#royal lives

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The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence

Philippa Langley and Rob Rinder go on a continent-crossing journey to investigate the historical truth behind the deaths of Richard III's yo

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Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (5/7)-Leonor of England, Queen of Castile

“Most noble in her behavior and descent, modest and very wise”-Chronica Latina Regum Castellae

Eleanor, or Leonor, was the second daughter born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, named for her mother. She spent her childhood traveling with her mother and siblings and was perhaps educated at Fontevrault Abbey. She was betrothed to Alfonso VIII of Castile in 1169/1170 and traveled to Castile. They married in 1174 at Burgos when she was 12 years old. Theirs seemed to grow into a marriage of love and Leonor was an active and trusted partner in Alfonso’s rule and well regarded in Castile for her wisdom and influence. Their court welcomed troubadours and intellectuals and Leonor actively patronized the cult of St. Thomas Becket. She also founded the abbey of Las Huelgas de Burgos and its affiliate hospital with her husband in the 1180s, which would become a favored residence for the royal family. After Eleanor of Aquitaine’s death, Alfonso tried unsuccessfully to claim Gascony as his wife’s dowry for some years, leading to conflict with her brother, John, which was settled in 1208. Leonor supported her husband in his wars against the Muslims, often staying in castles near his campaigns, including during his most notable campaign at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Leonor gave birth to at least 10 children, maybe as many as 12, several of whom died in infancy and young adulthood. Leonor was left as regent for their 10 year old son, Enrique, when Alfonso VIII died in 1214, however she died less than a month later, transferring the regency to their eldest daughter, Berenguela, who eventually succeeded to her parents’ throne.

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The Shadow of the Tower - Elizabeth of York - Part One

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Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (7/7)-John, King of England

“The other, led away by the fervour of youth and ensnared by its passions, is prone to vice, and rude to his monitors; lending himself to the seductions of his time of life, instead of resisting the impulses of nature”-Gerald of Wales

John was the final child of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, born in 1166. Much of his childhood was marked by the strife between his parents and his brothers, due in part to Henry II’s efforts to provide a portion for his youngest son, known as “Lackland” or “Sans terre”. John was for a time named Lord of Ireland, but proved unsuccessful in asserting himself on the island. He joined his brother Geoffrey in attacking their elder brother, Richard, and after the former’s death, allied himself with Richard and Philip II of France against Henry II. His betrayal is said to have been the final blow to his ailing father, bringing about his death. During Richard’s reign, John’s ambition prompted his brother to ban him from England during his absence on the Third Crusade, yet this did not deter John from asserting his rule in England and conspiring with Philip II against Richard. On Richard’s death, John finally claimed the crown with his mother’s support, defeating his nephew, Arthur of Brittany. He soon earned many enemies, including Philip II, the Lusignans, and his own barons. He proved unable to successfully defend the continental Angevin possessions from French aggression, culminating in the loss of Normandy and Anjou. His weakness abroad was matched by an aggressive administration at home, which prompted his disgruntled barons to force him to agree to the Magna Carta in 1215. He died of dysentery in 1216, waging renewed war with his barons after rejecting the Magna Carta. By his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, he had five children, including his heir, Henry III.

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Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (6/7)-Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, Countess of Toulouse

“An illustrious lady....Like her mother, she was energetic, and farsighted”-Guillaume de Puylaurens

The third daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, Joan was born in Anjou in 1165, spending her childhood with her mother and was possibly educated at Fontevraud Abbey. When she was 12, Joan was married to William II of Sicily and was crowed in Palmero. She seems to have enjoyed a harmonious marriage, however the union produced no surviving offspring. When William II died in 1189, his cousin, Tancred seized the throne and Joan’s dower possessions, leaving her with little resources. The next year, her brother, Richard landed in Sicily en route to the Holy Land and forced Tancred to cede Joan’s rightful possessions. Joan would accompany the Third Crusade east, with her eventual sister-in-law, Berengaria of Navarre, as her companion. Joan’s experiences on crusade saw her briefly captured in Cyprus and later, possibly offered in marriage by Richard to the brother of the Muslim leader, Saladin, and Philip II of France. Upon her return to Europe, Joan was married to Raymond VI of Toulouse in 1196, a union aimed at healing the hostile relations between the Angevin kings and the counts of Toulouse that had persisted for some time. It was not a happy marriage, whether due to relations between the spouses or conditions in Toulouse at the time. Facing the hostility of her husband’s vassals, in 1199, Joan, while heavily pregnant, fled to Richard’s lands, only to find he had died. With her mother’s support, Joan entered Fontevraud, asking to be veiled as a nun shortly before dying in childbirth at the age of 33. Joan had at least three known children, Raymond, Joan, and Richard, who died shortly after his mother.

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Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (2/7)-Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony

“She holds the mastery of virtue and courtesy, noble gifts, and most exquisite behavior”-Bertran de Born

The eldest daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, Matilda, was named for her grandmother, the formidable Empress. She spent much of her childhood travelling throughout her parents’ domains at her mother’s side with her brothers, Henry and Richard. In 1167, at the age of 11, Matilda departed England and travelled to Saxony, where she married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony in 1168, sealing an alliance on her father’s behalf with the Empire against the French and Henry II’s friend-turned-enemy, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Matilda’s new husband was previously divorced and over twenty years her senior, however the couple produced at least five children and governed a glittering court in Brunswick. Matilda patronized art, architecture, literature, and religious institutions, including the cult of St. Thomas Becket,  alongside her husband and ruled as regent during his absences. In 1181, having fallen out with Frederick Barbarossa and been deposed, Henry, Matilda, and their children were forced to flee into exile in England and Normandy. While there, Matilda’s beauty attracted the attention of the troubadour Betran de Born and he composed several poems in her honor. Matilda also worked to alleviate the conditions of her mother’s house arrest at her father’s hands, succeeding in securing Eleanor of Aquitaine’s limited release to see her daughter and grandchildren. They were allowed to return to Saxony in 1185, however Henry the Lion was once more forced to go into exile while Matilda remained behind as regent. In his absence, she died at the age of thirty-three and was buried in Brunswick Cathedral. 

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Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (1/7)-Henry the Young King 

“So rich, so generous, so lovable, so eloquent, so handsome, so vigorous, so gracious in all things, so little lower than the angels, yet he turned it all to evil”-Walter Map

Named for his father, Henry was the eldest surviving son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and intended from a young age to succeed his father’s possessions. At the age of five, he married Marguerite of France, daughter of his mother’s ex-husband, King Louis VII, with whom he enjoyed a fond friendship and marriage as they grew to adulthood. In 1170, when he was fifteen, Henry was crowned as a junior king, the only king of England to be crowned during his father’s lifetime, and henceforth known as “the Young King”. An avid participant in tournaments, Henry enjoyed poetry, sport, and feasting and by his generosity gained a devoted following.Though he was more interested in the benefits of ruling than ruling itself, with time, the Young King came to resent his father’s unwillingness to delegate power. In 1173, Henry, with his brothers, Geoffrey and Richard, launched a rebellion against their father, known as “the Great Revolt”, fleeing to the court of Louis VII, with the support of their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The Young King drew on a number of disaffected vassals within Henry II’s possessions to swell his ranks, however, the rebellion was soon quelled and he was forced to reconcile with his father. In the 1180s, the Young King once more took up arms in rebellion, this time out of jealously of his brother Richard’s power, who was supported by Henry II. While pillaging monasteries to pay his troops, he fell ill with dysentery and died in 1183 at the age of twenty-eight, seeking his father’s forgiveness. Henry and Marguerite had no living children, only a premature son who died after birth.

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