Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

For other people named Eleanor of Aragon (disambiguation)|Eleanor of Aragon, see Eleanor of Aragon (disambiguation).

Eleanor of Aragon
Queen Leonor in Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal (António de Holanda; 1530-1534)
Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure	14 August 1433 – 9 September 1438
Born	(1402-02-01)1 February 1402 Medina del Campo
Died	19 February 1445(1445-02-19) (aged 43) Toledo
Burial	Batalha Monastery
Spouse	Edward of Portugal
Issue	Infante John Infanta Philippa Afonso V of Portugal Infanta Maria Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu Eleanor, Holy Roman Empress Infante Edward Infanta Catherine Joan, Queen of Castile
House	House of Trastamara
Father	Ferdinand I of Aragon
Mother	Eleanor of Alburquerque
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Eleanor of Aragon (1 February 1402 – 19 February 1445) was queen consort of Portugal as the spouse of Edward I of Portugal and the regent of Portugal as the guardian of her son. She was the daughter of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Alburquerque.

Biography

She married King Edward of Portugal on 22 September 1428. They had nine children, of whom five survived to adulthood.

When her husband died on 13 September 1438, she was appointed regent of Portugal in his will, which was confirmed by the Portuguese Cortes. However, she was inexperienced and, as an Aragonese, unpopular with the people, who preferred the late king's brother Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra. The confirmation of her regency therefore caused a riot in Lisbon. The riot was suppressed by her brother Count John of Barcelona, later King John II of Aragon. Eleanor was supported by the nobility and the will, while Peter was supported by a fraction of the nobility and by the people. Negotiations for a compromise arrangement were drawn out over several months, but were complicated by the interference of the Count of Barcelos, who supported her, and the Archbishop of Lisbon, who supported Peter. This period also witnessed the birth to her of a posthumous daughter, Joan in March 1439 and the death of her eldest daughter, Philippa.

Eventually, the Cortes appointed Peter the sole regent. Eleanor continued conspiring, but was forced to go into exile in Castile in December 1440. She died at Toledo in February 1445 and is buried in Batalha, Portugal.

Issue

• Infante John, October 1429 – 14 August 1433.
• Infanta Philippa 27 November 1430 – 24 March 1439.
• Afonso V of Portugal 15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481; who succeeded Edward as 12th King of Portugal.
• Infanta Maria, 7 December 1432 – 8 December 1432.
• Infante Ferdinand, 17 November 1433 – 18 September 1470; Duke of Viseu and father of future king Manuel I of Portugal.
• Eleanor, 18 September 1434 – 3 September 1467; married Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.
• Infante Edward, 12 July 1435 – 12 July 1435.
• Catherine, 26 November 1436 – 17 June 1463.
• Joan, 31 March 1439 – 13 June 1475; married King Henry IV of Castile.

Ancestry

Family of Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

16. Alfonso XI of Castile (= 12) 8. Henry II of Castile 17. Eleanor of Guzman (= 13) 4. John I of Castile 18. Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena 9. Juana Manuel of Castile 19. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara 2. Ferdinand I of Aragon 20. Alfonso IV of Aragon 10. Peter IV of Aragon 21. Teresa d'Entença 5. Eleanor of Aragon 22. Peter II of Sicily 11. Eleanor of Sicily 23. Elisabeth of Carinthia 1. Eleanor of Aragon 24. Ferdinand IV of Castile 12. Alfonso XI of Castile 25. Constance of Portugal 6. Sancho, 1st Count of Alburquerque 26. Pedro Núñez de Guzmán 13. Eleanor of Guzman 27. Juana Ponce de León 3. Eleanor of Alburquerque 28. Afonso IV of Portugal 14. Peter I of Portugal 29. Beatrice of Castile 7. Infanta Beatriz of Portugal 30. Pedro Fernández de Castro 15. Inês de Castro 31. Aldonça Lourenço de Valadares