The Deposition of Sancho II and the Rise of Afonso III (1246–1248)

Though a capable military commander, Sancho II of Portugal proved far less adept at administration and governance. His single-minded focus on military campaigns left internal affairs in turmoil, allowing discontent to spread among the nobility, the clergy, and the merchant class.

Noble Discontent and Papal Intervention

Displeased with the king’s governance, the Portuguese nobility began conspiring against him, while merchants clashed frequently with the clergy, with Sancho II failing to intervene. The Archbishop of Porto, frustrated by the king’s negligence, formally petitioned Pope Innocent IV, denouncing the growing instability within the kingdom.

As the most powerful institution of the 13th century, the Church exercised vast influence over European rulers, and in response, Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull calling for Sancho II’s removal, branding him a heretic and an unfit ruler.

Afonso of Boulogne’s Return and the Deposition of Sancho II (1246–1247)

The dissident nobility, now openly opposing Sancho II, turned to his younger brother, Afonso, then residing in France as the Consort Count of Boulogne. In 1246, they invited Afonso to claim the Portuguese throne.

Afonso swiftly abdicated his French possessions, gathered support, and marched into Portugal. Facing overwhelming opposition, Sancho II was deposed in 1247 and forced into exile in Toledo, where he died on January 4, 1248.

The Coronation of Afonso III (1248)

With Sancho’s removal, his brother was crowned King Afonso III of Portugal in 1248. Unlike his predecessor, Afonso III focused on internal stability, legal reforms, and territorial expansion, setting the stage for Portugal’s continued development as a strong and centralized kingdom.