Sancha of Leon (1017-27 November 1067) was the Queen of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Leon from 1037 to 1065. She married King Alfonso VI of Leon, and she had five children with him, three of which became kings.
Biography[]
Sancha de Leon was born in 1017 to King Alfonso V of Leon and Elvira Menendez, their first child and the older sister of Bermudo III of Leon. In 1029, she was the intended wife of Count Garcia Sanchez of Castile, but Garcia was assassinated by disgruntled vassals in 1032. She instead married his nephew Fernando I of Leon, who was her age. In 1037 her brother was killed in the Battle of Tamaron by Fernando, and when Fernando became King of Leon, she became Queen; she also became Queen of Castile. She had five children with him: Countess Urraca of Zamora, Sancho II of Castile, Elvira of Toro, Alfonso VI of Leon, and Garcia II of Galicia. After her husband's death in 1065, she played the role of peacemaker between her sons, who fought each other for control of Spain.