Berengaria (Castilian: Berenguela), nicknamed the Great (Castilian: la Grande) (1179 or 1180 – 8 November 1246), was Queen of Castile for a brief time in 1217, and Queen of León from 1197 to 1204 as the second wife of King Alfonso IX. As the eldest child and heir presumptive of Alfonso VIII of Castile, she was a sought after bride, and was engaged to Conrad, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. After Conrad's death, she married her cousin Alfonso IX of León to secure the peace between him and her father. She had five children with him before their marriage was voided by Pope Innocent III.
When her father died, Berengaria served as regent for her younger brother Henry I in Castile until she succeeded him on his untimely death. Within months, she turned Castile over to her son Ferdinand III, concerned that as a woman she would not be able to lead Castile's forces. However, she remained one of his closest advisors, guiding policy, negotiating, and ruling on his behalf for the rest of her life. She was responsible for the re-unification of Castile and León under her son's authority, and supported his efforts in the Reconquista. She was a patron of religious institutions and supported the writing of a history of the two countries.
Early life
Berengaria was born either in 1179 or 1180, in Burgos. She was the eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife, Eleanor of England. She was the elder sister of Henry I of Castile and was named in honor of Alfonso VIII's grandmother Berengaria of Barcelona. Those who cared for the young infanta were generously rewarded. Her nurse, Estefanía, received land from Alfonso and Eleanor on her retirement in May 1181. Another nurse, Elvira, received a similar retirement gift in 1189 at Berengaria's request.
As the eldest child of King Alfonso and Queen Eleanor, who preferred to give birth to a son and therefore later king, Berengaria was the heir presumptive to the throne of Castile for several years because many of the children born later to the couple died shortly after birth or in early infancy. She became a greatly desired bride throughout Europe.
Berengaria's first engagement was agreed in 1187 when her hand was sought by Conrad, the fifth child of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The next year, the marriage contract was signed in Seligenstadt, including a dowry of 42000 Maravedí. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión the engagement was celebrated and Conrad was knighted making him a servant of his new lord, Alfonso. Berengaria's claim to the throne was based in part on documentation in the treaty and marriage contract, which specified that she would inherit the kingdom after her father or any childless brothers who may come along. Conrad would only be allowed to co-rule as her spouse, and Castile would not become part of the Empire. Furthermore, he was not allowed to claim the throne for himself in case of Alfonso's death but was obliged to defend and protect the kingdom until Berengaria arrived. The treaty also documented traditional rights and obligations between the future sovereign and the nobility.
The marriage was not consummated because Berengaria was less than 10 years old. Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other again. By 1191, Berengaria requested an annulment of the engagement from the pope, influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not interested in having a Hohenstaufen as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms. Those fears were neutralized when Conrad was assassinated in 1196.
Queen consort of León
In order to help secure peace between Castile and León and by becoming a mediator between her father and her husband, Berengaria married King Alfonso IX of León, her first cousin once removed, in Valladolid in 1197. As part of the marriage, and in accordance with Spanish customs of the time, she received direct control over a number of castles and lands within León. Most of these were along the border with Castile, and the nobles who ran them in her name were allowed to seek justice from either king in the event of being wronged by the other. In turn, these knights were charged with maintaining the peace along the border in the queen's name.