Eleanor of Austria

Eleonor of Austria (Leuven, near Brussels, November 15, 1498-Talavera la Real, then within the municipality of Badajoz, February 18, 1558), queen of Portugal and Francia, eldest daughter of Philip I of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy, and Joan I of Castile, Queen of Aragon and Castile, known as “The Faithful Sister.”

She was famous in her time for her extraordinary beauty and culture, being sought after by the kings of France Louis

Early years

Eleonor of Austria was born in Leuven, as the eldest daughter of Archduke Philip of Austria, son of Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg and Duchess Mary of Burgundy, and Infanta Joan of Trastámara, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, who would succeed on the throne of Castile upon the death of Queen Isabel in 1504.

In her youth, her grandfather Maximilian had tried to marry Eleanor to Henry, Prince of Wales, future King Henry VIII, who would marry his mother Queen Joan's sister, the Infanta Catherine. Later, they tried to carry out other marriage proposals with the French kings Louis XII and Francis I, the Polish Sigismund I or Duke Anthony of Lorraine.

She may have had an affair with Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, since in 1517 a love letter from the count addressed to Eleanor fell into the hands of her brother Charles. Upon discovery, she forced them to swear that they were not secretly married and expelled Frederick from the Habsburg court. That same year, she left with her brother for Castile, since he had to occupy the vacant power after the death of her grandfather Fernando.

Queen consort of Portugal

The policy of the Habsburgs was to seek politically advantageous marriages for the future of the dynasty, which is why they engaged her to her uncle, King Manuel I of Portugal, nicknamed 'the Fortunate', who was the widower of her two aunts, Isabel and María, her mother's sisters, failing to reach an agreement for her to marry her heir Prince Juan, who would finally marry her sister Catalina.

The marriage was celebrated in the city of Lisbon, on March 7, 1519, and as a result of the union two children were born: Carlos and María.

King Manuel I died a victim of the plague in Lisbon, on December 13, 1521, at the age of 52. Leonor was barely 23, and she decided to return to her brother Carlos I, being forced to leave her daughter María de ella, only six months old, in Portugal. She would not see her again for many years, the relationship between mother and daughter being distant and difficult, especially for the Portuguese infanta, who never forgave her mother for abandoning her.

In 1523, she was betrothed to Charles III of Bourbon, a French nobleman who opposed Francis I due to the dispute between him and the king's mother, however said marriage never took place.

Queen consort of France

The rivalry between Charles I and Francis I of France shook Europe in a bloody power struggle. So, when the French king was captured by the Spanish monarch and imprisoned after his defeat at the Battle of Pavia (1525), he was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid (1526), which he soon ignored, resuming hostilities. One of the clauses signed by both parties in it was the marriage of Francis I and Eleanor of Habsburg, which was celebrated that same year in the Imperial Villa of Illescas (Toledo), even though the French monarch would not recognize it. as such until after the signing of the Treaty of the Ladies (August 3, 1529).

Finally, the signing of the Treaty of Cambrai or of the Ladies was achieved, so called because it was signed by Louise of Savoy - mother of Francis I - and Margaret of Austria - aunt of Charles V -. After a new marriage ceremony by proxy was held in Torrelaguna on March 20, 1530, attended by the Empress Isabel, Eleanor began the trip to France with the two children of Francisco I, the dauphin Francisco and his brother Enrique, Duke of Orleans, who had been left hostage by his father in 1526 to Charles V as a guarantee that he would fulfill the Treaty of Madrid and return Burgundy. By not doing so, the princes' captivity lasted more than four years. They were held in several fortresses of the Constable of Castile, Íñigo Fernández de Velasco, and upon his death, his son, Don Pedro. He accompanied Leonor and the French princes to Hondarribia where they were exchanged for four tons of gold. Francis I did not return Burgundy to the emperor. By then, Leonor had lost her vigor in her person: she had become sickly, delicate, and she was also affected by elephantiasis, a disease that swells and deforms her legs, leaving them bruised.

Leonor's life in the refined and luxurious French court was difficult and distressing: she saw how her husband rejected and despised her, diverting his attention to other women. The emperor's attempt to achieve better relations with the French king by marrying her sister to him proved futile. It was one more sacrifice for Leonor. Francis I died in Rambouillet, on March 31, 1547, aged 52. After being widowed, she was named Duchess of Touraine as her dowry; Eleanor, widowed and childless from this marriage, returned shortly after to the court of Brussels.

Recent years

For many years, Leonor tried, helped by her brother, to get the king of Portugal's consent for her daughter María to live with her.

After the abdication of Charles I in 1555, which she witnessed, and his retirement to San Jerónimo de Yuste, Leonor and her sister María decided to follow their brother, showing the immense affection that united them.

Then, the unexpected happens: King John III of Portugal finally allows the Infanta María to live next to her mother. But the years of separation were too much: once she arrived in Spain, the infanta refused to stay by her mother's side and returned to Portugal. For Leonor it was her death blow; Her health had suffered considerably in the last year, and the rejection of her only daughter was more than she could bear.

He died in the town of Talavera la Real, then belonging to the municipality of Badajoz, on February 18, 1558. His sister María died on October 18 of the same year.

She was buried in the Co-Cathedral of Mérida, until her brother Carlos I ordered that her remains be transferred to the Monastery of Yuste. Currently, her mortal remains rest in the Pantheon of Infants of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Offspring

Both children are from her marriage to Manuel I of Portugal:

• Carlos (18 February 1520-15 April 1521).
• Mary (8 June 1521-10 October 1577), duchess of Viseu and known as the most wealthy princess in Europe.

Artistic promoter

Leonor developed a taste for portraiture and during her life she supported artists such as Joos van Cleve, Jean Clouet and Léonard Limosin, although only two would appear as painters of the queen, Corneille de Lyon and Antoine Trouvéon, who portrayed her family. and to the French court of the moment. She also promoted illuminated manuscripts, pieces of jewelry or series of tapestries; For example, she commissioned the illumination of a book of hours for her daughter and bought the series of tapestries of the Conquest of Tunisia, belonging to her brother.

Ancestors

Predecessor: María de Aragón	Queen Consort of Portugal and Algarves 1519-1521	Successor: Catherine of Austria
Predecessor: Claudia de Valois	Queen Consort of France 1530-1547	Successor: Catalina de Médici
Predecessor: Luisa de Saboya	Duchess of Turena 1547-1558	Successor: Mary Stuart