When he became king in 1357, Pedro publicly announced that he had secretly married Inês de Castro, making her legitimately queen of Portugal. He ordered two magnificent tombs to be built in the Monastery of Alcobaça for himself and his beloved, and ordered the transfer of Inês’s remains from the Convent of Santa Clara in Coimbra to Alcobaça. The funeral procession, with all classes – clergy, nobility and common people – paying homage, became a legendary event. It is said that Pedro demanded that everyone kiss the hand of the “Dead Queen”, immortalising their love and their grief in a unique ceremony.

Pedro's revenge reached its peak when he managed to capture two of the three noblemen who had advised the execution of Inês. Handed over to him by the King of Castile, the men suffered a terrible fate. Pedro, driven by hatred and grief, personally tore out the hearts of both men – from the chest of one and from the back of the other – declaring that anyone who had killed an innocent woman could not have a heart. This brutal act cemented Pedro's image as a man who loved and suffered in an extreme way, making this story one of the most intense and tragic in the history of Portugal.