Stephanie Alfonso of Castile

Stephanie Alfonso of Castile (1139/1148 – 1 July 1180) was an illegitimate daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and Urraca Fernández de Castro, widow of Count Rodrigo Martínez, who was Urraca's cousin or uncle. Her murder by her husband, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, earned her the sobriquet Stephanie the Unfortunate (Estefanía la Desdichada). Birth and Family The wealthy and powerful Pedro Ansúrez's wife, Elyo Alfonso, was a relative of the sisters, Tegridia and Sancha Fernandez, the wife of the powerful Martín Flaínez. Another powerful nobleman, Fernando García de Hita had been married to either Tegridia Fernandez or Sancha and Martín's daughter Tegridia Martínez. Fernando García was the son of García II of Galicia, the son of Ferdinand II and Sancha of León. Tegridia died bearing her husband two sons, and Fernando then married Pedro Ansúrez's daughter María Pérez's daughter with Ermengol V, Count of Urgell, Stephanie of Urgell. Their daughter was Urraca Fernandez. Urraca was married to Martín and Sancha's son (her uncle or cousin), Rodrigo Martínez, but he died. She then began a relationship with Alfonso VII, the son of Urraca of León, who in turn was the daughter of Alfonso VI of León, García II's brother, making Urraca and Alfonso VII second cousins. Stephanie's date of birth must have occurred between 1139, when the relationship between Alfonso and her mother began, and 1148, the year in which Alfonso confers privileges in favor of Urraca and his daughter.