Constanza Manuel

Constance Manuel of Villena
Effigy of Constance Manuel in a 1645 Genealogy of the Kings of Portugal (National Library of Portugal)
Queen consort of Castile
Tenure	1325–1328
Born	1315–1323 Castillo de Garcimuñoz
Died	13 November 1345 Santarém, Portugal
Burial	Santarém, Portugal
Spouse	Alfonso XI of Castile Peter I of Portugal
Issue Among Others	Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa Ferdinand I of Portugal
House	House of Ivrea
Father	Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena
Mother	Constance of Aragon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Constanza Manuel of Villena (1315/1323 – 13 November 1345) was the daughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (1282–1348), called "el escritor" (the writer), Duke of Peñafiel, and his second wife Constance of Aragon, a daughter of James II of Aragon.

While still a child she became the first wife of future King Alfonso XI of Castile (1311–50), also a child at the time, in Valladolid. The marriage was annulled in 1327.

Constance was a Castilian noblewoman, whose exact date of birth is unknown, occurring sometime between 1315 and 1323. Constance was a paternal great-granddaughter of King Ferdinand I of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were James II of Aragon and his second wife Blanche of Anjou.

In Valladolid on 28 November 1325, the young Constance married Alfonso XI of Castile, they were married for only two years when Alfonso had the marriage dissolved and remarried to Maria of Portugal, who gave him a son, Peter of Castile.

Constance was imprisoned in a castle in Toro while her father waged war against Alfonso XI until 1329. Eventually, the two reached a peaceful accord after mediation by Juan del Campo, Bishop of Oviedo; this secured Constance's release from prison.

Afonso IV quickly learned that his daughter Maria was being mistreated by her husband King Alfonso (Constance's ex-husband). Constance's father had been rebuffed by the king when she was rejected in favor of the Portuguese infanta. Feeling as though his daughter was being dishonored, Afonso was glad to enter into an alliance with Juan Manuel and married his son and heir, Peter, to Constance. They married on 24 August 1339 in Lisbon.