#who was Pedro's older sister....the Pedro who Constança would later marry.....

[reallunargift]

Making this a separate post so I don’t go off on a tangent in that love stories post...

Pedro and Inês’ love story was set against a very chaotic historical backdrop (but I guess that’s the norm...) The below is an extremely summarised version:

- Pedro’s wife Constança was the daughter of a very powerful Castilian nobleman, and King Afonso IV of Portugal worried that her father could turn against him due to how his daughter was being treated. Afonso IV himself had actually invaded Castile some years earlier because King Alfonso XI of Castile had mistreated his wife Maria, who was Afonso IV’s daughter.

- Inês’ brothers' political influence over Pedro was met with discontent and worry by the Portuguese nobility, especially the possibility that Pedro was being encouraged by them to get involved in Castilian affairs.

- Afonso IV was also worried about the possibility of an attempt on the life of his only legitimate grandson, the frail prince Fernando, in favour of Inês’ healthier children. Afonso IV himself had had to go to war against his father to secure his succession rights, as his father had favoured an illegitimate son. That civil war had lasted 5 years.

- And that illegitimate son was Afonso Sanches, who was declared a traitor by Afonso IV and who fled to Castile and had a son called João Afonso de Albuquerque.

- And that João Afonso de Albuquerque was the leader of a rebellion against king Pedro I of Castile, and offered prince Pedro of Portugal the crown of Castile in exchange for his support. This meeting was facilitated by Inês.

- King Afonso IV was absolutely determined not to have Portugal dragged into a foreign civil war, and this is what sealed Inês’ fate; her beheading was a gruesome warning to Pedro.

In the end it seems like Afonso IV only managed to delay the inevitable. His grandson king Fernando I of Portugal took after Pedro not only in matters of the heart, but he actually meddled in Castilian affairs, which led to the unsuccessful Fernandine wars and the ultimate end of the first dynasty and the interregnum. And then one of Pedro's illegitimate sons was crowned king anyway, just not any of those he had with Inês.

#lunie blabbers #this is absolutely irrelevant but did you know that Constança was first married to Alfonso XI of Castile? #who then got their marriage annulled (they'd been super young) so he could marry Maria #who was Pedro's older sister....the Pedro who Constança would later marry..... #history is wild. you can't make this up. #pedro and constança and inês were also all each other's cousins. which isn't as wild but i never knew that #i do respect invading castile cos your son-in-law is being an absolute dick to your daughter though i can't fault afonso iv for that