Isabella of Aragon, Countess of Urgel

Isabella of Aragon, Countess of Urgel (12 March1409-29 August1443) was the wife of Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. She is also referred to as the Duchess of Coimbra.

Family

Isabella, or Isabel as she was commonly known, was born on 12 March 1409 the eldest daughter of James II, Count of Urgel, a candidate to the throne of the Crown of Aragon at the Compromise of Caspe, and Isabel of Aragon. Her paternal grandparents were Peter of Aragon, Count of Urgel and Margharita of Montferrat. Her maternal grandparents were King Peter IV of Aragon and Sibylla de Fortià, the daughter of Bernardo de Fortià of Barcelona. Isabella was one of five children. The county of Urgel was dissolved in 1413, following her father's revolt against the new King Ferdinand I of Aragon who had been chosen to succeed to the throne of Aragon in 1412 despite James having had the stronger claim as the closest legitimate agnate to the Royal House of Aragon. Earlier, King Ferdinand had offered James 150,000 florins, the title of Duke of Montblanc, and proposed an alliance between his son Enrique and Isabella but James had refused Ferdinand's offer on the advice of his mother. [Medieval Lands "Catalonia"] In addition to the loss of his title and assets, James was later tried, condemned, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Siblings

# Felipe of Urgel (died 1422)
# Leonor of Urgel ( 1414-after 1438). Married 1436 Raimondo Orsini, 6th Count of Nola.
# Juana of Urgel ( Early 1415 Convent of Sijena- 1445). Married firstly Jean III de Grailly, Count of Foix and secondly Juan Ramon Folch, Count of Cardona. Had one son by her second husband.
# Catalina of Urgel (died before 1424).

Marriage

On 13 September 1428 at Alcolea del Cinca she married Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra ( 9 December1392- 20 May1449 at The Battle of Alfarrobeira), the son of King John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster. He also held the titles of Regent of Portugal and The Algarve, and Sire of Montemor. They had six children. In 1438, Isabella's husband was appointed Regent of Portugal during the minority of his nephew King Alfonso V. King Alfonso would later wed the eldest daughter of Isabella and Pedro.

List of children

# Pedro of Coimbra, Infante of Portugal, 2nd Duke of Coimbra, Duke of Catalonia (23 October1429 Coimbra, Portugal- 29 June1466) At the age of 14 he was Conctable of Portugal. In 1464, he was acclaimed King Peter V of Aragon.
# Joao of Coimbra, Infante of Portugal, Titular Prince of Antioch (1431/33 Coimbra, Portugal- July/11 September 1457 Nicosia, Cyprus). Married 26 February 1456 Queen Charlotte of Cyprus (28 June1444-16 July1487). He was her first husband. It was rumoured that he was poisoned by his mother-in-law, Queen Helena of Cyprus.
# Isabel of Coimbra, Infanta of Portugal (1 March1432 Coimbra, Portugal- 2 December1455) Married King Alfonso V of Portugal on 6 May 1448. She was his first wife. They had three children, including King John II of Portugal and Joana of Portugal.
# Jaime of Coimbra, Infante of Portugal, Cardinal and Archbishop of Lisbon (16 August1443 Coimbra, Portugal-27 August1457 Florence Italy)
# Beatrice of Coimbra, Infanta of Portugal (21 November1435 Coimbra, Portugal- 22 February1462 Bruges. Married 13 May 1453 Adolf of Cleves Lord of Ravenstein (28 June 1425-18 September 1492). She died of suspected poisoning.
# Philippa of Coimbra, Infanta of Portugal (1 June1437 Coimbra, Portugal-25 July1493 Odivelas). Was a nun at the Convent of Odivelas.

Death

Isabella died in Coimbra, Portugal on 29 August 1443 at the age of 34. She is buried at Batalla. Her father had died in prison at Xàtiva ten years previously.

References