Eleanor of Habsburg
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Eleanor of Habsburg, also called Leonor of Castile or Eleanor of Austria (November 15 1498 – February 25 1558) was born Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile, became subsequently in turn queen consort of Portugal (1518–1521) and of France, also duchess of Touraine (1547–1558) as dower. Named Leonor de Austria in Spanish, Leonor(a) in Portuguese and "royne Eleonore" or Alienor in French.
Born in Louvain as the eldest child of Philip the Handsome, archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy and of Joanna of Castile, Infanta of Castile and Aragon and later queen of the named countries. Her siblings were: Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand I, also emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Elisabeth queen of Denmark, Mary queen of Hungary and later regent of the Low Countries and Catherine, queen of Portugal.
When she was young, her relatives tried to marry her to the king of England (Henry VII or Henry VIII), the French king (Louis XII or Francois I) or with the Polish king (Sigismund I), but they could not. Finally they married her to Manuel I of Portugal, after the proposed marriage with her cousin the Crown Prince did not occur. They married July 16 1518. They had two children, the Infante Carlos (who died as a child, born February 18 1520) and the Infanta Maria (born June 8 1521, and who was later one of the richest princesses of Europe). She became a widow on December 13, 1521, when Manuel died of the plague.
Some time later as a widow, by the treaty called "La Paz de las Damas" (The Ladies' Peace) she was married to Francis I of France on July 4 1530. They had no children.
As the French queen she did not have any political power; however, she was used as a contact between France and the Holy Roman Empire. She was Charles V's favorite sister. She died in 1558 on the return trip from Badajoz, where she tried to make peace with her daughter Maria.
| Preceded by Maria of Aragon | Queen Consort of Portugal 16 July, 1516 - 13 December, 1521 | Succeeded by Catherine of Habsburg |
| Preceded by Claude of France | Queen of France July 4, 1530 – March 31, 1547 | Succeeded by Catherine de' Medici |
cs:Eleonora Habsburská de:Eleonore von Österreich et:Austria Eleonore es:Leonor de Austria fr:Éléonore de Habsbourg it:Eleonora d'Asburgo nl:Eleonora van Habsburg ja:レオノール・デ・アウストリア pl:Eleonora Austriacka pt:Leonor de Áustria, Rainha de Portugal e de França ro:Eleonore de Austria sr:Леонор од Аустрије
