María de Padilla
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María Díaz de Padilla (María de Padilla) (1334 – August 1361) was the mistress of Pedro I, King of Castile, whom she married in secret in 1353.
She was a Castilian noblewoman. Her father was Juan García de Padilla, 1st Lord of Villagera, her mother was his wife María Fernández de Henestrosa, a relative of Juan Fernández de Henestrosa, who mediated an apparent pardon to Fadrique Alfonso of Castile, a half-brother and rival of María de Padilla's lover Pedro I.
In the summer of 1353, under coercion from family and court nobles, Pedro denied the fact of his marriage to María to marry Blanca of Bourbon, but his relationship with María continued. María and Pedro I had at least four children: a daughter named Beatriz (born 1354), a daughter named Isabella (1355–1394), another daughter named Constance (1354–1394), and a son named Alfonso, crown-prince of Castile (1359 - October 19, 1362).
Two of their daughters were married to sons of Edward III, King of England. Isabella married Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, while Constance married John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster.
Among the descendants of María de Padilla are all Kings of England starting with Edward IV of England, with the exception of Henry VII of England.
[edit] Depictions in fiction
- Gaetano Donizetti composed Maria Padilla (1841), an opera about her relationship with Pedro.
- Rudolf Gottschall wrote Maria de Padilla (18??), a drama about her life.
