Zaida, a Muslim princess living in 11th-century Seville, is one of the most extraordinary ancestors of the British royal family. Zaidaâs bloodline reached the English shores through her engagement to Alfonso VI, king of LeÃŗn-Castile. From their offspring descended Isabel PÊrez of Castile, who in the 14th century was sent to England to marry Edmund Duke of York, son of King Edward III of England.
Their grandson, Richard, Duke of York, led a rebellion against King Henry VI which developed into the Wars of the Roses. Richardâs second son Edward took the throne in 1461. Thus the legacy of Islamic Spain â better known as al-Andalus â found its way into the Plantagenet royal court.