Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)

For other people named Beatrice of Castile, see Beatrice of Castile (disambiguation).

Beatrice of Castile
Beatrice of Castile, in Antonio de Hollanda's Genealogy of the Royal Houses of Spain and Portugal (1530–1534)
Queen consort of Portugal and the Algarve
Born	1242/44
Died	27 October 1303
Burial	Monastery of Alcobaça
Spouse	Afonso III of Portugal
Issue	See Issue
House	House of Ivrea
Father	Alfonso X of Castile
Mother	Mayor Guillén de Guzmán

Beatrice of Castile (1242/1244 – 27 October 1303), an illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X of Castile and his mistress Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, was the second Queen consort of Afonso III of Portugal.

Biographical sketch

She was probably born shortly before 31 December 1244 when her father, King Alfonso, "with the consent of his father" donated Elche to his daughter Beatrice and all the children that he had with Mayor Guillén de Guzmán. As part of his strategy to reach an agreement with the Kingdom of Portugal on the sovereignty of the Algarve, King Alfonso X offered his daughter Beatrice in marriage to King Afonso III of Portugal. The wedding was celebrated in 1253. Under the agreement, the king of Castile promised that we would cede all the rights he held in the Algarve to the first male offspring of Alfonso III and Beatrice when the child was seven years' old. The Portuguese nobility considered this marriage "humiliating for the King of Portugal",. Much more serious though, was the fact that when the nuptials took place, the Portuguese monarch was still married to Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne who, in 1255, accused her husband before Pope Alexander IV of bigamy. In 1258, the Roman Pontiff condemned him for adultery, demanded that he return Matilda's dowry and placed him under interdict. Matilda, however, died that year and the Pope's threats were left in suspense.

Until her husband's death, Beatrice had great influence in the Portuguese court and supported the rapprochement of the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile.

When her mother died no later than 1267, she inherited her estates in La Alcarria which included Cifuentes, Viana de Mondejar, Palazuelos, Salmerón, Vadesliras and Alcocer. In the last-mentioned city, she took under her protection the Monastery of Santa Clara that her mother, Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, had founded.

She returned to Seville in 1282 due to discrepancies with her son, King Denis. Before November 1282, already a widow, she showed her monetary and personal support for her father in the dispute with her half-brother, Infante Sancho, later King Sancho IV. A charter kept at the Torre do Tombo National Archive in Lisbon documents the donation made by King Alfonso X of Castile to his daughter Beatrice of the villas of Mourão, Serpa, Moura with their castles and, on the same day, he also gave her the Kingdom of Niebla and the royal tithes of the city of Badajoz. She remained at her father's side and was at his deathbed in 1284.

Beatrice died on October 27, 1303 and was buried at the Monastery of Alcobaça

Marriage and issue

The bride was about 11 years old and the groom was 42 years old. They had the following children:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Branca	25 February 1259	17 April 1321	Lady of Las Huelgas-1321)
Ferdinand	1260	1262
Dinis	9 October 1261	7 January 1325	Succeeded him as 6th King of Portugal; married Infanta Elizabeth of Aragon
Afonso	8 February 1263	2 November 1312	Lord of Portalegre; married to Infanta Violante Manuel of Castile (daughter of Manuel of Castile)
Sancha	2 February 1264	c. 1302
Maria	21 November 1264	6 June 1304	Nun at the Convent of Saint John in Coimbra
Constance	1266	1271
Vincent	1268	1271

Ancestry

Family of Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)

16. Ferdinand II of León               8. Alfonso IX of León                       17. Urraca of Portugal               4. Ferdinand III of Castile                             18. Alfonso VIII of Castile               9. Berenguela of Castile                       19. Eleanor of England               2. Alfonso X of Castile                                   20. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor               10. Philip of Swabia                       21. Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy               5. Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen                             22. Isaac II Angelos               11. Irene Angelina                       23. Unknown Palaiologina?, afterwards Irene               1. Beatrice of Castile                                         24. Rodrigo Muñoz de Guzmán               12. Pedro Rodríguez de Guzmán                       25. Mayor Díaz               6. Guillén Pérez de Guzmán Lord of Vecilla                             26. William VIII of Montpellier               13. Mahalda                       27. Eudokia Komnene               3. Mayor Guillén de Guzmán                                   28. Rodrigo Gutiérrez Girón               14. Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón                       29. Maria de Guzmán               7. María González Girón                             30. Rodrigo Fernández de Toroño               15. Sancha Rodríguez                       31. Aldonza Pérez

Preceded by Matilda II of Boulogne

Queen consort of Portugal 1253–1279

Succeeded by Elizabeth of Aragon

Bibliography

• Valdeón Baruque 2003, p. 25.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, p. 222.
• García Fernández 1999, p. 910.
• García Fernández 1999, p. 908.
• García Fernández 1999, p. 909.
• Livermore 1947, p. 136.
• Villalba Ruiz de Toledo 1989, pp. 319-320.
• García Fernández 1999, pp. 903 and 909-910.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, p. 227.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, p. 228.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, pp. 222-223.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, p. 223.
• Salazar y Acha 1990, pp. 224-225.
• Salazar y Acha 1989, p. 81.