Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro

Fadrique Alfonso of Castile, 1st Señor de Haro (1334–1358), 25th Master of the Order of Santiago (1342–1358), was the fifth illegitimate child of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor of Guzman. He was born in Seville. Biography Fadrique was a twin to Henry of Trastámara. While his father lived, the children of Eleanor de Guzman, the king's favorite, profited from appointments and royal grants. With this backing, in 1342, Fadrique rose to the leading role of Maestre of the militant monastic Order of Santiago. The prior Maestre had been Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán, his maternal uncle.In 1354, Fadrique was granted the role as custodian (Adelantado Mayor de la Frontera) of the Portuguese frontier. The rebelling Count Henry of Trastamara took refuge in the French court of Jean II after he was cornered in Asturias in 1354, and the count sought support from the French monarchy. Fadrique did not join his brother's rebellion until much later, during the War of Two Peters (Aragon vs. Castile). When Alfonso XI died from the Black Death during a siege of Gibraltar, the sons of Dona Eleanor Guzman rebelled after the king's death, refusing to acknowledge the new fifteen year-old heir, Pedro I of Castile. During the reign of King Alfonso XI, Dona Eleanor de Guzman (the king's favorite concubine) had taken Queen Maria of Portugal's place at many important events, thus causing bad feelings between the two. Queen Maria of Portugal was regent for one year after her husband's death. When Dona Eleanor's sons' rebelled Count Jao de Albuquerque easily convinced the Queen Mother that Eleanor de Guzman had played a part in the rebellion, and not needing much prodding, Dona Eleanor was executed. The subsequent execution of Eleanor in Talavera in 1351, added more fuel to the fire of the rebellion by Guzman's sons, in particular her fourth born, Count Henry of Trastamara, who through marriage, ruled the northeastern portion of the kingdom. The future Henry II of Castile and Leon, had several brothers: Fadrique, Tello of Castile, and Sancho of Castile. Through a combination of threats and diplomacy, Peter I of Castile was able to elicit fealty and a temporary reconciliation with his half-brothers. But this was not to last. Master Fadrique of The Order of Santiago, a religious knight, was named royal emissary to Bourbon, France, when he went to escort Pedro's bride-to-be, Blanche of Bourbon. There were rumors he had slept with his brother's bride.