Count of Penela () was a Portuguese title of nobility. It was created on 10 October 1471 by King Afonso V of Portugal and granted to his 4th cousin, Dom Afonso de Vasconcelos e Menezes, 1st Count of Penela.
Dom Afonso was closely related to the Portuguese royal family; once his great-grandfather was Infante John of Portugal (son of Peter I of Portugal and Inês de Castro).
Genealogy summary Pedro I (1320–1367) King of Portugal
__________________________|.............................
Fernando I Infante João João I (1345–1383) (1349–1397) (1357–1433) King of Portugal Duke of Valencia de Campos King of Portugal | (Spanish title) |
Beatrice Afonso Duarte I (1372–1408) (c.1370- ? ) (1391–1438) Queen de jure Lord of Cascais King of Portugal
Fernando de Vasconcelos | (c.1400- ? ) | Lord of Soalhães |
Afonso de Vasconcelos Royal House of Portugal (1441- ? ) 1st Count of Penela
A second creation of this title occurred in December 1907, when King Charles I of Portugal granted it to José Maria de Portugal de Vasconcelos da Costa Mexia de Matos.
List of counts of Penela First creation (1471) Afonso de Vasconcelos e Menezes, 1st Count of Penela (born 1441) João de Vasconcelos e Menezes, 2nd Count of Penela (born 1470)
Second creation (1907) José Maria de Portugal de Vasconcelos da Costa Mexia de Matos, 3rd Count of Penela (born 1868).
See also List of countships in Portugal
External links Genealogy of the Counts of Penela, in Portuguese
Bibliography "Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. III, page 117/118. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.