391) Eleanor of Austria

Eleanor of Austria (1498 - 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile. Queen consort of Portugal (1518 - 1521) and of France (1530 - 1547). Daughter of Philip I and Joanna of Castile. Her siblings were Mary of Hungary, Charles V, Isabella of Austria, Catherine of Austria and Ferdinand I.

When she was a child, Eleanor's relatives tried to marry her to the future King of England, Henry VIII, to whom she was betrothed. However, when Henry's father died and he became King, Henry decided to marry Eleanor's aunt, Catherine of Aragon. Her relatives also tried to marry her to the French Kings Louis XII or Francis I or to the Polish King Sigismund I, but nothing came of these plans.

Eleanor married her uncle by marriage, King Manuel I of Portugal, on 1518. They had two children: the Infante Charles (1520 – 1521) and the Infanta Maria (who was later one of the richest princesses of Europe). She became a widow on 13 December 1521, when Manuel died of the plague. As Queen Dowager of Portugal, Eleanor returned to the court of Charles in Spain.

The Treaty of Cambrai (1529; called La Paz de las Damas - "The Ladies' Peace") paused the conflict between Francis and Charles. It included the stipulation that the previously agreed upon marriage of Eleanor and Francis would take place. She was married to Francis in 1530 and Eleanor was crowned Queen of France on 31 May 1531. They had no children.

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(Eleanor of Austria - Joos van Cleve)