Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal

by Emily McMahon, revised by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Credit – Wikipedia

Philippa of Lancaster was born on March 31, 1359, at Leicester Castle in Leicestershire, England. She was the eldest of the seven children of John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III of England, and his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster.  Philippa’s brother Henry later became King of England as Henry IV. Philippa was raised with her brother and sister Elizabeth, her only siblings to survive childhood.  When Philippa was nine years old, her mother Blanche died at age 23, possibly of the plague or due to childbirth complications.

Philippa’s six siblings:

Philippa had had two half-siblings by her father’s second marriage to Constance of Castile daughter of Pedro I, King of Castile and León:

Philippa also had four half-siblings from her father John of Gaunt’s third marriage to Katherine Swynford, first his mistress and later his wife. The children were legitimized in 1397, and the House of Tudor is descended from their first son John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset

Philippa married King Joáo I of Portugal in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady in Porto, Portugal on February 2, 1387, sealing the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance which is still in effect. She was a comparatively older bride at 27, as most medieval royal women were married by their late teens. Philippa’s pious, maternal influences were welcomed in a court that had been previously known for its debauchery and corruption.  She is known as the mother of the “Illustrious Generation” (in Portuguese Ínclita Geração) of infantes (princes) and infantas (princesses).

Philippa and Joáo  had nine children:

The wedding of Philippa and John; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippa was a well-educated woman for the time, and her suggestion of conquest of Ceuta eventually helped Portugal dominate the African spice trade.  Philippa and Joáo were about to set sail to attack Ceuta when, Philippa died on July 19, 1415, at the age of 55 of the plague which had also killed her mother.  She was buried at the Monastery of Batalha in  Leiria, Portugal. The monastery was built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, fulfilling a promise of King Joáo I of Portugal.  Her husband survived her by 18 years and was laid to rest next to Philippa when he died in 1433. Their four younger sons are also buried at the Monastery of Batalha.

Tomb of King Joáo I of Portugal and his wife Philippa; By Daniel VILLAFRUELA, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37869378

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