María de Padilla
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María de Padilla (1334 – August 1361) was the mistress of Peter I, King of Castile, whom she later married in 1353.
She was a Castilian noblewoman of converso Jewish descent.[1] Her father was Juan García de Padilla, Señor de Villagera, her mother was María Fernández de Henestrosa.
De Padilla and Pedro I had at least four children: a daughter named Beatriz (born 1354), a daughter named Isabella, another daughter named Constance, and a son named Alfonso, crown-prince of Castile (1359 - October 19, 1362).
Both daughters were married to sons of Edward III, King of England. Isabella (1355–1394) married Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, while Constance (1354–1394) married John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster.
Among the descendants of María de Padilla are all Kings of England starting with Edward IV of England, with the exception of Henry VII of England.
[edit] Depictions in fiction
- Gaetano Donizetti composed Maria Padilla (1841), an opera about her relationship with Pedro.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Peggy K. Liss, "Isabel the Queen," New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 165; James Reston, Jr. "Dogs of God," New York: Doubleday, 2005, p. 18.
