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Line 3: Afonso was the only son and heir of king [[John II of Portugal]] by his marriage with [[Leonor of Viseu]], princess of Portugal. The king was very fond of him and named the smaller island of [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] after him (''Príncipe'' meaning ''Prince'' in [[Portuguese language]]). As a boy, Afonso was married to princess Isabella of Aragon, the eldest daughter of the [[catholic royal couple]], ''reyes ~~catolicas~~catolicos''. [[Isabella I of Castile]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] had a male heir - Juan prince of the Asturias - but he was a feeble child and not expected to survive. Princess Isabella was thus the probable heiress to the joint throne of [[Castile]] and [[Aragon]] and, by being married to the heir of [[Portugal]] that meant a union of the Iberian kingdoms in Portuguese hands. The Spanish monarchs apparently desired this not to happen. They tried every diplomatic channel to have the wedding dissolved, without success, due to Portuguese influence with the [[Pope]]. Their cause was apparently lost, when an accident saved Aragon and Castile from future annexation. Afonso died from a horse fall in mysterious circumstances, during a ride in the Tagus. Murder was never proved but the Spaniards had much to gain from his disappearence. Moreover, the prince's valet, an exiled Castilian boy, disappeared in the same day after being the only eyewitness of the event.

Afonso, Hereditary Prince of Portugal: Difference between revisions