162 - How the king sent his excuses to the King of England for the marriage of his daughter which he had arranged

Summary

After the queen had departed in this way, King Fernando was worried about the marriage that he had arranged between his daughter and Edward, the son of the Earl of Cambridge, thinking that when it became known in England how he had given her in marriage to the King of Castile, the English would feel that they were being scorned, and would consider that he had broken the pacts and peace alliances that had been signed between the two kings. He decided that it would be advisable to send an apology before they sent him a message regarding this matter. So, when the queen and her retinue had barely travelled a league, the king ordered that a squire named Rui Cravo, who was travelling with the queen, should be called back immediately.

As soon as he arrived in the king's presence, the king took him to one side, saying, ‘I expect you will have already heard that I have made an agreement with the English, and now because of this marriage which I have arranged for my daughter, I should not like the King of England to think that I let him down or have any wish to do so in the agreement which has been made between the two of us. Therefore, prepare to leave for England immediately, and tell my cousin, the king, and the Duke of Lancaster, that I beg them with all my heart not to be angry about this arrangement that has been made, as I did this against my will, and I had no option; however, I consider the pacts and friendship that I made with them to be as strong and binding as ever. Furthermore, despite what has happened, whenever they wish to come to this kingdom and avail themselves of it, I shall be very happy to do whatever I can to be of service to their honour. They should rest assured that, even if they were to behead my own daughter before my eyes because of this matter, I would not be any more affected by this than if she were not my daughter. Nor shall I let them down in any matter which has been settled between them and me.’

Then the king ordered his credentials to be prepared, and the squire immediately left to board a ship bound for England.