Alfons, Infant of Portugal

Alfons, Infant of Portugal, also Afonso de Portugal , Alfons of Portugal and Alfons of Aviz (born May 18, 1475 in Lisbon , Portugal ; † July 13, 1491 near Santarém , Portugal) was the official heir to the throne and son of King Joao II . He died at the age of 16 in a riding accident.

Life

Dom Afonso de Aviz was born as the first and only legitimate son of King Dom Joao II and Dona Leonora of Portugal. In 1490 he married Isabella , the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragón and Queen Isabella I of Castile . Thus, if Afonso had become king and Isabella's parents had also died, he would have become master of the entire Iberian Peninsula , that is, king of Portugal and Spain , an abundance of power that would certainly have changed Europe and the world.

death

The young Infante died on July 13, 1491 under mysterious circumstances. On the Tejo near Santarém, the experienced rider fell from his horse for some inexplicable reason and died of his injuries. The only witness was his Castilian servant, who left for Castile on the evening of the day the Infante died. This fed rumors and conspiracy theories that the infant had actually been murdered to prevent the unification of the two kingdoms. To give his son a souvenir, the smaller island of São Tomé and Príncipe , Principe, was named after the Infante (Principe is another word for prince). The king appointed his cousin, Dom Manuel, Duke of Beja, who then ascended the throne as King Manuel I, to be his successor .