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Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a Provençal noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in France in 1253.
Although Eleanor was completely devoted to her husband and staunchly defended him against the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, she was very unpopular among the Londoners. This was because she had brought many relatives with her to England in her retinue; these were known as "the Savoyards" (her mother was from Savoy), and, as Londoners saw it, these foreigners were given influential positions in the government and realm to lord over them. On one occasion, Eleanor's barge was attacked by angry Londoners who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs and vegetables.
Eleanor had five children, including the future King Edward I of England. She also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry, and as a leader of fashion.
Born in the city of Aix-en-Provence in southern France, she was the second daughter of Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence (1198–1245) and Beatrice of Savoy (1198–1267), the second of four daughters of Thomas I of Savoy and his wife Margaret of Geneva. Two sons were born before the daughters, but they died very young. Eleanor was probably born latest in 1223; Matthew Paris describes her as being "jamque duodennem" (already twelve) when she arrived in the Kingdom of England for her marriage.
She was well educated as a child and developed a strong love of reading, partly due to the influence of her tutor Romée de Villeneuve. Her three sisters also married kings. Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty. She was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes. Piers Langtoft speaks of her as "The erle's daughter, the fairest may of life".
Her elder sister Margaret married Louis, King of France, and of her younger sisters Sanchia was to marry Richard of Cornwall, Henry's brother who was to become King of the Romans, and Beatrice was to marry Louis' brother Charles of Anjou, the King of Sicily. She was especially close to Margaret, to whom she was close in age, and with whom she sustained friendly relationships until they grew old.
Henry investigated a range of potential marriage partners in his youth, but they all proved unsuitable for reasons of European and domestic politics.
After her elder sister Margaret married Louis IX of France, their uncle William corresponded with Henry III of England to persuade him to marry Eleanor. Henry sought a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister Isabella, but Eleanor's father was able to negotiate this down to no dowry, just a promise to leave her ten thousand marks when he died.
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Eleanor of Provence AI simulator
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Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a Provençal noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in France in 1253.
Although Eleanor was completely devoted to her husband and staunchly defended him against the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, she was very unpopular among the Londoners. This was because she had brought many relatives with her to England in her retinue; these were known as "the Savoyards" (her mother was from Savoy), and, as Londoners saw it, these foreigners were given influential positions in the government and realm to lord over them. On one occasion, Eleanor's barge was attacked by angry Londoners who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs and vegetables.
Eleanor had five children, including the future King Edward I of England. She also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry, and as a leader of fashion.
Born in the city of Aix-en-Provence in southern France, she was the second daughter of Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence (1198–1245) and Beatrice of Savoy (1198–1267), the second of four daughters of Thomas I of Savoy and his wife Margaret of Geneva. Two sons were born before the daughters, but they died very young. Eleanor was probably born latest in 1223; Matthew Paris describes her as being "jamque duodennem" (already twelve) when she arrived in the Kingdom of England for her marriage.
She was well educated as a child and developed a strong love of reading, partly due to the influence of her tutor Romée de Villeneuve. Her three sisters also married kings. Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty. She was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes. Piers Langtoft speaks of her as "The erle's daughter, the fairest may of life".
Her elder sister Margaret married Louis, King of France, and of her younger sisters Sanchia was to marry Richard of Cornwall, Henry's brother who was to become King of the Romans, and Beatrice was to marry Louis' brother Charles of Anjou, the King of Sicily. She was especially close to Margaret, to whom she was close in age, and with whom she sustained friendly relationships until they grew old.
Henry investigated a range of potential marriage partners in his youth, but they all proved unsuitable for reasons of European and domestic politics.
After her elder sister Margaret married Louis IX of France, their uncle William corresponded with Henry III of England to persuade him to marry Eleanor. Henry sought a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister Isabella, but Eleanor's father was able to negotiate this down to no dowry, just a promise to leave her ten thousand marks when he died.