Teresa Gil de Vidaure

Teresa Gil de Vidaure (died on 15 July 1285) was the common law wife of King James I of Aragon, but never a queen. Claiming that she was a leper, James left her in order to pursue an incestuous relationship with Berenguela Alfonso. Teresa Gil died in seclusion in a monastery she had founded.

Royal mistress Teresa Gil de Vidaure was born in Navarre to the nobleman Juan de Vidaure. She was said to be a woman of exceptional beauty, and King James I became attracted to her. She requested him to promise her that he would marry her. He made the promise, but broke it by marrying Violant of Hungary in December 1235. The king and Teresa Gil, who eventually married Sancho Pérez de Lodosa, carried on with their relationship throughout his marriage to Queen Violant.

Openly secret marriage Teresa Gil was already widowed when the queen died in 1251, leaving the couple free to pursue their relationship openly and to enter a common law marriage not consecrated by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1255, the king issued a charter granting Teresa Gil the tax-exempt castle of Jérica, to be inherited by their descendants, male or female, after her death. The charters do not mention Teresa Gil as the king's wife; in fact, their form is the one used for concubinage contracts. Thus, historians have sometimes referred to her as the king's concubine, but James's letter to Pope Clement IV in 1265 confirms that they were married. Nevertheless, she was never queen. James attempted procuring an annulment again in 1275, this time claiming that he had had sexual relations with Teresa Gil's cousin before their marriage (which would have rendered the marriage invalid), but the argument was no more successful than the previous one.

Seclusion

Teresa Gil was forced to spend the remainder of her life in the Cistercian monastery of Zaidia de Valencia, which she had founded.