Queen Joanna of England was the daughter of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. After Henry’s death, Constance and her son Frederick reigned in Sicily. At the age of 40 she became pregnant after being nicknamed the ‘Barren Queen.’ When her cousin William II died, Constance became heir to the throne of Sicily and eventually gave up her German crown. Constance was a dutiful queen but never became attached to Germany and struggled to produce an heir. At the age of 32 she married 21 year-old Henry VI of Germany, son of the current Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbossa. Queen Constance of Germany and Sicily was the daughter of King Roger II of Sicily. It is said of Eleanor of Castile that she was a voice of reason for Edward, who was known to be temperamental. She played a very active political role in the English court, and from 1270-1273 accompanied her husband on a Crusade. As a result of her unpopularity and failed plots, Isabelle retires to an abbey where she eventually died.Įleanor of Castile (1241-1290) married King Edward I to become Queen Consort of England. The ambitious queen plots to rebel against King Philip of France, and when this is unsuccessful plans to poison him, which also fails.
After John’s death Isabelle marries Hugh de Lusignan, the son of the count to whom she was originally betrothed.
Isabelle (1187-1246) married King John despite having been promised to a French count. Some princesses and queens, such as Isabelle of Angouleme, were just as power-hungry as their husbands and fathers. She was a firm ruler and surprised the clergy who wanted to take advantage of having a woman in charge. She resided in France for the rest of her life eventually becoming Dame of Le Mans as appointed by King Philip of France. Richard died in 1199 and Berengaria had never been to England, of which she was queen. The marriage was neither happy nor productive as no heir was produced. As Richard was en route to the Holy Land to fight in the Third Crusade, Berengaria was sent to Sicily to be married. The life of Queen Berengaria of Navarre was strongly influenced by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who arranged the marriage of the Basque princess to her son Richard I the Lionheart. Despite the troublesome politics, Eleanor was a renowned patron of music and the arts who frequently employed highly-respected troubadours. She encouraged her sons to rebel against Henry II resulting in her imprisonment for sixteen years. Despite an initially pleasant marriage, Eleanor became disenchanted with her husband and changed her loyalty to her sons, the future King Richard I and King John.
It was an enduring challenge for many monarchs to face the infidelity of their husband and continue to command respect.Įleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) became Queen of England in 1152 upon marrying King Henry II. Also, it was highly common and even acceptable for men to take mistresses, but women were not allowed the same privilege. Many courts distrusted foreigners, believing them to be unfaithful to their new kingdom and role, which made it difficult for a new queen or princess to hold much power or respect. Once an heir was born, it was also the rule of the mother to rear the child to be a ruler and forever championing his cause.ĭespite living materially privileged lives at court, princesses and queens held tremendous responsibility and faced many challenges. Daughters were valuable for forging other alliances, but it was the male heir, who could ascend to the throne after his father, that was most desired. As such, the primary purpose of a princess or young queen was to produce an heir, more specifically, a male heir. Marriages were the ultimate political alliances as they were seen to be permanent (divorce was not acceptable in the Middle Ages) and children created from the union become heirs to two kingdoms. The young women were uprooted from their home and sent throughout Europe to be married, often never to see their home kingdom again. From childhood many girls were promised to kings, and many marriages occurred before the princess reached her teenage years.
Princesses, or daughters of other suitably high-ranking nobles, were used as political pawns to gain power and forge alliances.
