historia-de-leonor-de-alburquerque-y-ledesma/

• “Masueco: ayer y hoy”, Consuelo HERNANDEZ ESTEVEZ, Delfina ALVAREZ CENIZO. Gráficas Cervantes, S.A. ISBN: 978-84-613-0702-9, pp.29 y ss. The village of Masueco , 41° 12′ 16″ N, 6° 35′ 20″ W, is located at the National Park since 2002 of Arribes del Duero Natural Park, province of Salamanca, very near the border with Portugal.