Eleanor of England | |
---|---|
Queen consort of Castile | |
Tenure | September 1170 – 31 October 1214 |
Born |
Domfront Castle, Normandy |
13 October 1161
Died | 31 October 1214 Burgos, Castile |
(aged 53)
Burial | Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas, Burgos |
Spouse | Alfonso VIII, King of Castile |
Issue more... |
Berengaria, Queen of Castile Urraca, Queen of Portugal Blanche, Queen of France Eleanor, Queen of Aragon Henry I, King of Castile |
House | Plantagenet / Angevin |
Father | Henry II, King of England |
Mother | Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine |
Eleanor of England (Spanish: Leonor; 13 October 1161 – 31 October 1214), or Eleanor Plantaganet, was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Eleanor was born in the castle at Domfront, Normandy on 13 October 1162, as the second daughter of Henry II, King of England and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and was baptised by Henry of Marcy. Her half-siblings were Countess Marie and Countess Alix, and her full siblings were Henry the Young, Duchess Matilda, King Richard, Duke Geoffrey, Queen Joan and King John.
In 1174, when she was 12 years old, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile in Burgos. The couple had been betrothed in 1170, but due to the bride's youth as well as the uproar in Europe regarding her father's suspected involvement in the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, the wedding was delayed. Her parents' purpose in arranging the marriage was to secure Aquitaine’s Pyrenean border, while Alfonso was seeking an ally in his struggles with Sancho VI of Navarre. In 1177, this led to Henry overseeing arbitration of the border dispute.