OTD 15 November 1498 Eleanor of Austria Queen of Portugal and France
On 15 November 1498, Eleanor of Austria was born in Leuven (nowadays a
part of Belgium then a part of the Habsburg Netherlands) as the eldest daughter
of Philip I of Castile (Philip the Handsome) and Joanna of Castile (Joanna the
Mad).
Family
Eleanor was a granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I,
Mary of Burgundy, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.
Her siblings were:
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I,
Queen Isabella of Denmark,
Queen Mary of Hungary,
Queen Catherine of Portugal.
Eleanor of Austria was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Eleanor
of Portugal, the Holy Roman Empress.
She was a prominent member of the noble House of Habsburg.
Love & Marriage
Eleanor's relatives tried to marry her to the future King of England, Henry VIII,
but he married Eleanor's aunt, Catherine of Aragon instead.
Her relatives also tried to marry her to the King Louis XII and King Francis I
of France or to King Sigismund I of Poland but nothing came of these plans.
In 1517, Eleanor may have had a love affair with Frederick II, Elector Palatine,
her brother Charles once discovered her reading a love letter from Frederick.
Frederick was forced to leave the court and Eleanor had to follow her brother to
Spain.
Queen consort of Portugal
On 16 July 1518, Eleanor married her uncle King Manuel I of Portugal to
avoid the possibility of Portuguese assistance for any rebellion in Castile.
Manuel had previously been married to two of Eleanor's maternal aunts:
Isabella of Aragon and Maria of Aragon.
The royal couple had two children: Infante Charles, who died young and
Infanta Maria, who was later one of the richest princesses of Europe.
At the age of 13, Eleanor of Austria became a widow, when Manuel died of
the plague in 1521. Eleanor returned to the court of Charles in Spain.
Queen consort of France
In 1526, Eleanor was engaged to King Francis I of France during his
captivity in Spain. They finally married on 4 July 1530. They had no
children.
On 31 May 1531, Eleanor was crowned Queen of France at Saint Denis.
However she was ignored by Francis, he preferred his lover Anne de
Pisseleu d'Heilly.
But Eleanor acted as the queen of France at many official occasions
such as the wedding between her stepson Henry and Catherine de'Medici
in 1533. She also performed charity and was praised for this. She also
took her stepdaughters, Madeleine and Margaret into her household to
raise them further.
As Queen of France, Eleanor did not have any political power, but she
was used as a contact between France and the Holy Roman Empire. In
November 1544 she visited her brother Charles in Brussels.
In 1548 Eleanor left France for Brussels, there she witnessed the
abdication of Charles in October 1555 and left for Spain with him and
their sister Mary in August 1556.
Death
Eleanor of Austria, who had been Queen Consort of Portugal and
Queen Consort of Spain died on 25 February 1558 at the age of 59
after an eventful life at Talavera la Real in Spain.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
part of Belgium then a part of the Habsburg Netherlands) as the eldest daughter
of Philip I of Castile (Philip the Handsome) and Joanna of Castile (Joanna the
Mad).
Family
Eleanor was a granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I,
Mary of Burgundy, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.
Her siblings were:
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I,
Queen Isabella of Denmark,
Queen Mary of Hungary,
Queen Catherine of Portugal.
Eleanor of Austria was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Eleanor
of Portugal, the Holy Roman Empress.
She was a prominent member of the noble House of Habsburg.
Love & Marriage
Eleanor's relatives tried to marry her to the future King of England, Henry VIII,
but he married Eleanor's aunt, Catherine of Aragon instead.
Her relatives also tried to marry her to the King Louis XII and King Francis I
of France or to King Sigismund I of Poland but nothing came of these plans.
In 1517, Eleanor may have had a love affair with Frederick II, Elector Palatine,
her brother Charles once discovered her reading a love letter from Frederick.
Frederick was forced to leave the court and Eleanor had to follow her brother to
Spain.
Queen consort of Portugal
On 16 July 1518, Eleanor married her uncle King Manuel I of Portugal to
avoid the possibility of Portuguese assistance for any rebellion in Castile.
Manuel had previously been married to two of Eleanor's maternal aunts:
Isabella of Aragon and Maria of Aragon.
The royal couple had two children: Infante Charles, who died young and
Infanta Maria, who was later one of the richest princesses of Europe.
At the age of 13, Eleanor of Austria became a widow, when Manuel died of
the plague in 1521. Eleanor returned to the court of Charles in Spain.
Queen consort of France
In 1526, Eleanor was engaged to King Francis I of France during his
captivity in Spain. They finally married on 4 July 1530. They had no
children.
On 31 May 1531, Eleanor was crowned Queen of France at Saint Denis.
However she was ignored by Francis, he preferred his lover Anne de
Pisseleu d'Heilly.
But Eleanor acted as the queen of France at many official occasions
such as the wedding between her stepson Henry and Catherine de'Medici
in 1533. She also performed charity and was praised for this. She also
took her stepdaughters, Madeleine and Margaret into her household to
raise them further.
As Queen of France, Eleanor did not have any political power, but she
was used as a contact between France and the Holy Roman Empire. In
November 1544 she visited her brother Charles in Brussels.
In 1548 Eleanor left France for Brussels, there she witnessed the
abdication of Charles in October 1555 and left for Spain with him and
their sister Mary in August 1556.
Death
Eleanor of Austria, who had been Queen Consort of Portugal and
Queen Consort of Spain died on 25 February 1558 at the age of 59
after an eventful life at Talavera la Real in Spain.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
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