Eleanor of Castile

::for others known sometimes by same name, see Leonora of Castile

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Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November, 1290) was the first Queen consort of Edward I of England. Eleanor was born in Castile, Spain, the daughter of Fernando III, King of Castile and Leon and his second wife, Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu. Her given name was Leonor (she was called Eleanor in England). Her birthdate is not certainly known, but it is known that she was the second of the three children born to Fernando and Jeanne. Her elder brother Fernando was born 1239/40 and her younger brother Luis was born 1242/43. For the ceremonies in 1291 marking the first anniversary of Eleanor's death, 49 candlebearers appear, each candle commemorating one year of her life. This would place her birth in 1241.

Related Topics:
1241 - 28 November - 1290 - Queen consort - Edward I of England - Castile - Spain - Fernando III - Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu

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She married Edward, the son of Henry III of England, in October 1254 at Burgos. Their marriage was a political arrangement between Henry III and her older half-brother Alfonso X of Castile who were at war over the possession of Gascony; Henry had demanded the marriage as a proof of Alfonso's good intentions at the end of the war.

Related Topics:
Henry III of England - 1254 - Burgos - Alfonso X of Castile - Gascony

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Eleanor became queen in 1272 when his father died and he became king. Theirs was one of the most successful royal marriages of all time, and she often accompanied her husband on his military campaigns, giving birth to his fourth son (later King Edward II of England) at Caernarfon in 1284, immediately after the conquest of Wales. She gave birth to fifteen children all told, six of whom survived into adulthood, but only four of whom outlived their parents.

Related Topics:
1272 - Edward II of England - Caernarfon - 1284 - Wales

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Eleanor is remembered warmly by history as the queen who inspired the Eleanor crosses, but she was not so loved in her own time. Her English subjects considered her to be too foreign and greedy. Walter of Guisborough preserves the following poem:

Related Topics:
Eleanor cross - Walter of Guisborough

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:"The king desires to get our gold/the queen, our manors fair to hold..."

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She and Edward seemed to have been more devoted to one another than to their offspring. Their daughter Joan was left to be raised by her grandmother in Ponthieu for much of her childhood. When their son Henry lay dying at Guildford, neither of his royal parents undertook the short journey from London to see him.

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Eleanor died on November 28, 1290, at Nottingham (believed actually Harby, Nottinghamshire rather than the city), and her body was returned to London for burial at Westminster Abbey. Such was Edward's devotion to her that he erected memorial crosses at each overnight stop. Three of these "Eleanor crosses" are still landmarks today, although the most famous at Charing Cross (from which its name derives) is a copy. He did not remarry for nine years, to Marguerite of France, in 1299.

Related Topics:
1290 - Nottingham - London - Westminster Abbey - Eleanor cross - Charing Cross - Marguerite of France

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The locations of the 12 crosses were as follows: Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Northampton, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, Waltham, Westcheap, and Charing.

Related Topics:
Lincoln - Grantham - Stamford - Geddington - Northampton - Stony Stratford - Woburn - Dunstable - St Albans - Waltham - Westcheap - Charing

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