Mafalda of Portugal

Infanta Mafalda of Portugal (also known as Blessed Mafalda, O.Cist. (c. 1195 – 1 May 1256 in Rio Tinto, Gondomar; ) was a Portuguese infanta (princess), later Queen consort of Castile for a brief period. She was the second youngest daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon. Married briefly to the ten-year-old Henry I of Castile, she held for a time the title Queen of Castile. Upon the dissolution of the marriage, Mafalda returned to her homeland. She chose to become a Cistercian nun, and became noted for the holiness of her life. She was declared Blessed by the Catholic Church five centuries after her death. Life Early life Mafalda of Portugal was born around 1195, the daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and his queen, Dulce of Aragon.