Editing Peter of Castile (section)

==Early life==
Peter was born in the defensive tower of the [[Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas|Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas]] in [[Burgos]], Spain. His parents were [[Alfonso XI of Castile]] and [[Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Maria of Portugal]].{{sfn|Estow|1995|p=30}}

According to chancellor and chronicler [[Pedro López de Ayala]], he had a pale complexion, blue eyes and very light blonde hair; he was {{convert|1.83|m}} tall and muscular. He was accustomed to long, strenuous hours of work, lisped a little and "loved women greatly". He was well read and a patron of the arts, and in his formative years he enjoyed entertainment, music and poetry.

He was to be married to his contemporary [[Joan of England (died 1348)|Joan]], the second and favourite daughter{{sfn|Estow|1995|p=11}} of King [[Edward III of England]]; however, on their way to Castile she and her retinue travelled through cities infested with the [[Black Death]], ignoring townspeople who had warned them not to enter their settlements. Since the plague had not yet entered England, it is likely that they underestimated the danger. Joan soon contracted the disease and died{{sfn|Estow|1995|p=11}} in 1348, aged 14. 
[[File:Double de 35 maravédis à l'effigie de Pierre I dit le Cruel ou le Justicier.jpg|thumb|[[Dobla]] of 35 [[maravedí]]s with the effigy of Peter of Castile]]

About two years later Peter began his reign when almost sixteen years old<ref name="Dillon">{{harvnb|Dillon|1788|p=280}}.</ref> and subject to the control of his mother and her favourites. Though at first controlled by his mother, Maria of Portugal, Peter ascended the throne with the encouragement of his mother's second cousin, the Portuguese minister Count [[João Afonso de Albuquerque|Alburquerque]].<ref name="EB1911">{{harvnb|Hannay|1911|p=292}}.</ref> Becoming attached to [[María de Padilla]], he married her in secret in 1353. María turned him against Alburquerque, who fled to Portugal.{{sfn|Storer|1911|pp=64–86}}

In the summer of 1353, the young king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying [[Blanche of Bourbon]]; he deserted her at once upon hearing rumors that she had slept with his half-brother Fadrique, who was supposed to be guarding her virtue and made her instead "an unwilling Isolde to his Tristan," according to one historian.{{Who|date=September 2023}} This marriage necessitated Peter's denying that he had married María, but his relationship with her continued and they had four children. He also apparently went through the form of marriage with [[Juana de Castro]], widow of Don Diego de Haro, convincing her that his previous marriage to Queen Blanche was a nullity.{{sfn|Storer|1911|p=112}} The bishops of Avila and Salamanca were asked to concur, and were afraid to say otherwise.{{sfn|Storer|1911|p=113}} Peter and Juana were married in Cuellar, and Juana was proclaimed Queen of Castile.<ref name="Dillon"/> After two nights, he then deserted her. They had a son who died young, after Peter's death. A period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and, in effect, imprisoned. The dissension within the party striving to coerce him enabled him to escape from [[Toro (Spain)|Toro]], where he was under observation, to [[Segovia]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

In 1361, Queen Blanche died at [[Medina Sidonia]]. French historians claim that Peter ordered two Jews to murder her;<ref>''Histoire de Bertrand du Guesclin, connestable de France et des royaumes de Léon, de Castille, de Cordoue et de Séville, duc de Molines, comte de Longueville'', par messire Paul Hay, seigneur du Chastelet, édition à Paris, chez Jean Guignard 1666, conservé un temps à la bibliothèque impériale de Vienne (Autriche)</ref> another version of the story says she was poisoned; a third one that she was shot with a crossbow,{{sfn|Tuchman|1978|p=228}} although it may have been the plague.{{sfn|Storer|1911|p=226}} Also that year, Maria de Padilla died in Seville.{{sfn|Storer|1911|p=227}} After Maria's death, Peter declared that she had been his first and only legitimate wife.{{sfn|Storer|1911|pp=[https://archive.org/details/petercruellifen00storgoog/page/n82 64]–86}}