Background
A Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King Edward of Portugal and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, she was the consort of Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, and the mother of Emperor Maximilian I.
Eleanor was born in Torres Vedras on 18 September 1434, one of the nine children of King Edward of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. When her father King Edward died five days before her fourth birthday, Eleanor"s brother Afonso V succeeded him as king with her mother as regent. The following March, her mother gave birth to another daughter, Joan, who would become the notorious wife of Henry IV of Castile.
Career
She was the third eldest daughter, but her two older sisters died when they were young, leaving Eleanor as the surviving eldest daughter. She left Eleanor behind because Eleanor was ill at the time. The marriage was likely suggested by Isabella of Portugal, duchess of Burgundy.
Eleanor was also suggested to marry Louis, Dauphin of France, eldest son of King Charles VII, but it was said, that she herself preferred to marry Frederick, because this would give her the title of instead of Queen.
The practical negotiations was made in Naples and completed in 1451. During the sea travel, the fleet escorting Eleanor to Italy was tormented by pirates and storms, and there were rumours that she had been lost at sea.
Eleanor and Frederick met in Sienna: Frederick was to have paled when he saw her, out of excitement but also worry that she would have troubles giving birth because of her frail appearance. The marriage took place in Rome.
Upon her coronation, she was also given the name Helena, but she never used this name.
Eleanor and Frederick were dissimilar, and her interest for dance, gambling and hunting was not shared by Frederick, and their relationship was affected by their differences. During the period of captivity in Vienna, when people were forced to eat rats, cats and dogs, she cheered people up. History have claimed that Eleanor was taken from a splendid court in Portugal to a cultural wasteland in Vienna because of her spouse"s strict economic sense.