Eleanor of Castile (died 1244)

Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor’s seal
Queen consort of Aragon
Tenure	6 February 1221 – April 1229
Died	1244 Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas near Burgos
Spouse	James I of Aragon
Issue	Alfonso of Bigorre
House	Burgundy
Father	Alfonso VIII of Castile
Mother	Eleanor of England
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Eleanor of Castile (? –1244) was a daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. She was Queen consort of Aragon by her arranged marriage to James I of Aragon.

Her mother was a daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor’s sister Berengaria became Queen of Castile since their brother Henry I of Castile died with no issue and because Berengaria was the eldest of the daughters. Another sister, Blanche became Queen of France by her marriage to Louis VIII of France.

In 1221 at Ágreda, Eleanor married James I; she was nineteen and he was fourteen. The next six years of James’s reign were full of rebellions on the part of the nobles. By the Peace of Alcalá of 31 March 1227, the nobles and the king came to terms. The pair were married for political reasons rather than love.

The marriage produced one son:

When the marriage was annulled in 1230, the divorce agreement prohibited her from remarrying. Alfonso was declared legitimate, but pre-deceased his father. As a result, his half siblings by James’ second wife Violant of Hungary inherited James’ kingdom when he died.

Eleanor became a nun after her marriage. She went to the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas to join her elder sister Berengaria who had retired from ruling Castile and Leon, and their other sister Constance, who was long a nun there. All three sisters died there, Constance in 1243, Eleanor in 1244, and Berengaria in 1246. All are buried in the Abbey.

...
Wikipedia