Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile

Maria of Portugal
Maria of Portugal, in Antonio de Hollanda's Genealogy of the Royal Houses of Spain and Portugal (1530–1534)
Queen consort of Castile and León
Tenure	1328–1350
Born	9 February 1313
Died	18 January 1357(1357-01-18) (aged 43) Évora
Burial	Royal Monastery of San Clemente in Seville.
Spouse	Alfonso XI of Castile
Issue	Peter of Castile
House	Burgundy
Father	Afonso IV of Portugal
Mother	Beatrice of Castile
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Infanta Maria of Portugal (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾiɐ]) (9 February 1313 – 18 January 1357) was a Portuguese infanta (princess), Queen consort of Castile upon her marriage to Alfonso XI in 1328, and mother of King Peter of Castile. She was the first daughter of King Afonso IV of Portugal and his first wife Beatrice of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were Sancho IV of Castile and María de Molina.

In 1328, Maria married king Alfonso XI. As part of the arras, King Alfonso gave her Guadalajara, Talavera de la Reina and Olmedo.

The relationship between Maria and Alfonso was unhappy: from 1327 before their marriage, Alfonso had a relationship with Leonor de Guzmán who gave him ten children, including the future King Henry II of Castile. Maria did not participate in the affairs of the court, being relegated by the royal mistress Leonor and it is quite likely that she spent long periods secluded at the Royal Monastery of San Clemente in Seville.

In 1335, Maria returned to her father in Évora, who demanded that Alfonso separated from Leonor by use of alliances with the Pope, the Muslims and rebels inside Castile, and finally by an invasion. In the peace treaty of Seville in July 1340, Alfonso agreed to have Leonor imprisoned in a convent, thereby securing the support of the king of Portugal in the Battle of Río Salado which was fought on 30 October 1340, although, once the military conflict had been resolved, he returned to his lover and did not fulfill the promise he had made to the Portuguese monarch.