Eleanor of Portugal (1498–1558)

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Eleanor of Portugal (1498–1558)

Queen of Portugal and later of France. Name variations: Eléonore; Eleanor Habsburg; Eleanor of Austria; Leonor of Austria. Born in Louvain on November 15, 1498; died on February 25, 1558, near Badajoz on the Portuguese border; daughter of Philip I the Fair, king of Castile and Leon, and Juana la Loca (1479–1555); sister of Ferdinand I and Charles V, both Holy Roman emperors, Mary of Hungary (1505–1558), Catherine (1507–1578), Elisabeth of Habsburg (1501–1526); became third wife of Miguel also known as Manuel I the Fortunate (1469–1521), king of Portugal (r. 1495–1521), on November 24, 1518; became second wife of Francis I (1494–1547), king of France (r. 1515–1547), on July 4, 1530; children: (first marriage) Carlos (b. 1520); Maria de Portugal (1521–1577); (second marriage) none.

Death of Eleanor's father, Philip the Fair (1506); accession of Charles V as king of Spain (1517); election of Charles V as Holy Roman emperor (1519); death of Manuel I (1521); defeat and capture of Francis I by Charles V at Pavia (1525); Treaty of Madrid (1526); Peace of Cambrai (Peace of the Ladies, 1529); death of Francis I (1547); death of Eleanor's mother, Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad, 1555); abdication of Charles V (1556); death of Charles V (1558).

The eldest child of Philip I the Fair of Burgundy and Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad) of Spain, Eleanor of Portugal was born in Louvain on November 15, 1498. She spent her childhood in Flanders, although her parents were often in Spain where Juana stood to inherit the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile as the only surviving child of Ferdinand and Isabella I . Eleanor's paternal grandfather was the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and her younger brother was Charles V, born in 1500. Thus, European politics inevitably dominated her life.

Charles readily sacrificed Eleanor's personal happiness on the altar of dynastic statecraft. When he discovered that she had received a love letter from Frederick, Count Palatine, Charles immediately exiled him from the Flemish court. About a year later, in 1517, she accompanied her brother to Spain, where he claimed his insane mother's throne. Charles soon wed Eleanor to the aging Manuel I of Portugal, seeking through the marital alliance to curb any attempt by rebellious Castilian nobles to obtain support from their Western neighbors. Manuel was 49 and his bride 20 when they wed on November 24, 1518. She was his third wife and gave birth to their two children (Carlos in 1520 and Maria de Portugal in 1521) before he died on December 13, 1521. (Manuel's second wife, Maria of Castile , had died in 1517).

Returned to Spain, Eleanor soon found herself a tool in another of Charles V's political stratagems. In 1523, the emperor was at war with the French monarch Francis I. Trying to deprive Francis of one of his most valuable vassals, Charles opened negotiations with the Duke of Bourbon. Imperial emissaries promised Bourbon the hand of Eleanor, among other rewards, if he would support Charles. In 1525, Charles' forces defeated and captured Francis at the battle of Pavia. Hoping to win his freedom, Francis agreed to the Treaty of Madrid and offered to seal his compliance by marrying Eleanor. Charles feared that if he reneged on his promise to the duke of Bourbon, the duke might withdraw his support. The emperor resolved the dilemma by persuading Eleanor to announce that she did not want to marry Bourbon. To Charles' way of thinking, this freed him of his obligation to Bourbon and permitted him to betroth Eleanor to Francis, his still-captive enemy. The emperor introduced his sister to Francis in Madrid on February 13, 1526. She bowed and offered the king her hand; he grandiosely embraced and kissed her as though she were his wife, reportedly proclaiming: "It is not the hand I owe you, it is the mouth."

Eleanor's second marriage suffered a long postponement. Francis refused to abide by other provisions of the Treaty of Madrid but secured his freedom by giving his two young sons to Charles as hostages. Fearful of a Franco-Hispanic alliance, Henry VIII of England offered his daughter Mary (I) as a wife to Francis in Eleanor's place. In the Treaty of Amiens (August 18, 1527), however, the monarchs agreed that Francis would wed Eleanor while Mary would wed the Duke of Orléans. Then to Charles and Eleanor's dismay, Francis invaded Italy. Depressed, Eleanor withdrew temporarily to a convent, knowing that the invasion meant renewed war between France and Spain. The new hostilities ended with the Treaty of Cambrai, or "Peace of the Ladies," on August 3, 1529. It stipulated that Eleanor go to France as soon as Francis complied with the terms of the pact.

On July 3, 1530, she met Francis at Roque-fort-de-Marsan, and they celebrated their marriage two days later. Writes Francis' biographer Francis Hackett, "The French people welcomed the new Queen. She was a herald of peace, and they yearned for peace." But events soon showed that Charles' political strategy had sacrificed his obedient sister. Francis and Eleanor rarely lived together as husband and wife. He was enamored of his mistress, Anne d'Heilly, whom he made Duchess d'Étampes . Eleanor had no recourse but to endure his shameful infidelities. On the rare occasions they slept together, according to Francis' sister Margaret of Angoulême (1492–1549), Francis said, "she is very hot in bed, and desireth to be too much embraced." As Charles' sister, Eleanor dutifully led a dignified public life, sometimes appearing with Francis for official occasions such as the wedding of his son Henry (II) to Catherine de Medici or the public execution of heretics. But in private, he accorded her neither love nor respectful affection.

Writes biographer Hackett, "Francis was wedded quite casually to the kind, good, virtuous and sensible lady whose fault was to be a chattel." After trying to win her husband's affection, Eleanor recognized that she could not overcome his passion for Madame d'Étampes. As much as possible, she tried to mediate between Francis and Charles to avoid further warfare. Otherwise, she dedicated herself to pious and charitable works. When Francis I died on March 31, 1547, his attendants had not even informed Eleanor of his fatal illness.

Her stepson Henry II invited Eleanor to remain in France, but she decided to leave the scene of so much heartache. She journeyed first to Flanders and remained there for several years. Eventually, Eleanor joined her brother in Spain. On February 25, 1558, she died near Badajoz on the Portuguese border, having gone there to visit her only surviving child, Maria de Portugal. Charles died on September 21 of the same year.