Mistress of Pedro I, King of Castile & Léon. Pedro supposedly married Maria de Padilla in secret at the time, made public 1362). Ayala´s Crónica de Pedro I records that King Pedro "a Gijón" took "Doña Maria de Padilla...una doncella muy fermosa", went "en casa de Doña Isabel de Meneses muger de Don Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque" and that "Juan Ferrandez de Henestrosa su tio, hermano de Doña Maria Gonzalez su madre" took her to "Sant Fagund", in 1352.
Ayala´s Crónica de Pedro I records the death "en Sevilla de su dolencia" in Jul 1361 of "Doña Maria de Padilla" and her burial "al su Monasterio de Sancta Clara de Estudillo". Ayala´s Crónica de Pedro I records that, after her death, the king announced to "sus Cortes...en Sevilla" that he "se avia desposado por palabras de presente con Doña Maria de Padilla" in the presence of "Don Diego Garcia de Padilla Maestre de Calatrava hermano de la dicha Doña Maria...Juan Ferrandez de Henestrosa tio de la dicha Doña Maria...Juan Alfonso de Mayorga su Chanciller del sello de la poridad é su Escribano...Juan Pérez de Orduña Abad de Santander é su Capellan mayor", all of whom swore to the truth of the king´s assertion, and that this had taken place before he married Blanche de Bourbon who had therefore never been his lawful wife. With today´s hindsight, the king´s declaration does not appear credible, supported as it was by two close relatives of María and by two advisers of the king who would have feared for their lives in case of disobedience. Two other points also seem relevant. Firstly, the king waited until after the deaths of both María herself and Blanche de Bourbon, who would have known the truth of the situation, before making his declaration. Secondly, the issue was never raised at the time of the king´s purported marriage to Juana de Castro in 1354 (see below), when he was only concerned about divorcing Blanche de Bourbon. Nevertheless, after the death of King Pedro, there must have been sufficient indications about the legitimacy of his children by María for the two English princes to have married her two surviving daughters, and for King Enrique III of Castile to have later married the sole heiress of the older daughter in order to close the chapter of the English challenge to his rule. Ayala´s Crónica de Pedro I records that, after this announcement the body of María de Padilla was transferred to "Sevilla...en la capilla de los Reyes...en la Iglesia de Sancta Maria". 1
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The filiation of María Padilla, mistress of King Pedro I of Castile, is proven by contemporary sources, especially from the Monastery of Sta. Clara de Astudillo.
In 1351, she and her brother Diego García (de Padilla), write a letter to their mother Mari González (de Henestrosa), thanking her for the distribution made of the inheritance left by their father Juan García (de Padilla), already deceased.
1354, Nov. 19 (Sta. Clara de Astudillo): In a purchase deed, Diego García, Maestre de Calatrava, sells to his sister María Padilla several properties that had belonged to Garcilaso in Astudilla, plus other properties.
On June 10, 1355, in the aforementioned monastery, María de Padilla donates to the Monastery a property in Cubillas de Cerrato which she had purchased from her uncle Juan Fernández de Henestrosa, and other properties in Astudillo which she had inherited from her father or others which she had purchased from Mencía López. 2
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