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1162 - 1214 (52 years)
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Name |
Eleanor Plantagenet |
Suffix |
Queen of Castille |
Born |
13 Oct 1162 |
Domfront Castle, Normandy |
Gender |
Female |
Died |
31 Oct 1214 |
Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain |
Buried |
Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain |
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Notes |
- Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Queen_of_Castile
She was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile and was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Eleanor was born in the castle at Domfront, Normandy on 13 October 1162, as the second daughter of Henry II, King of England and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. Her half-siblings were Marie and Alix of France, and her full siblings were Henry the Young, Duchess Matilda, King Richard, Duke Geoffrey, Queen Joan and King John.
In 1174, when she was 12 years old, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile in Burgos. The couple had been betrothed in 1170, but due to the bride's youth as well as the uproar in Europe regarding her father's suspected involvement in the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, the wedding was delayed. Her parents' purpose in arranging the marriage was to secure Aquitaine?s border on the Pyrennes, while Alfonso was seeking an ally in his struggles with his uncle, Sancho VI of Navarre. In 1177, this led to Henry overseeing arbitration of the border dispute.
Of all Eleanor of Aquitaine?s daughters, her namesake was the only one who was enabled, by political circumstances, to wield the kind of influence her mother had exercised. In her own marriage treaty, and in the first marriage treaty for her daughter Berengaria, Eleanor was given direct control of many lands, towns, and castles throughout the kingdom. She was almost as powerful as Alfonso, who specified in his will in 1204 that she was to rule alongside their son in the event of his death, including taking responsibility for paying his debts and executing his will. It was she who persuaded him to marry their daughter Berengaria to Alfonso IX of León. Troubadours and sages were regularly present in Alfonso VIII?s court due to Eleanor?s patronage.
Eleanor took particular interest in supporting religious institutions. In 1179, she took responsibility to support and maintain a shrine to St. Thomas Becket in the cathedral of Toledo. She also created and supported the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, which served as a refuge and tomb for her family for generations, and its affiliated hospital.
When Alfonso died, Eleanor was reportedly so devastated with grief that she was unable to preside over the burial. Their eldest daughter Berengaria instead performed these honours. Eleanor then took sick and died only twenty-eight days after her husband, and was buried at Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas.
Eleanor was praised for her beauty and regal nature by the poet Ramón Vidal de Besalú after her death. Her great-grandson Alfonso X referred to her as "noble and much loved."
Eleanor and Alfonso had 11 children:
1. Beregaria, the second wife of King Alfonso IX of León.
2. Sancho died in infancy.
3. Sancha died in infancy.
4. Henry died young.
5. Urraca married Alfonso II of Portugal.
6. Blanche married Louis VIII of France.
7. Ferdinand, heir to the throne, was returning through the San Vicente mountains from a campaign against the Muslims when he contracted a fever and died.
8. Mafalda betrothed in 1204 to Infante Ferdinand of Leon, eldest son of Alfonso IX and stepson of her oldest sister.
9. Eleanor married in Ágreda on 6 February 1221 with James I of Aragon.
10. Constance was a nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas.
11. Henry was the only surviving son, he succeeded his father in 1214 aged ten under the regency firstly of his mother and later his oldest sister. He was killed when he was struck by a tile falling from a roof.
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Person ID |
I36091 |
Master File |
Last Modified |
12 Sep 2016 |
Father |
Henry II Plantagenet, King of England, b. 05 Mar 1133, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France , d. 06 Jul 1189, Chinon Castle, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France (Age 56 years) |
Mother |
Eleanor of Aquitaine, b. 1122, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France , d. 01 Apr 1204, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France (Age 82 years) |
Family ID |
F14558 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
Family |
Alfonso VIII (El De Las Navas) of Castile, King of Castille and King of Toledo, b. 11 Nov 1155, Provincia de Soria Castilla y León, Spain , d. 05 Oct 1214, Gutierre-Munoz Provincia de Ávila Castilla y León, Spain (Age 58 years) |
Children |
| 1. Berengaria of Castile, Queen of Castile and Queen of Léon, b. ca 1179, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain , d. 08 Nov 1246, Las Huelgas, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain (Age ~ 67 years) |
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Last Modified |
12 Sep 2016 |
Family ID |
F14880 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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