Blanche of Portugal (1259–1321)
| Blanche of Portugal | |
|---|---|
| Lady of Las Huelgas, Montemor-o-Velho, Alcocer and Briviesca | |
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Infanta Blanche of Portugal, in António de Holanda's Genealogy of the Royal Houses of Spain and Portugal (1534)
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| Born | 25 February 1259 Santarem, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 17 April 1321 (aged 62) Burgos, Crown of Castile |
| Burial | Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, in Burgos, Castile |
| Issue |
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| House | House of Burgundy |
| Father | Afonso III |
| Mother | Beatrice of Castile |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blanche of Portugal (25 February 1259 in Santarém, – 17 April 1321 in Burgos; Branca Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɾɐ̃kɐ] in Portuguese and Blanca in Spanish), was an infanta, the firstborn child of King Afonso III of Portugal and his second wife Beatrice of Castile. Named after her great-aunt Blanche of Castile, queen of France, Blanche was the Lady of Las Huelgas, Montemor-o-Velho, Alcocer and Briviesca, the city which she founded.
Born in Santarém, when Blanche was two years old, her father gave her, as a perpetual donation, the city of Montemor-o-Velho with the condition that it would revert to the crown upon her death or in the event that she married outside of Portugal. Following the footsteps of her great-aunt, queen Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León and other female members of the royal house and nobility, she went to live at the Monastery of Lorvão in 1277 although at that time she was not a nun and was never the abbess of this religious establishment.
In 1282, she accompanied her mother, Queen Beatrice, to Castile, due to differences with her brother King Denis of Portugal and coinciding with the conflict between her maternal grandfather, King Alfonso X and infante Sancho, the future King Sancho IV. There is documentary proof that mother and daughter were living in 1283 in Seville with the king who in his will mentioned his granddaughter Blanche and left her a substantial sum for her marriage.
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