Plantagenet Queens Consort of England: Wives of the Kings of England

Eleanor of Aquitaine Biography:

Eleanor of Aquitaine, born in 1122, inherited the duchy of Aquitaine in April, 1137, from her father, William X of Aquitaine. Her mother was Aenor of Chatellerault, and she was named Al-Aenor or Eleanor after her mother.

In July 1137, just a few months after the death of her father, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Louis, heir to the throne of France. He became the King of France when his father died less than a month later.

During the course of her marriage to Louis, Eleanor of Aquitaine bore him two daughters, Marie and Alix. Eleanor, with an entourage of women, accompanied Louis and his army on the Second Crusade.

Rumors and legends abound as to the cause, but it’s clear that on the voyage to the Second Crusade, Louis and Eleanor drew apart. Their marriage failing — perhaps largely because there was no male heir — even the Pope’s intervention couldn’t heal the rift. He granted an annulment in March, 1152, on the grounds of consanguinity.

In May, 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Fitz-Empress, duke of Normandy through his mother and count of Anjou through his father, and heir to the throne of England as settlement of the conflicting claims of his mother Empress Matilda (Empress Maud), daughter of Henry I of England, and her cousin, Stephen, who had seized the throne of England at Henry I’s death. In 1154, Stephen died, making Henry II king of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine his queen.

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II had three daughters and five sons. Both sons who survived Henry became kings of England after him: Richard I (the Lionhearted) and John (known as Lackland).

In 1173, Henry’s sons rebelled against Henry, and Eleanor of Aquitaine supported her sons. Legend says that she did this in part as revenge for Henry’s adultery. Henry put down the rebellion and confined Eleanor from 1173 to 1183.

From 1185, Eleanor became more active in the ruling of Aquitaine. Henry II died in 1189 and Richard, thought to be Eleanor’s favorite among her sons, became king. From 1189-1204 Eleanor of Aquitaine also was active as a ruler in Poitou and Glascony. At the age of almost 70, Eleanor traveled over the Pyrenees to escort Berengaria of Navarre to Cyprus to be married to Richard.

When her son John joined forces with the King of France in rising against his brother King Richard, Eleanor backed Richard and helped bolster his rule when he was on crusade. In 1199 she supported John’s claim to the throne against her grandson Arthur of Brittany (Geoffrey’s son). Eleanor was 80 years old when she helped hold out against Arthur’s forces until John could arrive to defeat Arthur and his supporters. In 1204, John lost Normandy, but Eleanor’s European holdings remained secure.

Eleanor of Aquitaine died on April 1, 1204, at the abbey of Fontevrault, where she had visited many times and which she supported. She was buried in Fontevrault.

While legends persist that Eleanor presided over “courts of love” at Poitiers during her marriage to Henry II, there are no solid historical facts to back up such legends.

About Berengaria of Navarre:

Beregaria was the daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre, called Sancho the wise, and Blanche of Castile.

Richard I of England had been betrothed to Princess Alice of France, sister of King Phillip IV. But Richard’s father, Henry II, had made Alice his mistress, and church rules therefore forbid the marriage of Alice and Richard.

Berengaria was chosen as wife to Richard I by Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The marriage with Berengaria would bring a dowry that would help Richard finance his efforts in the Third Crusade.

Eleanor, though almost 70 years old, traveled over the Pyrenees to escort Berengaria to Sicily. In Sicily, Eleanor’s daughter and Richard’s sister, Joan of England, embarked with Berengaria to join Richard in the Holy Land.

But the ship carrying Joan and Berengaria was wrecked off the shore of Cyprus. The ruler, Isaac Comnenus, took them prisoner. Richard and part of his army landed in Cyprus to free them, and Isaac foolishly attacked. Richard freed his bride and his sister, defeated and captured Comnenus, and took control of Cyprus.

Berengaria and Richard were married on May 12, 1191, and set off together to Acre in Palestine. Berengaria left the Holy Land for Poitou, France, and when Richard was on his way back to Europe in 1192, he was captured and then held prisoner in Germany until 1194, when his mother arranged for his ransom.

Berengaria and Richard had no children. Richard is widely believed to have been a homosexual, and though he had at least one illegitimate child, it is believed that the marriage with Berengaria was little more than a formality. When he returned from captivity, their relationship was so bad that a priest went so far as to order Richard to reconcile with his wife.

After Richard’s death, Berengaria as dowager queen retired to LeMans in Maine. King John, Richard’s brother, seized much of her property and refused to repay her. Berengaria lived in virtual poverty during John’s lifetime. She sent to England to complain that her pension was not being paid. Eleanor and Pope Innocent III each intervened, but John never did pay her most of what was owed to her. John’s son, Henry III, finally did pay much of the overdue debts.

Berengaria died in 1230, soon after founding Pietas Dei at Espau, a Cistercian monastery.

Marriage to John of England:

Betrothed when very young to Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan, Isabella of Angouleme married John Lackland of England, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. John had put aside his first wife in 1198. Isabella was twelve years old at her marriage to John.

In 1202, Isabella’s father died, and Isabella became Countess of Angouleme in her own right.

The marriage of Isabella and John was not an easy one. John was infatuated with his young and beautiful wife, but they both were reported to have engaged in adultery, and to have had strong tempers which they used on each other. When John suspected Isabella of having had an affair, he had her suspected lover hanged and then dangled above her bed.

Isabella and John had five children before John died in 1216. At John’s death, Isabella’s quick action had her son Henry crowned at John’s death, in Gloucester where they were at the time.

Second Marriage:

Isabella of Angouleme returned to her homeland after John’s death. There she married Hugh X of Lusignan, son of the man she’d been betrothed to before marrying John, and the man who was betrothed to her eldest daughter by John. Hugh X and Isabella had nine children.

In 1244, Isabella was accused of conspiring against the French King to poison him, and she fled to the abbey at Fontevrault and hid for two years. She died in 1246, still hiding in the secret chamber. Hugh, her second husband, died three years later on crusade.

Burial:

Isabella had arranged to be buried outside the abbey at Fontevrault as penance, but some years after her death, her son, Henry III, King of England, had her re-interred beside her mother-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine and father-in-law Henry II, inside the abbey.

Marriages:

• betrothed to: Hugh le Brun, Count of Lusignan
• married to: John I of England, August 24, 1200
• married to: Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche

Children of Queen Isabella of Angouleme and King John:

• King Henry III of England, born October 1, 1207
• Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans
• Joan, married Alexander II of Scotland
• Isabella, married Emperor Frederick II
• Eleanor, married William Marshall and then Simon de Montfort

Children of Isabella of Angouleme and Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche:

• Hugh XI of Lusignan
• Aymer de Valence, a bishop
• Agnes de Lusignan, married William II de Chauvigny
• Alice le Brun de Lusignan, married John de Warenne
• Guy de Lusignan
• Geoffrey de Lusignan
• William de Valence
• Marguerite de Lusignan, married Raymond VII of Toulouse, then married Aimery IX de Thouars
• Isabele de Lusignan, married Geoffrey de Rancon

More About Isabella of France

Daughter of King Philip IV of France and of Jeanne of Navarre, Isabella was married to Edward II in 1308. Their son, the future Edward III, was born at the end of an English civil war. By the 1320s, Isabella and Edward II’s dislike of each other had escalated, as he spent more time with his favorites, including Piers Gaveston in what was almost certainly a homosexual affair. He supported one group of nobles, especially Hugh le Despenser the Younger (who may also have been Edward’s lover) and his family, and exiled or imprisoned others who then began to organize against Edward with the support of Charles IV (the Fair) of France, Isabella’s brother.

Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer

Isabella left England for France in 1325, and the next year she and her lover, Roger Mortimer, helped with efforts to invade England and depose Edward. Mortimer and Isabella had Edward II murdered in 1327, and Edward III was crowned king of England, with Isabella and Mortimer as his regents.

In 1330, Edward III decided to assert his own rule, escaping likely death. He executed Mortimer as a traitor and banished Isabella, forcing her to retire as a Poor Clare for more than a quarter century until her death.

More of Isabella’s Offspring

Isabella’s son John became Earl of Cornwall, her daughter Eleanor married Duke Rainald II of Gueldres and her daughter Joan (known as Joan of the Tower) married David II Bruce, King of Scotland.

When Charles IV of France died without a direct heir, his nephew Edward III of England claimed the throne of France through his descent through his mother Isabella, beginning the Hundred Years War.