Katherine of Lancaster

Katherine of Lancaster (also known as Catherine Plantagenet and as Queen Catalina of Castile and Leon) (1372/1373 – 2 June 1418) was the daughter of John of Gaunt and his second wife, Constance of Castile.

Related Topics:
1372/1373 - 2 June - 1418 - John of Gaunt - Constance of Castile

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She married Enrique III of Castile in 1393 at Burgos. As her mother was daughter of Pedro the Cruel, the marriage helped to restore a semblance of legitimacy to the Trastamara line.

Related Topics:
Enrique III of Castile - 1393 - Burgos - Pedro the Cruel

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The couple had three children:

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• Maria of Castile (1401-1458), who married Alfonso V "the Magnanimous", King of Aragon and Naples,
• Catharina of Castile, who wed Enrique of Aragón, Duque de Villena,
• Juan II (1405-1454), who succeeded his father as King of Castile . His mother Katherine and his uncle, Ferdinand, served as co-regents during his minority, and Katherine alone was regent after Ferdinand's death in 1416.

Queen Catalina died at Valladolid of a stroke, possibly precipitated by her great obesity, leaving her son, at age 13, at the mercy of self-interested courtiers.

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