Petronilla (29 June/11 August 1136 – 15 October 1173), whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella (Aragonese: Peyronela or Payronella, and Catalan: Peronella), was Queen of Aragon (1137–1164) from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, in 1137 until her own abdication in 1164. After her abdication she acted as regent during the minority of her son Alfonso II of Aragon (1164–1173). She was the last ruling member of the Jiménez dynasty in the Kingdom of Aragon, and by marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona brought the House of Barcelona to the throne of Aragon, uniting the Kingdom of Aragon with the County of Barcelona to create the Crown of Aragon.
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Early life
Born in August 1136, Petronilla was the daughter of Ramiro II of Aragon and Agnes of Aquitaine. She came to the throne through special circumstances. Her father, Ramiro, was bishop of Barbastro-Roda when his brother, Alfonso I, died childless in 1134. Alfonso left the kingdom to the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers, and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, but his decision was not respected. The aristocracy of Navarre elected a king of their own, restoring their independence, and the nobility of Aragon raised Ramiro to the throne. Pope Innocent II rejected this election, seeking to affirm Alfonso I's final will. Despite the lack of papal approval, King Ramiro the Monk, as he is known, married Agnes of Aquitaine in 1135.