Beatrice of Portugal

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For other uses, see Beatrice of Portugal (disambiguation).

Portuguese Royalty
House of Burgundy

Afonso Henriques (Afonso I)
Children include Infanta Urraca, Queen of Léon Infante Sancho (future Sancho I) Infanta Teresa, Countess of Flanders
Sancho I
Children include Infanta Teresa, Queen of Castile Infanta Sancha Infanta Constança Infante Afonso (future Afonso II) Infante Pedro, Count of Urgell Infante Fernando, Count of Flanders Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara Infanta Berengária, Queen of Denmark Infanta Mafalda, Queen of Castile
Afonso II
Children include Infante Sancho (future Sancho II) Infante Afonso, Count of Boulogne (future Afonso III) Infanta Leonor, Queen of Denmark Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa
Sancho II
Afonso III
Children include Infanta Branca Infante Dinis (future Denis I) Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre Infanta Maria Infanta Sancha
Denis
Children include Infanta Constança, Queen of Castile Infante Afonso (future Afonso IV)
Afonso IV
Children include Infanta Maria, Queen of Castile Infante Pedro (future Peter I) Infanta Leonor, Queen of Aragon
Peter I
Children include Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa Infante Fernando (future Ferdinand I) Infanta Beatriz, Countess of Alburquerque Infante João, Duke of Valencia de Campos Infante Dinis, Lord of Cifuentes John, Grand Master of the Order of Aviz (future John I) (natural son)
Ferdinand I
Children include Infanta Beatrice, Queen of Castile and Leon (future Beatrice I of Portugal)
Beatrice (disputed queen)
Children include Miguel of Trastámara

Beatrice of Portugal, in Portuguese Beatriz (pron. IPA: [biɐ'tɾiʃ]), (1372, Coimbra-1410) was the only daughter of King Fernando I of Portugal and his wife, the Castilian Leonor Telles de Menezes. She married King Juan I of Castile and claimed to be Queen of Portugal in the 1383-1385 Crisis that ended with her uncle João I of Portugal being acclaimed King of Portugal.

At the beginning of 1383, the political situation in Portugal was not peaceful. Beatrice was the King's only child, and heir to the throne, after her younger brothers' deaths in 1380 and 1382. Her marriage was the political issue of the day and inside the palace, factions lobbied constantly. Ferdinand arranged and cancelled his daughter's wedding several times before settling for his wife's first choice, King Juan I of Castile. Juan had lost his wife, Infanta Leonor of Aragon the year before, and was happy to take the Portuguese heiress. The wedding took place on May 17, 1383 in the Portuguese city of Elvas. Beatrice was only eleven years old.

King Ferdinand died shortly thereafter, on October 22, 1383. According to the treaty between Castile and Portugal, the Queen Mother, Leonor Telles de Menezes, became regent in the name of her daughter and son-in-law. But not everybody in Portugal was happy about this state of affairs. The loss of independence was unthinkable for the majority of Portuguese nobles. A rebellion led by the Master of the Order of Aviz, the future João I, began in that year, leading to the 1383-1385 Crisis.

King Juan invaded Portugal in 1384 to fight for his newly-born son Miguel's (1384-1385) rights to the crown. That war ended in the next year, with the utter defeat of Castile in the Battle of Aljubarrota. In the aftermath of this battle, João I of Aviz became the uncontested King of Portugal. Beatrice was no longer on the throne of Portugal; she was merely the Queen Consort of Castile and Leon.

Beatrice died in 1410 in Madrigal, Castile.

There is some dispute among historians about Beatrice. She is rarely referred as Queen of Portugal, but some claim that at least for a short period she was Queen and so must be in the list of the Monarchs of Portugal. Others say that in the 1383-1385 period the country had no King or Queen, and so Beatrice could not be considered.

[edit] Genealogical Data

Beatriz, born 1372 at Coimbra, daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Portugal, and Leonor Telles de Meneses, married (as his second wife) at Badajoz on 13 May 1383 Juan I, King of Castile; proclaimed Queen of Portugal 22 October 1383.

[edit] Sources

Williamson, David (1988). Debrett's Kings and Queens of Europe. Exeter: Webb & Bower. ISBN 0-86350-194-X.

House of Burgundy Cadet Branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: ? 1372 Died: ? 1410
Preceded by Ferdinand I	Queen of Portugal (disputed) 1383–1385	Succeeded by John I
Preceded by Eleanor of Aragon	Queen Consort of Castile and Leon 1383–1390	Succeeded by Katherine of Lancaster