Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

Maria of Aragon was born on 29 June 1482 into the Spanish royal house. In 1500, at eighteen, she married King Manuel I of Portugal, whose first wife had been her own elder sister Isabella. The union reinforced the alliance between the Iberian crowns. She became Queen of Portugal on 30 October 1500 and held the title for sixteen years. Maria died on 7 March 1517, still queen, at thirty-four.