Eleanor, Princess of Asturias

Who was Eleanor, Princess of Asturias?

Eleanor of Castile was heiress presumptive to the throne of the Crown of Castile and Princess of Asturias from 1424 until a few months before her death.

Eleanor was born an infanta of Castile. She was the second child of King John II of Castile and his first wife, Maria of Aragon. Eleanor's elder sister, Catherine, Princess of Asturias, died seven days after Eleanor's first birthday. Thus, the one-year-old infanta became heiress presumptive to the throne. Her father had her recognised as successor to the kingdom and as Princess of Asturias by the Cortes of Valladolid shortly after her sister's funeral. The new Princess of Asturias received homage in the presence of her father, the King, in City of Burgos.

Princess Eleanor held the title and status of heiress for two months only. On 5 January 1425, she was displaced by the birth of a brother, the future King Henry IV of Castile. Now merely infanta and second-in-line to the throne again, Eleanor died the same year near the Cistercian monastery in La Espina. She was buried there, near the altar.