163 - How the King of Castile left his kingdom and went to Badajoz

Summary

When this marriage had been arranged with the agreements which you have heard about, and the princess had been received by the archbishop as the King of Castile's wife, the latter wrote to the king, saying that everything had been settled, including the day and the place where the wedding was to take place, but that King Fernando would be unable to attend the ceremony as he was ill; however, the princess's mother, the queen, and all the prelates and nobles of the kingdom would be in Elvas, attending her on that day. The King of Castile was very pleased to hear this and ordered all the preparations necessary for the wedding to be carried out. He summoned the prelates and nobles who would be accompanying him, as well as many noble ladies to accompany Queen Beatriz, who was his future wife.

The king left for Badajoz, a town near the border of his kingdom, accompanied by many prelates and noblemen. Among them were his son, Prince Fernando; Don Carlos, the Prince of Navarre, his brother-in-law; Don Pedro, the Archbishop of Seville; Don Diego, the Bishop of Ávila; Don Alfonso, the Bishop of Coria; Don Fernando, the Bishop of Badajoz; Don Juan, the Bishop of Calahorra; Don Pedro Fernández [Cabeza de Vaca], the Master of Santiago; Don Diego Martínez, the Master of Alcántara; Don Pedro [Enríquez de Castilla], the Count of Trastámara; Don Pedro Núñez, the Count of Mayorga; Don Juan Sánchez Manuel, the Count of Carrión; Don Juan, the son of Don Tello; Don Gonzalo Fernández, the Lord of Aguilar; Don Alfonso Fernández de Montemayor; Pero López de Ayala; Diego Gómez Sarmiento; Alfonso Fernández Portocarrero; Lope Fernández de Padilla; and many other noblemen. Queen Juana, the mother of the King of Castile, who was amongst the party, was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Leonor, the wife of the Prince of Navarre, as well as countesses and many ladies and damsels. When the king and his entourage reached Badajoz, Queen [sic] Juana immediately left, accompanied by a considerable group of followers, and went to Estremoz, where Queen Leonor was staying with the princess. From there, they all journeyed to the town of Elvas, where the Portuguese nobles had already organized jousting and had set up boards for hastilude and other games customary at festivities such as these.