Berengaria (Castilian: Berengaria; 1180 – 8 November 1246), was briefly queen of Castile and León. The eldest daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, she was briefly engaged to Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, but he was murdered in 1196 before they could be married.
Berengaria married King Alfonso IX of León in 1198, but this was annulled in 1204 by Pope Innocent III because they were second cousins. Berengaria and Alfonso had five...
more
Berengaria (Castilian: Berengaria; 1180 – 8 November 1246), was briefly queen of Castile and León. The eldest daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, she was briefly engaged to Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, but he was murdered in 1196 before they could be married.
Berengaria married King Alfonso IX of León in 1198, but this was annulled in 1204 by Pope Innocent III because they were second cousins. Berengaria and Alfonso had five children, including one who died in infancy, and when she returned to her father's court in Castile, she brought her children with her to Otella.
Berengaria often found herself politically at odds with her former husband. Alfonso had two daughters, Sancha and Dulce, by his first wife, Theresa of Portugal, and wished to disinherit Berengaria's children in favor of these daughters. To this end, he invited John of Brienne to marry his eldest daughter, Sancha, and thus inherit his kingdom. Berengaria sabotaged this plan by convincing John of...
less