Eleanor was originally betrothed to Frederick, illegitimate son of
Henry II of Castile, however this engagement was broken off. Upon the death of
John I of Castile on 9 October 1390, the Regency Council addressed the issue of the heir presumptive,
Infante Henry, at the time eleven years of age and his brother,
Infante Ferdinand, who was then ten years old. It was agreed that Ferdinand could not marry before his brother Henry reached the age of fourteen. Then he would be granted the political and social privileges of majority.
Peter I of Castile was murdered in March 1369 by his bastard brother
Henry. The representatives of the clergy, the nobility, the state of the gentry and merchants, as well as the authorized legal representatives of some Castilian cities agreed that Henry's grandson Infante Henry should marry the granddaughter of the murdered Peter, the English princess
Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of
John of Gaunt. And as soon as the eldest brother, Henry III, met these requirements, his younger brother, Prince Ferdinand, would marry a good, honorable and rich wife. Eleanor of Alburquerque was the chosen one, as she was sixteen and old enough to marry. She expressed her agreement to the marriage, although it could not take place immediately as Ferdinand was still ten years old. She owned the towns of Haro, Briones, Vilforado, Ledesma with the five towns, Albuquerque, the Codesera, Azagala, Alconchel, Medellin, Alconétar and Villalon, a gift from her cousin
John I of Castile. This made Eleanor a very attractive offer to Ferdinand. In 1394, Eleanor and Ferdinand were married. The marriage is described as a happy one. In 1412, Ferdinand and Eleanor became King and Queen of
Aragon after the
Compromise of Caspe. Eleanor was crowned in 1414. ==Later life==