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'Prince Afonso of Portugal' (Portuguese pron. IPA []; English: Alphonzo) (May 18 1475 – July 13 1491), was the heir to the throne of Portugal. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and died in a horse riding accident in the margins of the Tagus river.
Alfonso was the only son and heir of king John II of Portugal by his marriage with Leonor of Viseu, princess of Portugal. The king was very fond of him and named the smaller island of São Tomé and Príncipe after him (''Príncipe'' meaning ''Prince'' in Portuguese language).
As a boy, Alfonso was married to Isabella of Aragon, the eldest daughter of the catholic royal couple, ''reyes catolicos''. Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon had a male heir - Juan, Prince of Asturias - but he was a feeble child and not expected to survive. Princess Isabella was thus the probable heiress to the joint throne of Castile and Aragon and, by being married to the heir of Portugal that meant a union of the Iberian kingdoms in Portuguese hands. The Spanish monarchs apparently desired this not to happen. They tried every diplomatic channel to have the wedding dissolved, without success, due to Portuguese influence with the Pope. Their cause was apparently lost, when an accident saved Aragon and Castile from future annexation.
Alfonso died in mysterious circumstances, after falling from horse during a ride near the Tagus. It was never proved that was a murder hypothesis but the catholic kings were the one who earn with this dead, and the Castilian servent of the young Afonso disappeared in the same day to Castela and have been only witness of the incident. After the death of Alfonso, the King John II nominated as successor the Duke of Beja, his cousin, that it would became D. Manuel I of Portugal.[[1]]

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★ Portugal Dicionário Histórico, Vol.VI