María de Molina

María de Molina (c. 1265–1321), lady of Molina from 1292, was queen of Castile as the wife of Sancho IV. As the couple lacked a papal dispensation, their children were at first deemed illegitimate. On Sancho's death in 1295 she became regent for her nine-year-old son Ferdinand IV, defending his crown against his uncle John and rival claimants; in 1301 the Pope legitimized the marriage.

In 1302 nobles accused her of misusing royal funds, but her accounts showed she had spent her own income on the monarchy. After Ferdinand died in 1312 she again held the regency for her grandson Alfonso XI, until her death in 1321.