The Tragic Tale of Portugal’s Corpse Queen | Inês de Castro

[@diva.t.williams]

Thank you for telling this story with such sensitivity and care. Every time I hear about Ines de Castro, it's about how "weird" and "creepy" the story is. People make it into such a joke, but it's actually terribly sad. That poor woman was treated cruelly and her kids must have been traumatized to see her murdered that way. She had no control over the fact that her parents weren't married, and yet she was treated as less than her whole life over something that wasn't her fault.

[@Ruimas28]

Its a bit more complicated ;) She would not have died if she was able to keep low profile. Now, the real cause of her death was her and her siblings ambition. It was their meddling too deep into the portuguese court which made everyone scared of her. She might even had been accepted as Queen after Constança if she had been able to keep a low profile. Unfortunately, people had real fear that her family might wish to overthrow Constança´s kids and that would cause civil war. As for her personal blame? Well....she was an adult and she was a lady of her time. She would have been perfectly aware of what playing the game of thrones was about. And she would have been aware of the dangers in bringing her siblings and start giving them land and titles in Portugal. That was the real cause of her death. Allas....they all thought that King Afonso was too old and would just die quickly. And they thought the nobles would not move against Pedro´s will because Pedro being close to be king. They were wrong........ You will notice that Ines´s children were able to live. Afonso was not that cruel. Once he removed Ines and her family, he was fine with letting his grandchildren grow. Even if they too might cause civil wars in the future. The big problem with Ines was really that she and her siblings just acted too ambitious and a bit too early. Had they waited for Afonso´s death..... Ines was not happy to be with her lover, she wanted to be THE QUEEN of Portugal. She would have been 100% safe as a mistress.

[@VictoriaForSale]

I only can see how much Peter loved her and that he wanted her to have her rightful place next to him, what ever the cost, even if people would consider him crazy and odd

[@Ruimas28]

@@VictoriaForSale Not sure if this is clear but the corpse crowning and hand kissing are only legend. Pedro was catholic and he would never disturb Ines body! The only thing he did with her remains was just transfer them and give them a proper royal burial. Which he did with full state honours. He gave her a Queen burial. Full with everyone important following in prayers, procession, all that. But her remains were always kept as safe as possible inside her coffin. None would dare disturb her, much less Pedro. To disturb Ines body would have been maybe the worst possible crime you may be able to commit during Pedro´s reign. Plus, she was legally considered Pedro´s wife and Queen of Portugal. But the last tittle was weird. In portuguese chronicles she does show up in the list of Queens but with no reign. Its like....crowned after dead in year 1460. That was for sure odd enough. But not as dramatic as the corpse thing.

[@VictoriaForSale]

@@Ruimas28 ah, thank you, I didn't know. I mean there was that thing with the corpse of a bishop or something, I can't quite remember, so I thought it might occur more often in such cases. For my own imagination and sense it is wonderful to hear he just transferred the body and claimed her queen - that thought also came to my mind, I wondered why he didn't 🤣 I am kinda glad it's just a legend, though for other occasions it might be not just legend...

[@Ruimas28]

​@@VictoriaForSale :) For Ines it would have been seriously tricky. Not only was Pedro catholic, he had children from Ines who were alive and well. Those children would very likely not be fine with their mothers corpse being displayed publicly. There was also a Castro brother still remaining in Portugal. He was great friends with Pedro. And he too might have opposed any kind of morbid spectacle with his late sister´s body. They were all very close.

[@areiaaphrodite]

If my husband doesn't exhume my body, sew my head back on after I was brutally beheaded, have my corpse crowned as his Queen despite the fact that I'm dead and take horrible vengeance upon the men who murdered me, then he doesn't really love me and I don't want him 😤😅

[@meskro93]

As you should Queen 👸

[@twistoffate4791]

Lol!!

[@emeralddragon1712]

True! True! 😋✌️🥳🤣🤣🤣

[@Le60o]

That’s GOLD 🤣😂🤣🇦🇺

[@DaisiesInMercury]

If he does all of that, it means it's True Love, (sighing) how romantic😂

[@pookpook3891]

I've always wondered why there was no movies or tv show about it. This story is worth to be mentioned (and there is all the drama, HBO, Netflix and so one, love). It's great to know it was mentioned in some works so I'll go look for them. Great work as always !

[@evangeline77x]

I completely agree! I'd love to see a film or even a novel about Ines life.. Her story is so fantastical with all the elements of medieval royalty, a glamorous woman, intrigue, a pair of true lovers separated by the powers that be, unspeakable tragedy, a violent assassination at a convent and then the grand finale with the coronation of the dead queen!!! It all lends perfectly to the fairytale/fantasy medium. Especially with all the beautiful artwork and poems and stories written throughout the centuries which have cemented Ines place as a figure of legend.. Hopefully one day her story will be told in full and given the reverence and treatment it deserves.

[@silvale7143]

There are Portuguese Tv series and Films about Pedro and Inês kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4rHhoB6m52Fq7M

[@minagica]

There are, they're just usually called Snowhite this or that

[@Belinda8881]

There are several movies and séries but they are in portuguese and produced by the portuguese TVs.Try "The trágic love story of King Pedro l of Portugal and Inês de Castro."

[@creolegoddess1979]

LOL !!!! I'm telling you he absolutely better 😩😳🤣🤣🤣👏🏼👏🏼

[@TheStarkB]

Thank you so much for your accurate description of this story. It's a very beautiful and tragic love story - easily one of the greatest of Portugal. And as born and raised portuguese, it's so frustrating to listen to people sharing the kiss-the-corpse-hand myth as a true fact, when in reality there are no legit records about it. Indeed, Inês was crowded Queen after being dead, and her body was then moved to Mosteiro de Alcobaça, but apart from that, it's all a legend with very deep roots in our culture. The same goes to her blood still being seen in Quinta das Lágrimas, when she was not murdered there, and the "red stains" on the fountain are just a natural chemical reaction of the environment and the pH of the water. It's so refreshing to listen to a well done investigation on this topic. You did an amazing job ❤

[@snakey319]

and yet you never said to pronounce her first name correctly.

[@tsukinoyousei]

@@snakey319 you mean like saying Peter instead of Pedro? :p

[@vicsystevie]

After listening to this story, I was more curious about Constanza's side more than anything and went to read up on it. I have to say, her life seems pretty sad. A woman not loved and tossed around like an object.

[@daisychain5894]

I kind of wish I hadn't read your comment, it just doesn't get any better. Thank you though for reporting your research, much appreciated 👍

[@Ruimas28]

Indeed. Constança was really the one who had not much choice and not much agency in this story. She was a diplomatic tool for her family and had to do what she had to do. She did her duties to her family and did has best she could. As far as I know, she did live a quiet life in Portugal. There was no hostility towards her and she would always have her proper honours as Queen. Well....you have to figure out if it would be worth it. On the positive side, she had access to all possible material stuff she might wish for. And most of the time she would be free to do her stuff. Which might be reading, enjoying some gardens, gossiping around with people, trying fancy clothes, having great musicians perform to her. This would all be within possibility. There are no records that Pedro was ever a bad husband to her. Ok....outside Ines of course. But....that´s the reality of many couples even in todays world. And most of those couples to not enjoy the rich lifestyle which Constança did. So.....always take things in a bit of perspective. Even today, a lot of young rich girls end up marrying with people who seem to be of similar social status. Mainly because they want to keep their status and want to keep the lifestyle they are used to. So, in perspective, these royal ladies might have been fine with doing what they did, in exchange for their status and highly privileged life. By the way, always take it in perspective and ask yourself: What would really be the pain of being betrayed by someone you did not love in the first place? The entire thing was more of a political agreement. So, what would really be the issue of having your husband go around? Its like...yes....everyone would know you married for politics. None would consider you less if there was no love. People would value your diplomatic skills at court, your ability to manage the household and entertain guests. None would be critical if you did not manage to be the love of your husband.

[@TheOnlyLadyBella]

True

[@TheOnlyLadyBella]

@@Ruimas28 with all that being said women still want love. I don't care how much they love money. Trust me I know.

[@namea99]

Agreed!! It irritates me to no end how the wives are always shoved to the side when it comes to the great"love stories" of history they so happen to be unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of. Catherine of Aragon and Constanza deserved better than being wed to trifling men. What's even more sad to me is that had they committed adultery themselves they would have been quickly killed. SMH!!

[@MariaTorres-hc5uq]

-The "blood" at Quinta das Lágrimas is an algae, or some sort of water lichen. - The executions of the murderers included the hearts being removed from the back, when they were still alive... - All the Portuguese kings have a "petit nom" usually related to their deeds. Pedro is "o crú" that is the crude, or the cruel. Of course it took to some jokes among young scholars... because crú also means "uncooked" and is very similar to the slang word for butt. -The tombs at Alcobaça are facing each other so that by the day of Last Judgement they would be facing each other. One of the inscriptions reads "Until the End of the World". We didn't break them...the French did it...during the Napoleonic Wars, in the early 19th century. Thanks for the accuracy. Regards from Lisbon.

[@evangeline77x]

This is one of my favorite royal love stories! It's so tragic and wild with plenty of twists and turns, and over times has become a legend evolving to become a sort of fairytale.

[@grapeshot]

This gives a whole new meaning to, I just can't let it go.

[@ashleelarsen5002]

That's commitment

[@yesterdayitrained]

@@ashleelarsen5002 😆

[@ahnraemenkhera7451]

😝😂😂😂🤪

[@ashleelarsen5002]

@@ahnraemenkhera7451 eh chivalry is dead now too...

[@ashleelarsen5002]

@@yesterdayitrained we should get together 🤟

[@MDeLorien]

I'm living near Coimbra . This story is very popular here. I was in the Quinta das Lagrimas few years ago. It's a beautyful place Thank you for sharing it

[@maryroberts9315]

I remember cases of corpses being tried and “executed” for crimes. I think there was a different attitude toward the relationship between and body and the soul than today. There are some interpretations that in the Christian resurrection that you resurrect with your body, but made perfect. I think Peter just wanted everyone to see the terrible thing that was done, since the only undeniable evidence of the day was eye-witness.

[@alrise1776]

@Ben Avery love Simon! He has so many channels and they are all great

[@AntigoneIvy]

Their love story is sweet and all, but I do feel bad for Constanza. Her life was pretty difficult too, if not more so; - Only surviving child of her parents as all her full siblings died, with a load of half siblings running around due to her father's third marriage and affairs. - She marries at 9 years old and was mistreated/dishonored by her first husband Alfonso XI of Castile (Who also happened to dump her and dissolve the marriage after two years in favour of another princess, who sadly was also mistreated. In any case that makes two husbands who pretty much disregarded her in favour of another). In any case, through this marriage she becomes Queen Consort of Castile. - She was imprisoned as a hostage at Alcázar de Toro by her former husband over what he thought were political deals not in his favour in regards to her second by-proxy marriage with Peter. - War happens between the two kingdoms for two years. - She *finally* is allowed to travel to Portugal, and just so happens to have Inês with her. - Two of her children die as infants. - Her father dies a year before her death. - Dies from postpartum complications at the young age of about 33, gets hardly a peep from hubby and more like "Oh yay how convenient! I can marry the mistress now! Please Dad?" I mean, did he even visit her as she was sick for those weeks? Or Ines, who was her lady in waiting? Or were they off together somewhere playing house? - Pretty much her whole family was pushed aside in favour of Ines' family, including her own children in favour of the illegitimate ones. We only have Peter's words of whether they actually got married or not, so it is really up in the air. I mean, she did everything right in the context of the times; Dutiful and patient as a noblewoman in a world of human pawns and politics and producing legitimate children. She proved herself to have a hint of cunning too, with her attempt at ending the affair which clearly was a sign that it bothered her (The baby who Ines was asked to be Godmother to died weeks later BTW) And all for what? To be ignored and politically usurped all for the name of love. It's all well in good to be all gooey "OmG HoW rOmaNtIC" towards the main couple of the event, but not at the expense of other people, especially Constanza the cheated on long suffering wife - even if it was an arranged dynastic marriage. Affairs are obviously going to happen in the world of royals and high court, but she still deserved more respect and honour than what she got, as a human being and as a Queen of one place and Infanta/Princess of another. Ines might have had it tough, but so did Constanza. Pawned off, annulled, imprisoned for years during her youth, marital affair rubbed in her face, loses family, dies young from a lingering painful death. And then the mistress gets to enjoy a way more nicer and royal burial than she did, despite Constanza being the confirmed REAL queen first. Yeah yeah, Inez's and Peter's love story was tragic, but at least they got to enjoy love and passion while they could, Constanza never even had that.

[@kaleajohnson7414]

Wow, you really did your research! It's really unfortunate when this kind of thing happens. Most people tend to focus on the main characters of the story, when really the side characters should get much more recognition.

[@anaicotrim9557]

Bravo! On the spot. Inês de Castro was the mistress of a powerful married man.

[@custosluna8433]

Inês was not allowed anywhere near Constança during her pregnancies because everyone thought she would hurt or kill either Constança or the baby. From what I read Inês always tried to stay in the background when it came to Constança, a "you're the wife, I'm the mistress. I know my place." mindset. It was Pedro who rubbed on everyone's faces at court how much better Inês was than Constança to him. Inês didn't have much choice about becoming Pedro's mistress, either by pressure from her family or Pedro himself. In that social timeline, the only person who can say no to the heir of a kingdom is the king and Pedro had shown many times that he would defy his father do what he believed to be right. At least in my point of view, it was a loss-loss situation for both Inês and Constança. Yes, Inês ended up with a legendary love story but I think many times people forget that at this point her story is exactly that, a legend. And sometimes golding details of legends are rusty paragraphs in reality.

[@florazul-1191]

Constança for life ❤

[@saibliss7976]

Beautiful visuals, brilliant pronunciations, and a very engaging story of a person unknown to many. Thank you for creating such interesting videos just love them. 👌✨🌸🙏 What a love story.

[@maisondusuave]

What a tragic story. Some really beautiful images, too. Well done. I'm astonished I've never come across Inés before. Thank you!

[@jujub7829]

When i learned of this in school i felt very sorry for Inês but as an adult while i do feel the circumstances of her death are very tragic and don't condone with what happened, I feel more sorry for Queen Constanza. Prince then King Peter not only cheated but also flaunted his lover and illegitimate children in front of her while she kept getting miscarriages and probably having her status as a queen threatened by her former handmaiden/childhood companion. Undoubtedly this so called "true love", she is the biggest victim, that's why I really don't like this story. In one hand I feel sorry for Ines but did she really love Peter or was it is position? She was still willing to betray her lady and become a mistress, Peter was a scumbag to cheat, but if his father allowed him to marry Ines this wouldn't happen In short it's such a mess.

[@berenicewaters4096]

What such an amazing story though. A sad ending for the prince and his love. Thanks for the images and the excellent content.

[@ashleelarsen5002]

Ditto

[@brendaholliday6866]

This was a beautiful and yet tragic love story of Portugal royalty. I really enjoyed your narration, great investigating and presentation, too.

[@nicolesarubin1988]

I love how as a woman you do this and you're called Juana the mad, do it as a dude and you're just another king 🤔

[@beth7935]

SO TRUE! I was thinking that too. It's "aww, what a lovely guy, he loved her so much!", but with Juana it's "OMG, what a crazy freak, & how pathetic that she loved him so much when he was cheating on her!" I was horrified when I heard the full story- it's awful to lock someone up even if they _are_ "mad" & incapable of ruling, but to pull out the "crazy woman" card to steal her kingdom... And I wouldn't call her Juana "the mad" even if she was "mad"- she's Juana of Castile.

[@noname-ip9xe]

You really wanna make this about feminism now?

[@Ruimas28]

Nop. Joana´s big problem was that she was first in line for Castille and....by their laws....she could rule! If that had not been her situation, you would just know her as the wife of Phillip and that would be it. Ohh, it would be known she was in love, that she did not take his mistresses kindly, that she was deeply unhappy at times due to Phillip not loving her in return. All that would be known. But nothing really that special. What makes her special was the events which placed her as Queen of Castille. And because her father was a respected and quite formidable ruler......very few people were willing to try her. If she had been in a situation like her mother.....history might have looked at her differently. Unfortunately, once she was Queen and few wanted her there.....her father needed to explain why she could not be Queen and.....the rest is history. But its much more that she did not have anywhere near the talent of her mother. And, unlike her mother, she was no match for her father. They were on absolutely different leagues.

[@sentimentalcircuscurator]

Will you do Princess/Queen Libuse/Libussa next ? (nudge, nudge wink wink!) She founded Prague and other cities, had a horse that was said to have supernatural abilities, abolished human sacrifice in what was a pagan country, married a farmer because of a prophecy that she should "choose a man that ate dinner at a table made of Iron" (Przemysl or something like that I think his name was he sat eating on his plough) , and died of a strange disease that turned her into wax. I think she was buried with her throne or something like tthat too, but I cant remember clearly).

[@caramia4143]

I second that. What a life!

[@beth7935]

That's a brilliant story, I'd love to see that too! Is that maybe where the Premyslid dynasty came from? If so, I love that a royal dynasty was named for a ploughman! Seems like it should be the Libuse/Libussa dynasty to me, but that's patrilineal naming systems for you.

[@alrise1776]

That sounds super interesting! I'd like to see a video on this topic

[@StrayKisswHobyStrayKids]

if he talks about her I expect a section about that horse because that sounds quite intriguing

[@seanfay6954]

Truly Amazing, I appreciate all of your wonderful videos. So many people and their stories are thought provoking and heartbreaking at times. Thank You for all your time and effort. Take care and stay well.

[@beth7935]

Wow! I’d only vaguely heard of some Mediaeval king crowning his dead wife/lover, & it was fascinating to hear the actual story! Such a tragic story tho- I can’t believe Afonso actually had Inês murdered, let alone in front of her children, but it does explain why Pedro would feel strongly enough about it to do something so drastic- but really, how drastic is it, compared to having her murdered?…

[@Ruimas28]

It sounds drastic but it was a serious political issue. When Constança died, Afonso wanted to marry Pedro again, with some other important european princess, as would have been his duty. Now, things get deadly serious when Pedro starts refusing and makes it obvious he plans on making Ines Queen. Afonso could stop her from being Queen but only as long as he was alive. And given that Afonso was old, he had to act quickly. Why was Ines dangerous as possible Queen? Well...there is the issue that she was not a legitimate royal blood so you could find a better political marriage. But the real issue....is that Ines was on the process of establishing her siblings all around Pedro and well within the portuguese court. And this was seen as an unauthorized invasion of foreigners taking portuguese lands and tittles. This is what really made portuguese nobles jealous and scared of them. Which then forced Afonso´s hand. If Ines had been more low profile and had respected portuguese nobility, she might have found her way into the throne. Or at least keep her place as the kings main mistress, which was not the worst place ever at court. The big issue is that Ines and her siblings started to play Game of Thrones. And...you know....you win or you die.

[@beth7935]

@@Ruimas28 That's very interesting! She sounds rather like Elizabeth Woodville, queen of Edward IV of England. He was king when he married her tho, & not the kind of king anyone would mess with. Things did get murderous when he died tho, & his brother Richard III usurped the throne, & some people argue _his_ hand was forced too, to protect himself & the country from the "upstart" Woodvilles. It hardly seems fair to blame Ines & Elizabeth, when Pedro & Edward were the ones handing out titles etc to their in-laws- Ines & Elizabeth couldn't _force_ them to do that, or anything else, but that's how it was seen, & political expedience meant the easiest way to get rid of hated "upstarts" was to blame _them_ & murder/execute/'disappear" them, so the royals & nobles could take back full control... Yep, pretty standard tactic, sadly. Thanks for the full context!

[@Ruimas28]

@@beth7935 Ohh...absolutely, this entire period in portuguese history has some similarities with The War of the Roses. Now....it gets even better, because Pedro´s last bastard kid, who will end up starting a new portuguese dinasty.....marries.....Phillipa Lancaster ;) Which is when the Treaty of Windsor is established and Portugal becomes allied with England. Anyway, back to Ines and her similarities with Elizabeth Woodville, they exist! I would however not discount the ladies influence and power behind the stage. They were considered dangerous for very good reasons. People around them recognized them as fierce political rivals. Which is how and why they got to be thrown into so much conflict. Ines, at the time of her death, was well established in Portugal. She was given an important property in Coimbra, which belonged to the royal family. She was actively managing that property and this is another big reason why she was killed there. Apart from Ines, and this is where it gets very similar to the Woodvilles, Ines closest brother had become Pedro´s best friend. And, what is worse to the other nobles, he was getting seriously close to Pedro´s first born son from Constança, the legitimate heir. This is what triggered Afonso to kill Ines, because he got reports that Ines brother would plot to kill his grandkid and heir to the throne. Now, if that plot existed, and together with Ines moving towards Queen.....this was a very serious possibility that they could be trying to place Ines kids first in line. What is very sad in this story, is that Ines brother did remain loyal to Pedro and even to his first born after Pedro´s death. In fact, Ines brother became huge in Portugal during the rule of both Pedro and his firstborn (from Constança). So...when all is said and done, it does look like Ines death was very much for nothing. Because she did get to be Queen after death, her kids did end up being legitimized....but her family and kids never threatened Constança´s kids. They actually got along. Which....makes it sad because apparently portuguese history might have been more peaceful without the preemptive strike on Ines. But, things are always hard to predict and one cant know for sure how would Pedro rule with Ines alive and sitting next to him. We only know that it was fine with her dead. So...who knows......

[@beth7935]

@@Ruimas28 Very interesting again! I did know about Philippa of Lancaster, & her half-sister Katherine marrying Henry III of Castile- I've just read a bio of John of Gaunt, partly cos I was interested in his connections to Portugal & Castile, & I did NOT know he went around calling himself King of Castile! The nerve! The video's about Portuguese history tho, so I don't want to assume everyone knows English history, but yes, Ines' brother sounds similar to the Woodvilles- & given Ines was a mistress & her children were illegitimate, they & Ines' other relatives were even more of a potential threat to the status quo. It's so tragic that they weren't actually a threat at all- her brother remained completely loyal even after his sister's murder, & it wasn't even one of Ines' kids who eventually became king. The women at court did have influence & power, absolutely- Elizabeth Woodville's plotting with Margaret Beaufort for an obvious example- I just meant the buck stops with the king in an absolute monarchy. In reality, ofc some kings might be very easily influenced, &/or hand over most of the actual power to someone else, & ofc there could be dangerous political games with powerful disobedient nobles, uprisings or plots. Most of the time tho, with an absolute monarch, it seems dishonest to me to hold other people responsible for his actions, but that's often how it was seen at the time, & precisely _because_ he was an absolute monarch- it was better to blame the "bad advisors" than the king anointed by God.

[@Ruimas28]

​@@beth7935 If you want more about Pedro and his kids, let me give you some details of what happened afterwards. Pedro becomes king only 2 years after Ines death. He not only legitimizes her as Queen, by proxy he gets all their kids legitimate heirs too. But Constança´s kids remain first in line. Pedro ends up having a final bastard kid around the time he got to be king. This was his only known kid outside Constança and Ines. Just, remember this kid because he will be important later. Pedro rules 10 years more or less, in which one of Ines brothers remains in Portugal and keeps good friends with Pedro. Pedro starts to marry his kids and he takes good care to give good places to all of them. Both Constança and Ines kids. He marries his eldest daughter from Ines with Aragon nobility. Her name was Beatriz and through her line you will get the Ferdinand who will marry Isabela and....you likely know who I am talking about. Fun fact, Ferdinand of Aragon was a descendant from Pedro and Ines. Well...fun fact, Isabela of Castille was also descendant from Pedro, but we will get there! After 10 years Pedro dies and his eldest son from Constança gets in power. Interesting, he keeps around Ines brother (the one which had remained in Portugal). That Castro guy keeps getting more and more powerful and apparently always loyal. If you want to google him, this is Alvaro Pires de Castro (1310-1384). Some dates just to help here...sorry they come this late. Ines dies in 1355 between 30 and 35 years old King Afonso dies in 1357 Pedro will die in 1367 So you can clearly see that Ines brother, Alvaro, somehow did very well in Portugal with both Pedro and his firstborn from Constança. Now, this firstborn is Fernando who will die in 1383 without kids. And this is going to generate a kind of War of the Roses thing because you will have. Fernando´s only surviving daughter married with the king of Castille. In theory, because Portugal allows for female rule, she should be Queen. She is legitimate and heir to the last king. However...there is the issue of her husband and danger of Portugal loosing independence. So....Portuguese court decided to go back to Pedro´s kids and generate a new line. Well....the next surviving male is actually....from Ines. And he is wanted to rule. Just...trouble happens. By chance, this kid from Pedro and Ines was living in Castille at the time. His niece and her husband, uncover these plots in very good time and proceed to arrest the guy in Castille where he will eventually die. We are talking about João de Portugal (1349-1387) So, with Ines kid locked in Castille, and King Juan I of Castille getting ready to invade Portugal in the name of his wife Beatriz (do not confuse with her aunt Beatriz daughter of Ines)....the portuguese court turns to the last possible male heir from Pedro: The bastard kid!!! Who is going to be João I, House of Avis, married with Phillipa Lancaster. And Isabela of Castille is going to descend from this couple through her maternal line....therefore having also Lancaster blood....which will get back in England with Catherine of Aragon and....you likely know the rest ;) Now, Ines brother, Alvaro was already very old during this crisis. So I doubt he had much to say. But he died precisely during this crisis, in 1384. But he was 74 years old so....he was likely having a ton other natural issues :) King João I was crowned in 1385, after defeating Juan I of Castille at the Battle of Aljubarrota, a decisive battle were Portugal had some english longbows to help and Castille brought some french knights. In may ways, Aljubarrota (1385), was pretty much similar to what would happen at Aggincourt with Henry V. If I did not manage to get you lost in all this, you will notice that through their descendants, Pedro and Ines are actually present in many powerful royal houses. Noticeably the Habsburgs.

[@tiredandcranky]

Everyone has heard of Frances mad king. I never heard of Peter, he was completely bonkers. Thank you for such a tragic and interesting story. It was dreadful what happen with the two women and their children. All the suffering.

[@kristengaitanides8611]

What a sensitive man with such incredible feelings! A true medieval knight in a love story overshadowing fictional love romances!!! After all,Inés, through her legitimized daughter's Beatrice marriage she became the ancestor of all Spanish monarchs...

[@London263]

I'm Portuguese and never heard of this... This was very interesting ty

[@anaicotrim9557]

Every time I listen to this story I cannot help thinking about Queen Constança's misery.

[@bettinapartridge3434]

What an amazing story. Will have to explore more of Portugal's history as a result.

[@thcusandsunny]

New favourite video of yours. Been waiting for this one for a long time. From my heart, a sincere thank you.

Portuguese here. Also, art historian. The tombs were placed in Alcobaça on a side chapel and not facing each other for the so called "meeting on the last day". That was done on the 20th century for the sake of "adding effect" to the guided tour done to the Queen of England when she visited the country. Yeah, as if it needed more "effect"! Overall very well done video ! Thank you for your videos, I'm also a subscriber ;)

[@justhereforkicks8208]

For a man to dig up his dead wife, put her own a throne and crown her queen, then make all of his court kiss her dead hand to ensure her legitimacy, and in top of that go to war against his own father, the king…that’s true love right there. Part of me wants to believe there’s a happy ending to all of that, that perhaps after his death they were reunited and now can spend eternity together.

[@Ruimas28]

Well....they somehow got a bit of a vengeance if you may call it..... Queen Constança´s offspring did not go very far. However, Pedro and Ines daughter Beatrice.....ends up being ancestor to the Ferdinand of Aragon who will unite Spain with Isabella of Castille. The later Isabella being also descendant from Pedro through another son he had later with another mistress, who ended up starting a new portuguese dynasty. So..you see....Pedro and Ines ended up fathering all Iberian nobility. All the way up having their lines within the more famous Habsburgs who ruled most of Europe at a certain point.

[@ToTheeOBlessedJoseph]

Thank you for doing a vid on this tragic love story. ❤️

[@ELKE-]

Thank you for great contents FLives. This was amazing to listen to. I always enjoy your narration

[@nellieduncan8448]

I wrote a whole novel in high school inspired by her. It’s published on Amazon but let me be clear, it is INSPIRED by her and takes place in a made up world. My family is Portuguese and my grandma loved her story and I thought about what she would be feeling if she knew what was happening to her body. So I wrote a story about it from her perspective, It’s called crowned after death

[@rosa3299]

Really? I would be sure to add your book on my "to read" list.

[@nellieduncan8448]

@@rosa3299 tbh it’s not the best. It was edited by 4 people and the final copy still has so many errors I’m kind of embarrassed. I’m dyslexic so I relied on other people to edit but it wasn’t good enough :( the people who read it all say they loved it despite the errors but I have never promoted it because of that.

[@MichelleFaithLove]

👏🏻 Thank you for highlighting this Royal time period. Constanza is a beautiful name.

[@randombrokeperson]

It sounds like he really loved that woman! If there is an afterlife, I hope they got to be together again. 6/8/22 ☀️ 350

[@MaeveLaRenarde]

I love history and I had never heard of that. Wow. I love how you treated the subject with respect. Very interesting and well laid out.

[@cygnia]

Always appreciated the story of Inês

[@sleeplesssongbird7625]

I think it is a beautiful story, and it is sad the old king could not accept Ines. Thank you for telling this story with care.

[@Ruimas28]

It was politics. At the time Ines was not higher enough that she would be Queen material. Still, it would be possible. But it would demand extraordinary events. What really did not help her was her family´s ambition. What got the portuguese court in rage was that he brother came to Portugal and started getting very close with Pedro. This is what seriously messed up the portuguese court. Its a bit like Elizabeth Woodvile in England during the War of the Roses. If her family had remained low profile, she might have been spared a lot of pain. But because her family started messing around with politics, they made deadly enemies. The old king was fine with Ines being Pedro´s mistress. He was fine with them having kids. He was not fine with her being Queen because of what he could already see her doing with her family. And this is what sentenced her to death. She became too dangerous. Now, its a bit sad when you realize that Ines brother remained very much loyal to Pedro and ended up being very high up in portuguese court anyway. So...Ines death ended up being for nothing. But it was all the way a political plot and power struggle between rival families.

[@corgeousgeorge]

OMG imagine being one of the nobles that has to kiss her corpse's dead ass hand? Dear God! Bleh, Also imagine if when you touched the hand to kiss it, the arm fell off from decay or something right in front of the king? OMG! I'm having an anxiety attack just thinking about it.

[@Ruimas28]

They did not do it in real life ;) That is the part which is pure legend. She was just exhumed and transferred into a more respectable place. But her corpse was never left outside...even if to preserve her remains. But she did get the tittle Queen of Portugal after death. That much yes. Just....it would have ben too much trouble to really get her corpse anywhere where you could have interacted with it. Plus, as said, it would not have been good for her preservation if she would have been allowed to interact with the elements. Lets not forget she was beheaded......

[@ChildfreeMatto]

Forgotten Lives I'm going to enjoy another one of your extremely interesting video. Thank you for your continued hard work. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@daisychain5894]

He's great isn't he? Such an informative and smooth presentation, Forgotten Lives deserves more subscribers 👍

[@ChildfreeMatto]

@@daisychain5894 I absolutely agree. It's a shame Forgotten Lives doesn't have more subscribers. 🙁

[@sammy5674]

I love you videos. There the best sleep remedy ever. Keep up the great work. I learn so much about historical figures because of you.

[@nickimontie]

That has to be the strangest true tale in history!

[@16Guerreira]

Thank you so much for making a video about this! It´s so interesting to see a great channel like yours talk about this portuguese story, since i don´t see alot of Portugal being talked about around the world!

[@cierralowery7096]

This needs to be a movie!

[@dianamoreira6759]

I always get annoyed about this supposed love story. It is considered one of the greatest Portuguese love stories but I actually don't see it like that. That's because I always feel bad about Queen Constanza that was completely disregarded and betrayed by her husband and her friend. I actually don't think they were truly in love. I think it was more like an obsession on the king's part. If people think Henry the VIII was an asshole in the way he treated Catherine of Aragon how is this ok? I'm pretty sure this is only a love story because it ended tragically and if it wasn't for other people's interference it would just be regarded as a king fulling around with his wife lady in waiting.

[@jeanneann3545]

oh thank god. I agree. both the guy and the woman are jerks. If he want her that much, he should step down from the throne and give up all the benefits, live with her as peasants. so the dad doesn't have to go crazy trying to undo all his mess.

[@luanunes14]

Inês was never her friend. They where rivals from a young age. Kids back then where political tools, Constança never stood a chance. I feel bad for her, but they definitely weren't friends

[@alexandrasmith4226]

Doesn't mean she deserved what happened. It's not like she could say no to the heir of Portugal. He could of made up some charge and had her beheaded if she refused him. She was a child out of wedlock and did nit have to protection if a noble family rebelling fir her death. It was a scary time back then, especially for women.

[@Ruimas28]

She could in fact say no :) Hell...she had the king himself wanting to send her home. She would have lived if she had accepted to say no. The problem is....she decided to say yes. And what is worse, she clearly wanted to be Queen and was taking all possible steps in that direction. Which is what really killed her. A lot of these people were playing their own Game of Thrones. And they were quite aware of the risks. Its just that the rewards were also HUGE. If this would have been a simple love story, she would have lived happy as a mistress. No problem! If she had been unwilling, there were plenty of opportunities where she could have just said: "I am going back home, goodbye"

[@bowemorning]

Not to mention that Peter had extramarital affairs with at least one other woman...

[@pamelaanders6286]

Thank you. That was a lovely clear outline of Portuguese Court History, which had been fairly unknown to myself prior to this time. It was very clear and concise and I will certainly be sure to tune into any future videos that you make.

[@bowemorning]

Oh damn! I'm directly descended from John of Aviz and I thought that throughout this video, once they mentioned the eldest son 'John' that meant I was descended from Inêz! Guess Peter had other bastards too, lol! So much for true love...

[@hkbabel]

As always, thank you

[@clfr886]

Sad but very romantic. Ines was his true love, marriage or not.

[@inezkestens5561]

I remember visiting Portugal when i was 12 and hearing the story. And being the history loving little child I was I was sad that my mother didn't get her inspiration from this story but from a famous fashion model in the 80' (Inès de la Fressange) ... Thanks for setting the bar of expectations high mom! :D I lied a few times later on, finding this story waaaay more interesting to tell :p

[@maryJane-nb7cs]

Thank you for that. I found it very interesting. You have a wonderful way of presenting this material.

[@bobbyrutherford9359]

Thanks for these great cases ForgottenLives

[@minagica]

Indeed sounds like a classic Portugese soap opera 🤷‍♀️

[@mariakelly90210]

Mormon religion: Our married couples are together for eternity! King Peter I of Portugal: Hold my beer.

[@jeanneann3545]

I dont think this is even a sweet story. Think of it from his parents perspective, their son and their heir are busy chasing after a woman which are low position in public eye. And his actions will potentially broke a war. He neglected his poor wife and his wife died giving birth to his children, probably in an attempt to prove herself again. Imagine the whole family become a laughing stock and gossip due to your son actions. So the dad tried his best to make his son sane again, but that woman continue to grip him like a leech. In the end he had to take extreme measure. Because his son's legal wife died and he didn't give a crap, he is hellbent on chasing that woman. His son and that woman is mostly to blame. But his father should just disown his son and send them both together somewhere and probably take another heir to replace him.

[@luanunes14]

His father sucked so bad. That man was pure evil. It's sad that back then he couldn't marry who he wanted. And Inês was born and raised by very rich families. The one who ruined their privilege was none other then the king himself

[@jeanneann3545]

@@luanunes14 in that case its indeed the king fault, but if their relationship can cause a war, its just simply better to back off. Sometime you're born with massive privelege in exchange of certain things. A lot of nobles married for political power and die miserably without love.

[@luanunes14]

@@jeanneann3545 Inês at some point did tried to break their relationship

[@jeanneann3545]

@@luanunes14 aww probably obsession from the son part then

[@Ruimas28]

@@luanunes14 Let us say she did not try hard enough ;) And let us say her brother also did not try hard enough to get away from Pedro. Which was the real point where it became deadly for her.

[@christopherdrago]

Not long ago, I read an article about Ines de Castro on the BBC News website and one of the things I thought was that this is a story that would be covered by Forgotten Lives.

[@giaatta9303]

Wow congratulations over 212k subscribers. But of course, such great content and educational!!

[@hisforhistory]

Great video as always. Love the narration.

[@chatita9527]

Thank you, I had never heard about this! 😁👍🇩🇪

[@verucasaltbaum2358]

What an absolutely fascinating story! Thank you for this!!

[@Asplera]

Thank you for introducing me to this intriguing story. A man's mind is deeper than the ocean indeed.

[@Starae336]

First comment can’t wait to hear the story. Love ur channel

[@tysondennis1016]

What Pedro did after Ines’ murder speaks miles of how much he loves her

[@fatovamingus]

There is also Pedro and Inez a ballet which is largely performed in Bailados

[@titandragon753]

I feel sorry for both women in this tragic tale. Thankfully we live in a world where even monarchs can marry for love. ❤️🌹

[@vononymous8054]

Excellent video,thank you 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@m.f.richardson1602]

Always interesting. Thank you. Peace 💕🇺🇲

[@proverbs2522]

So Peter was definitely killed and his eldest was also killed but he was so obsessed with that woman that he desecrated her body to crown her yet he was sleeping with another woman too. This sounds like a bunch of BS to me. Something happened but someone got carried away when writing about it

[@wagherbert]

Much like the book in your name.

[@luanunes14]

It's true. Trust me, I'm from Portugal

[@beatriz25ish]

@@wagherbert beautiful comeback thank you 😊 you made my day

[@Ruimas28]

Well....someone got a bit carried away with the corpse stuff lol But everything else is pretty much reported. You got a couple things wrong maybe...... Peter only died later, after this entire situation. His eldest son from queen Constança also died years after this situation. And yes, he was sleeping with another woman a couple years after Ines was dead. Did you expect him to give up on sex? Well, no, he was not that devoted. But lets get the timeline. Ines is murdered in 1355 Old king Afonso dies in 1357, so only 2 years after, a time which was mostly civil war between father and son. Pedro becomes King Ines is legitimized and becomes Queen of Portugal (already dead) in 1360, 5 years after her death Now...her body was not exposed to the elements because Pedro would not want to really mess with her remains. She was removed to a more noble resting place and that was done with full Queen honours and all. But not getting the corpse outside and absolutely not having anyone kiss it. Now, Pedro did have a son from another mistress in 1357, 2 years after Ines death. I would say, reasonable time to mourn and want sex again. Its possible he was having sex with other girls much earlier. By the way, this kid was considered a bastard and was never an official prince, unlike Ines kids who were princes and princesses. True that this kid will end up King but...that´s an entire story on its own :) Pedro died in 1367, 12 years after Ines death. Pedro´s son with his first wife, who got to be king after Pedro, died in 1383, as you can see, decades after all previous events. The bastard kid ends up following his half brother as King, which happens in 1385 after 2 years of a big mess with wars and all. Out of curiosity, Pedro´s children with Ines also survived and some of them had some impact in history. Remarkably, their daughter Beatriz (1347-1381) ends up being ancestor to a lot of powerful european rulers. And if you ask yourself....well...was there any Ines son available to be king instead of the bastard? Well, there was!!!!! But...the eldest one was in Castille when his half brother died in Portugal. A lot of stuff had happened and he did not have the best relationship with a couple powerful portuguese families. However, he was still considered legitimate heir and people wanted him. But because the king of Castille also wanted the portuguese crown at the time....he just imprisoned this Ines kid in Castille and stopped him from returning to Portugal. Which....not easy to be made king of a place when you cant even get there. Then...the king of Castille invaded Portugal....and it was the bastard kid who was available to rally the people and fight to keep independence. Which is how the bastard kid managed to get to be King. He was Pedro´s kid and he was there to make the difference when it counted.

[@jonnyqwst]

Around 1970 when I was ten i bought a comic book about the history and the macabre this story was one of them

[@skontheroad]

As usual, great doc!! Is there a way to get better maps, or highlight the names and areas that you are discussing? For those of us with mediocre vision? Or watching on a smaller screen?? The visuals are very helpful!!

[@joaoconchilha2231]

Great work, congrats from Portugal, big is your culture.

[@user-tg1zl2dk5u]

Well done. Great presentation!

[@minagica]

So murder to preempt civil war and it fuckin' caused civil war 😫 Good job, old AH king, FU

[@sassysistar]

This Was So Interesting. Thank You.

[@jsolloso]

Galicia has always played a key part in the development of Spain and Portugal, which is always overlooked in favour of Catalonia which never existed and never played any importance historically.

[@marianparoo1544]

Incredible story, I heard it a number of times, including a song about her in a feminist revue on the BBC World Service.

[@swedishpiggi]

Wow what a bizare story! Hugs from Sweden

[@mauricedavis2160]

Excellent episode Sir, thank you!!!🙏👍👻

[@cottoncandy4486]

Great narration as usual.

[@Dancinfanz]

Thanks you so much for doing this story

[@vanessabrockman379]

5 centuries after that, one of Inês decente, Domitila de Castro was the lover of Pedro I of Brazil, decent of King Pedro of Portugal. People says they were their reincarnation of Peter and Inês that’s why they could not resist their love

[@margaretgarana911]

Sick but, revenge for those who opposed him

[@Emjay_____71]

Im so grateful to you. Your voice is so boring I fell asleep. I suffer from insomnia - THANK YOU X

[@Darrigrande]

I am very proud to be a direct descendant from Peter I of Portugal and Inés de Castro, queen ad postumum of Portugal.

[@daygonjantjies7736]

I love your videos

[@alrise1776]

Hey buddy! I just subscribed to your channel after seeing your guest appearance on brief case. Looking forward to exploring your content 👍

[@kerriedelger2899]

This is actually a really sweet story when you think about.

[@donnyetta]

Would Peter be considered a gaslighter? Saying he had secretly married the woman before she was murdered? Or was he simply a liar?

[@namea99]

Sorry but my sympathy rests with Constanza. She was mistreated by both her husbands who showed her that she was undesirable. Even despite giving him healthy heirs Peter cared little much about her outside of his great love Ines, a woman whom she unfortunately had unknowingly set in the path of her new husband. What's also sad is that her daughter Maria would also be mistreated by her husband's family. It's sad Ines was murdered in front of her child and it's awful what happened but at least her lover was devoted to her even after her death. Constanza was never awarded that same love. The only man who even seemed to care about her was her father.

[@nitewanderer]

It kills me that I cannot find books or shows in English about this story

[@ZzigZaG00NIN]

Peat loved her so much Poor Constanza who was just in the background

[@Theturtleowl]

I find it very strange that history remembers Joanna as 'La loca', yet Peter does not seem to have this nickname, even though he too refused to let his dead love be.

[@Maysoon3121]

A true Shakespeare story , shame on that king !

[@michelleashley4836]

You are adorable and are very good at telling the story. You should be on TV.

[@rhonr]

I would need a score sheet to keep track of who did what and why.

[@erin6083]

What a beautiful love story!

[@berenicewaters4096]

Congratulations on your 212 k subscribers.

[@lisavaz8667]

This is my 17th grandmother beautiful and accurate depiction. She was decapitated in front of my 16th grandfather John (her and Pedro son)

[@priyankanarayan664]

Peter was a cheater. Firstly, he cheated his wife Constanza. Secondly, he claimed Ines as his lover. Thirdly, after the murder of Ines.. he had a child with a woman. He had children with all 3 women. Is this love ?

[@themysteriousdomainmoviepalace]

That was true love!

[@Oonagh72]

At least they didn’t say Inez wasn’t a suitable bride because she wasn’t a virgin.

[@beth7935]

Oh, I'm sure they would've if they didn't have her illegitimacy to use as an excuse, given their views on "unchaste women".

[@Christina-cm8ze]

Wow he really loved her❤️