Biography
At the beginning of 1383, the political situation in Portugal was volatile. Beatrice was the King's only child, and heir to the throne, after her younger brothers' deaths in 1380 and 1382. Her marriage was the political issue of the day and inside the palace, factions lobbied constantly. Ferdinand arranged and canceled his daughter's wedding several times before settling for his wife's first choice, King John I of Castile. John had lost his wife, Infanta Eleanor of Aragon the year before, and was happy to wed the Portuguese heiress. The wedding took place on 14 May 1383, in the Portuguese city of Elvas. Beatrice was only ten years old.
King Ferdinand died shortly thereafter, on 22 October 1383. According to the treaty between Castile and Portugal, the Queen Mother, Leonor Telles de Menezes, declared herself Regent in the name of her daughter and son-in-law. At the request of John I of Castile, when he had knowledge of his father-in-law's decease, the Regent ordered the acclaim of Beatrice, although John I of Castile hadn't expressly recognized her as the Regent, first in Lisbon, Santarém and other important places, and, some days after the assassination of Count Andeiro, in all the country. But a rebellion led by the Master of the Order of Aviz, the future John I, immediately began, leading to the 1383–1385 Crisis.
Beatrice had no children with her husband, although a son called Miguel is mentioned in several much later genealogies and even in some modern history books. There is no contemporary document mentioning him, and his mother was only 10 or 11 years old at his supposed birth. It is most probably a confusion with a grandchild of the Catholic Monarchs who was called Miguel.
King John of Castile invaded Portugal in the end of December of 1383, to enforce his claim to be king by the right of his wife. The consequent war was effectively ended in 1385, with the utter defeat of Castile in the Battle of Aljubarrota. In the aftermath of this battle, John of Aviz became the uncontested King of Portugal. John of Castile and Beatrice no longer had a tenable claim to the throne of Portugal, but during the lifetime of John I of Castile, they continued to call themselves king and queen of Portugal.
Beatrice died circa 1420 in Castile.
Read more about this topic: Beatrice Of Portugal
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