As king of Portugal, D. Pedro has achieved great popularity among the people.
He defended the country from attacks, papal harassment and was engaged in the protection of the most disadvantaged classes of the kingdom. Still a prince, D. Pedro I married D. Constanca, this way greatly pleasing his father. Nevertheless it would be by Ines de Castro a Galician friend of D. Constanca, for whom D. Pedro would fall in love. The relationship between Pedro and Ines was seen, by the king of Portugal D. Afonso IV, as a threat to the independence of the country because Ines de Castro had family connections to the king of Castille, always looking for the annexation of Portugal. D. Afonso IV saw in a possible union between D. Pedro I and D. Ines the perfect excuse for Castille to come claim for himself the throne of Portugal and decided to stop the threat. First imprisoning D. Ines and then, seeing that even this way he could not stop his son to meet her, ordering to murder her. As a consequence, the prince got revolted against his father, never forgiving the ignominy he had committed.
When finally he reaches the throne, in 1357, D. Pedro announces its marriage, supposedly realised in secret, with D. Ines. Thus, he crowned the death body of his beloved as the queen of Portugal, even organizing a ceremony in which the nobles of the court were forced to kiss the hand of the death body of D. Ines. As soon as he was crowned he has persecuted and arrested the assassins of his wife, killing them with his own hands with enormous brutality (one ripped the heart out of his chest and the other from behind). He then orders the construction of two stone tombs, true Gothic style masterpieces, which were placed side by side in the Monastery of Alcobaca and instructs were given to be buried there with D. Ines so that on the day of the Last Judgement, they could meet again in the moment after the resurrection.
Stay at the holiday villa Casa do Lago to visit the places were Pedro and Ines have lived their love.