Constanza Manuel

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Constanza Manuel of Villena (c. 1318 – 27 January 1349) was a Castilian noblewoman who became queen through two marriages. She was the daughter of the powerful Castilian nobleman Juan Manuel and his wife Constance of Aragon.

In 1325, while Constanza was still a child, Alfonso XI of Castile asked for her hand in marriage. Her would‑be husband, Juan de Haro, was killed on the king’s orders, and Constanza’s betrothal to Alfonso XI made her Queen consort of Castile and León from 1325 to 1327. The marriage was not consummated while she was a minor, and Alfonso XI repudiated her in 1327 so he could marry Infanta Maria of Portugal to strengthen Castile’s alliance with Portugal.

Constanza then married Infante Pedro, heir to the Portuguese throne. Their proxy wedding took place in Évora in 1336, and the official wedding followed in Lisbon in 1340. The match helped seal peace between Castile and Portugal after years of conflict, and the arrangement included a substantial dowry with lands such as Montemor-o-Novo, Alenquer, and Viseu.

Constanza and Pedro had several children, including Luís (who died in infancy), Fernando (who would become King Ferdinand I of Portugal), and Maria, who was known as the Marchioness of Tortosa.

Constanza died in 1349 in Santarém, Portugal, and was buried there; her tomb was moved later to other locations. Her life was deeply tied to the dynastic politics of Castile and Portugal and to the famous affair between Pedro and Inês de Castro.