Petronila of Aragon

Petronila, Petronilla, or Petronella (Aragonese and _ca. Peronella; _es. Petronila Ramírez) (1135 – October 17 1174, Barcelona) was Queen of Aragon from 1137 until 1162. She was the daughter of Ramiro II, King of Aragon, and Agnes of Aquitaine.

Petronila came to the throne through special circumstances. Her father, Ramiro, was bishop of Barbastro-Roda when his brother, Alfonso I, died heirless in 1134. As king, Ramiro received a papal dispensation to abdicate from his monastic vows in order to secure the succession to the throne. King Ramiro the Monk, as he is known, married Agnes, daughter of Duke Wiliam IX of Aquitaine and Gascony, and through her produced an heiress, Petronila. At two years old, Petronila was bethrothed to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and, immediately thereafter, Ramiro abdicated in favour of the count and returned to monastic life.

Petronila married Ramon Berenguer in 1150. Upon his death, Petronila renounced the crown of Aragon in favour of her eldest son, Ramon, who, in compliment to the Aragonese, changed his name to Alfonso. Her son was the first ruler of both Aragon and Catalonia (where he is known as Alfons I) thereby establishing the dynastic union between the two countries that lasted until the Crown of Aragon was dissolved in 1707.