Queen Consort of León (1197-1204)
Regent of Castile
Royal House of Ivrea
Royal House of Plantagenet
Eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Princess Eleanor of England. Paternal granddaughter of King Sancho III of Castile and Blanca Ramírez of Navarre. Maternal granddaughter of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.
Berenguela was first betrothed to Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, before 1196, but he was murdered before their marriage could be solemnized.
She married King Alfonso IX of León in 1197, and together they had five children. Pope Innocent III declared the marriage invalid in 1198, and they finally separated in 1204.
After the annulment, the Queen and her children returned to Castile, where she thwarted her former husband's attempts to disinherit her children.
When her father died in 1214, she became Regent of Castile for her young brother Enrique I, and administered the government in his name.
Enrique was accidentally killed in 1217, and because he died without issue, Berenguela became Queen of Castile in her own right. She was thirty-seven years old at the time of her accession, and abdicated the same year in favor of her eldest son, who became Ferdinand III of Castile.
Following her abdication, Berenguela served as her son's adviser and retired to the Abbey de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, where she died and was buried in 1246, having outlived Alfonso IX and four of her children.
Queen Consort of León (1197-1204)
Regent of Castile
Royal House of Ivrea
Royal House of Plantagenet
Eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Princess Eleanor of England. Paternal granddaughter of King Sancho III of Castile and Blanca Ramírez of Navarre. Maternal granddaughter of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.
Berenguela was first betrothed to Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, before 1196, but he was murdered before their marriage could be solemnized.
She married King Alfonso IX of León in 1197, and together they had five children. Pope Innocent III declared the marriage invalid in 1198, and they finally separated in 1204.
After the annulment, the Queen and her children returned to Castile, where she thwarted her former husband's attempts to disinherit her children.
When her father died in 1214, she became Regent of Castile for her young brother Enrique I, and administered the government in his name.
Enrique was accidentally killed in 1217, and because he died without issue, Berenguela became Queen of Castile in her own right. She was thirty-seven years old at the time of her accession, and abdicated the same year in favor of her eldest son, who became Ferdinand III of Castile.
Following her abdication, Berenguela served as her son's adviser and retired to the Abbey de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, where she died and was buried in 1246, having outlived Alfonso IX and four of her children.
Family Members
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Sancho de Castilla y Plantagenet
1181–1181
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Sancha de Castilla y Plantagenet
1182–1184
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Urraca Castile
1187–1220
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Blanche de Castille
1188–1252
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Fernando de Castilla y Plantagenet
1189–1211
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Mafalda de Castilla y Plantagenet
1191–1211
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Leonor de Castilla y Plantagenet de Aragona
1202–1244
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Enrique I de Castilla y Plantagenet
1204–1217
See more Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León memorials in:
- Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
- Burgos Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
- Provincia de Burgos Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
- Castilla y León Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
- Spain Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
- Find a Grave Plantagenet or de Castilla y de León
