Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon - Queenship

Queenship

Less than one year later, on 1 April 1416, King Ferdinand I died, leaving the crown to Maria's husband and making her Queen of Aragon. Illness prevented her from attending both her father-in-law's and her mother's funeral. Like all queens of Aragon except for only five (her mother-in-law included), Maria was never crowned queen. There is no evidence that the politically active Queen Eleanor ever prepared her daughter-in-law for her role, as would have been customary. She was overshadowed by her formidable mother-in-law who continued to exercise strong political influence even after her husband's death. The young Queen appeared in public only when it was necessary and refrained from taking part in politics, instead deferring to Eleanor. Maria moved into the public eye only when the queen mother's health began detoriating.

In 1420, Alfonso left Aragon to pursue his claim to the throne of Naples. He was unwilling to leave the regency to any of his ambitious and untrustworthy brothers who almost caused war between Castile and Aragon on several occasions. Instead, he declared Maria his regent. Before departing, he issued a document granting her authority second only to his own and the right to govern as if she were him.

As the King was absent from Aragon almost his entire reign, the Queen was the de facto ruler of the kingdom, holding the formal title of Lieutenant-General. While her personal retinue included many Castilians, Maria strategically appointed only Catalans to the offices during her regency, which contributed to her popularity and the smooth functioning of her court.

Her first tenure as regent lasted from 1420 until 1423, and her second from 1432 until her husband's death in 1458. As such, she was forced to handle the conflicts with the burghers and the peasants which broke out during her husband's reign. When Alfonso was captured after his defeat at Ponza in Italy in 1435, she organised the funds to pay his release. On one occasion, Queen Maria of Aragon and Queen Maria of Castile, the two cousins and sisters-in-law, mediated the peace treaty between Aragon and Castile in Valladolid on behalf of their husbands; it was said that there would have been peace in Spain at that time if the Queen of Castile had as much authority as the Queen of Aragon. In 1454, after her brother's death, the Queen of Aragon travelled to Castile to negotiate with its new King, her nephew, Henry IV. She stayed in Arévalo, Castile, until the year before her death in 1458.