How a commoner mistress became a Portuguese mummy queen: Ines de Castro

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The relationship between Ines de Castro and the Portuguese prince Pedro became the reason why a civil war broke out in the country and due to which the son turned against his own father. It ended with the fact that the local nobility and ordinary people were forced to kiss the hand of the new queen, however, already a dead woman. A secret marriage with the Infante Pedro infuriated his father, Afonso IV, a man interested in the death of a commoner whom her son fell in love with. However, after the assassins completed their business by killing Ines, Pedro became enraged and decided to avenge his beloved at all costs.

Years after the prince became king of Portugal and the war was won, the thought of revenge still lingered on him. Therefore, he posthumously proclaimed his wife queen and seated her mortal body on the throne, forcing everyone who entered the royal palace to honor his lady of the heart.

The secret marriage that took place between Pedro and Ines is considered one of the most disastrous weddings in history, which ultimately cost Castro her life. However, not only Father Pedro was the one who opposed this relationship: the first wife of the prince, a woman named Constance, also tried to resist this love even on her deathbed. And even despite a long and happy marriage, as well as the presence of common children, King Afonso IV continued to consider de Castro a potential threat to the crown, thereby destroying not only her dreams, but also the life of his own son.

Afonso IV hated de Castro even despite her royal lineage

Artists, including writers, poets and even playwrights, vied with each other in praising and portraying the life of Ines Perez de Castro. She was born in the de Castro family around 1320-1325. Her father, Pedro Feranda, was a lord and was also considered the bastard of Sancho IV, King of Castile, who was better known in Spain as Sancho the Brave. However, the presence of a bit of royal blood did not diminish the hostility on the part of Afonso: he still continued to consider de Castro an illegitimate and unsuitable party for his son. The situation was further complicated by the fact that de Castro was the lady of the court of Constance Manuel, then wife of Prince Pedro. In 1340 Constance went to Portugal to marry a prince (Infanta). Afonso believed that this marriage would become a kind of bridge between Portugal and Castile, helping them to make peace and end the entrance. However, Pedro thwarted his own father's plans and fell in love with Ines instead.

Pedro used the aqueduct to write love letters for Ines

Don Pedro fell in love with Ines in 1340, but at the same time he was forced to marry Constance, who was de Castro's cousin. It is believed that all this time Pedro and Ines had a secret love correspondence, however, due to the fact that their relationship was carefully hidden, they had to use a variety of methods for this. De Castro at that time lived in the monastery of Santa Clara Velha, and therefore Pedro, as historians suggest, used the aqueduct that runs between his palace and the monastery so that his letters could easily reach the hands of his beloved.

Constance and Afonso tried to separate the lovers

King Afonso IV was not the only person who was against this love of his son. Constance was also not thrilled that her husband fell in love not with her, but with her cousin de Castro. Realizing perfectly well that she had no chance of the love of her crowned husband, Constance decided to act differently, being drawn into an insidious conspiracy. When the couple had a son, Don Luis, she asked Ines to become his godmother. Such a "position" would force everyone to respect de Castro, but the essence of Constance's plan was not this, because she intended to spoil their relationship with Pedro. Thus, the Catholic Church believed that godparents were equated with blood relatives and were considered family members. Therefore, if de Castro agreed to become a godmother, then their relationship with Pedro could be equated with incest, which was considered a grave sin and a crime. However, Ines avoided this cunning trap by refusing such an offer and continuing her relationship with the prince. In response, King Afonso drove her back to Castile in 1344.

After Constance's death, Ines took her rightful place

In 1345, Pedro's wife died giving birth to her third child. Pedro, of course, mourned the loss of his wife, who, although she was a stranger to him, nevertheless became close for all the time. However, he was also glad that he no longer had to hide his relationship with Ines. After some time, the couple moved in and began to live together as spouses. Historians note that the couple had four children, and Don Pedro himself claimed that he secretly married de Castro despite the protests of his father. This marriage helped Ines become the next Queen of Portugal. That is why Afonso IV, worried about the influence of Ines and her Castilian brothers on Pedro, decided to think over a plan how to get rid of the de Castro family.

Ines begged the king to give her life

In 1355, King Afonso IV ordered the murder of Ines de Castro, despite the fact that she had been the woman of his son for more than fifteen years. At that time, the couple had only three living heirs, who were the grandchildren of King Afonso. However, even despite this, de Castro remained in his eyes a threat to peace in Portugal. He believed that Ines and her family would have a bad influence on Pedro, because of which he would have more "Spanish" views. He was also afraid that their children would unleash a war of succession and the throne in order to remove Afonso himself from there. The king himself always despised de Castro, because he believed that she was born in an illegal marriage. However, after the order was given to murder her, Afonso heard how the woman, having fallen on her knees with the children, asked him to spare her family and give them life. It is believed that Afonso did not make a unanimous decision, but simply left the room, telling his people to do what they see fit.

King's henchmen killed Ines in front of her children

After King Afonso decided to eliminate Ines, he hired several people to take his daughter-in-law's life. The mercenaries waited, making sure that Don Pedro left the house for a long enough time, and then carried out the instructions given to them. Many historical sources claim that the men killed de Castro with a knife, while others as if they cut off her head. However, be that as it may, all historians agree that Ines was killed in front of her own children.

Angry Don Pedro started a civil war with his father

When Don Pedro returned home, he found his wife dead, and immediately realized that this was the work of his father, Afonso. With the support of the de Castro brothers, Pedro declared war on King Afonso IV. Gathering troops, he moved to the city in which his father ruled. After several months of prolonged conflict, Pedro's mother convinced him to conclude a truce. Reluctantly, the prince agreed to these conditions. In 1357, King Afonso died, and the Infante took his place, becoming, after the coronation, King of Portugal Pedro I. And after that he instantly began hunting for mercenaries who took the life of his wife.

Thoughts of revenge never left King Pedro I

The king was never able to forgive his father for depriving him of his only beloved woman. As soon as he came to the throne in 1357, he immediately began to think through his plan of revenge. It is believed that he was able to find the two men who were responsible for the death of his wife, and ordered them to be taken to the castle, where it all happened. Historians note that during dinner, the king watched as men's hearts were ripped out alive. When such news reached the public, the people for the king were firmly entrenched with the title of "Cruel".

Ines de Castro became Queen of Portugal five years after her death

After the death of Ines and after she was avenged, King Pedro declared that they had secretly married long before this incident. Such a statement meant that Ines technically had every right to be considered the queen of Portugal, while becoming the only royal person who was elevated to this title posthumously. When the public questioned the very fact of the wedding, King Pedro introduced don Gil, Bishop of Guarda, saying that he had attended their wedding and conducted the ceremony. The bishop himself could not accurately name the date of the wedding ceremony of the young, but the aristocrats agreed with Don Pedro, recognizing Ines as their queen.

Don Pedro introduced their dead queen to the public

In order to "bring out" the queen, don Pedro ordered that she be dressed in the best and most expensive clothes. Since Ines was considered the queen of Portugal, Pedro wanted to publicly crown her, summoning a huge number of aristocrats and local nobles to the palace. According to historical documents from 1852, the king ordered Ines' body to be placed on the throne next to him during the ceremony. Pedro also publicly proclaimed that the marriage they concluded in Bragança and blessed by Rome made Ines a queen and gives him the right to publicly crown her, forcing the nobles and local nobles to kiss her cold, dead hand. After such an enchanting appearance in public as a queen, Pedro ordered that the body of his wife be buried in a marble sarcophagus.

The Queen of Portugal had a splendid funeral procession

In 1360-1361, Don Pedro ordered his men to transfer the body of his wife to the Royal Monastery of Alcobas. There she was buried in a marble tomb, which was made exactly in the form of her body, held by several angels. At the end of his life, Pedro was also buried in the grave next to his beloved. The chronicler Fernand Lopez, who recorded the events of the XIV-XV centuries, notes that the funeral procession for Queen de Castro was truly magnificent. Ines' body was "accompanied by the best horses, as well as priests, nobles and loyal servants." And along the place where the procession passed, "thousands of people held the burning candles so that the body of the queen remained in the light."

On his grave, King Pedro ordered to carve the true story of his love

King Pedro I did not stint and ordered graves for himself and his beloved from the best craftsmen and carvers. On his grave, stone carvers have recreated the entire story of the prince and his mistress, from beginning to end, taking into account the tragic details of her death. This story is told on peculiar wheels, and it tells about the lives of de Castro, Pedro and their children, and also tells about true home moments. For example, one miniature depicts a family peacefully playing chess.

On the next, the murderers who have arrived at the castle are destroying the familiar and happy way of life of their family, and the carvers themselves place great emphasis on the scene of the murder of de Castro. They also show how Pedro avenged her death. For more than 650 years, de Castro and King Pedro I have been sleeping next to each other, and the inscriptions on their grave read: "Until the end of the world."

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