WI: De Hauteville / Altavilla Castille?

[Sevarics]

IOTL, Alfonso VI was succeeded in Castille-Leon by his eldest daughter Urraca who had a son, Alfonso VII, and daughter with Raymond d’Ivrea, starting the Ivrea and later Trastamara dynasties in Iberia.

But, Alfonso VI had several other daughters. The next eldest was Elvira, who would go on to be wed Roger II de Hauteville / d’Altavilla and be Queen of Sicily, giving birth to five legitimate sons.

What if Elvira’s elder sisters line died and Elvira and her Altavilla sons inherited Castilla-Leon? How would a union with Sicily in the 1100s impact Castille and its Reconquista?

 

[Sevarics]

Further, how would this impact the Sicilian conquest of Tunisia? Would the Altavilla split the kingdoms between their sons? I suppose it depends on their life expectancy since IOTL many of them died without producing legitimate sons of their own.

 

[Queeney]

Urraca's marriage to Alfonso of Aragon created an important union between the Spanish kingdoms, without which the reconquista might have slowed down considerably because of infighting.

A union between Castille-Leon and Sicily could have some benefits, like Sicilian mercenaries being used more readily in the reconquista; but I don't see that outweighing the negative impact of creating so much infighting between the Christian kingdoms on the Iberian peninsula itself. Control over such realm would have been a nightmare.

 

[Sevarics]

Urraca's marriage to Alfonso of Aragon created an important union between the Spanish kingdoms, without which the reconquista might have slowed down considerably because of infighting.

A union between Castille-Leon and Sicily could have some benefits, like Sicilian mercenaries being used more readily in the reconquista; but I don't see that outweighing the negative impact of creating so much infighting between the Christian kingdoms on the Iberian peninsula itself. Control over such realm would have been a nightmare.

True but the marriage between Urraca and Alfonso ended up being annulled anyway due to politics. This is more a situation where Urraca and her offspring die after the annulment I suppose so the pretext for that marriage alliance wouldn’t impact Elvira as she would’ve already been Queen of Sicily and have multiple sons.