Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile

For other people of the same name, see Maria of Portugal.

Maria of Portugal
Queen consort of Castile and León
Tenure	1328–1350
Spouse	Alfonso XI of Castile
Issue
Peter of Castile
House	House of Burgundy
Father	Afonso IV of Portugal
Mother	Beatrice of Castile
Born	9 February 1313
Died	18 January 1357(1357-01-18) (aged 43) Évora
Burial	Chapel of the Kings, Seville Cathedral
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Infanta Maria of Portugal (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾiɐ]) (9 February 1313 – 18 January 1357) was a Portuguese infanta (princess), and a queen consort of Castile. She was the first daughter of King Afonso IV of Portugal and his first wife Beatrice of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were Sancho IV of Castile and María de Molina.

Biography

She was born on 9 February 1313. Maria became Queen consort of Castile upon her marriage to Alfonso XI in 1328. She was the mother of Pedro of Castile.

The relationship between Maria and Alfonso was unhappy: from 1327 before their marriage, Alfonso had a relationship with Leonor Núñez de Guzmán. In 1335, Maria returned to her father in Évora, who demanded that Alfonso separated from Leonor by use of alliances with the Pope, the Muslims and rebels inside Castile, and finally by an invasion. In the peace treaty of Seville in July 1340, Alfonso agreed to have Leonor imprisoned in a convent.

At the death of Alfonso 26 March 1350, Maria secured a power position by exerting influence upon the leader of her son's council, Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque. She participated in the rebellion against her son in 1354, and turned over Toro to the rebels, which caused his imprisonment. After this, she returned to Portugal.

She died in Évora on 18 January 1357 and is buried in the Chapel of the Kings in Seville Cathedral.

Ancestors

Sources

• This page is a translation of its Spanish equivalent.

Royal titles
Vacant Title last held by Constance of Peñafiel	Queen consort of Castile 1328–1350	Vacant Title next held by Blanche of Bourbon
	Queen consort of León 1328–1350
	Queen consort of Galicia 1328–1350
	Queen consort of Toledo 1328–1350

Persondata
Name	Portugal, Maria Of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 February 1313
Place of birth
Date of death	18 January 1357
Place of death	Évora