Urraca of León and Castile

Urraca of León was Queen of León and Castile from 1109 to her death. She was the first woman ever to reign in a western European monarchy. Urraca was the daughter of Alfonso VI of León by his second wife, Constance of Burgundy. She became heiress to her father's kingdom after her only brother was killed in the Battle of Uclés .

In childhood, she was betrothed to and later married Raymond of Burgundy who died in September 1107. They had two children: the Infante Alfonso Raimúndez and the Infanta Sancha . The widow Urraca was now ruler of Galicia, and as She her father's only surviving legitimate child, she could claim to be heiress of the reign of Castile. King Alfonso VI of León selected the king of Navarre and Aragon, Alfonso I of Aragon as her husband. They had hoped for an alliance that would safeguard the kingdom, since Alfonso was renowned as a great warrior. However, the marriage proved barren and turned exceedingly bitter. According to the chronicler Ibn al-Athir, Alfonso once remarked that "a real soldier lives with men, not with women".

Urraca and Alfonso of Aragon were also second cousins, and Bernard, Archbishop of Toledo, objected to the marriage on these grounds and condemned it as consanguineous. Nevertheless, Urraca and Alfonso were married in October 1109 in Monzón. Their inability to produce a child created a rift, and Urraca accused Alfonso of being physically abusive to her. The royal couple were soon separated. By October of 1110 or 1111, her supporters fought a battle against Alfonso's forces at Candespina, in which her premier nobleman and former aspirant to her hand, count Gómez González, was killed. A further defeat was inflicted at Viadangos, at which Pedro Froilaz de Traba was captured. Their marriage was annulled in 1114. Urraca never remarried, though she took as lover another powerful nobleman, count Pedro González de Lara.

Urraca's reign was disturbed by strife among the powerful nobles and especially by constant warfare with her husband who had seized her lands. Another thorn on her side was her brother-in-law, Henry, the husband of her half-sister Teresa of Leon. He alternatively allied with Alfonso I of Aragon, then betrayed Alfonso for a better offer from Urraca's court. After Henry's death in 1112, his widow, Teresa, still contested ownership of lands with Urraca. With the aid of her son, Alfonso Raimúndez, Urraca was able to win back much of her domain and ruled successfully for many years.

According to the Chronicon Compostellanum, Urraca died in childbirth in 1126. The supposed father was her lover, Count Pedro González of Lara. However the author of the chronicles was openly hostile to the adulterous queen, and the historian Reilly notes that a pregnancy was unlikely at the queen's age of 48. She was succeeded by her legitimate son, Alfonso VII.

Illegitimate children

Besides her two legitimate children by Raymond of Burgundy, Urraca also had an illegitimate son by her lover, Pedro González de Lara. She recognized their son, Fernando Perez Furtado, in 1123.