King of England Edward PLANTAGENET, I

Notes:

Edward is often considered to be the most successful of medieval monarchs. He is known as Edward Longshanks; also Hammer of the Scots.

He fathered sixteen children by his first wife and three by the second.

See: http://royaldescent.blogspot.com/2010/02/plantagenet-1-marriage-of-edward- i-and.html

From Wikipedia:

"Uncommon for such marriages of the period, the couple loved each other. Moreover like his father, Edward was very devoted to his queen and was faithful to her throughout their married lives -- a rarity among monarchs of the time. He was deeply affected by her death. He displayed his grief by erecting twelve so-called Eleanor crosses, one at each place where her funeral cort

Edward married Eleanor of CASTILE 1 Nov 1254, Monastery of Las Huelgas, Burgos, Spain. Eleanor (daughter of Ferdinand of CASTILE, III and Jeanne de DAMMARTIN) was born 1241; died 27 Nov 1290. [Group Sheet]

1. Joan of ACRE was born 1272; died 10 May 1305.

Edward married Margaret of France 1299. [Group Sheet]

Henry married Eleanor of PROVENCE 4 Jan 1235/36. Eleanor (daughter of Raymond BERENGER and Beatrice of SAVOY) died 24 Jun 1291. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

He is the notorious King John, forced to sign the Magna Carta.

John — Isabella of ANGOULEME. Isabella died 1246. [Group Sheet]

Raymond — Beatrice of SAVOY. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Henry was crowned king in Dec 1154 at Westminster. He was 21.

He was King of England, and also ruled the whole western coastal region of France.

He is the king who did penance at the tomb of Thomas a Becket, accepting responsibility for his murder at Centerbury Cathedral.

Although Henry was a powerful king, the latter years of his reign were plagued by numerous revolts of his sons, egged on by their mother, Eleanor.

Eleanor and Henry were third cousins through their common ancestor Ermengarde of Anjou (wife to Robert I, Duke of Burgundy and Geoffrey, Count of G

Henry married Eleanor of AQUITAINE 18 May 1152. Eleanor (daughter of William X, Duke of AQUITAINE and AENOR de Ch) was born 1122, Aquitaine, France; died 1 Apr 1204, Fontevraud Abbey, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Eleanor was the divorced wife of Louis VII, King of France.

Source for the following excerpt: http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=aquitaine_fredericksburg_04

"She became a queen at age fifteen in the year 1137 when her father died and she married Prince Louis of France, who became king less than a month after their marriage . . . This marriage, though considered perfect in state because of the joining of the two estates, was extremely ill-matched in personality. Eleanor was out-spoken, loved color, and did things on the spur-of-the-moment. Louis, who had been brought up to become an officer in the church, was a weak, dull, grave, and pious man (Sam Behling) who only inherited the throne when his older brother died. Even though they did have two children together (both girls), they were so poorly matched that they divorced when Eleanor was twenty-nine after a major falling out on the Second Crusade, on which both traveled. Although it was extremely unconventional for women to go on crusade, Eleanor did, along with three hundred of her ladies . . . Only eight months after returning from the Second Crusade, Eleanor remarried -- this time to Prince Henry of France who was eleven years her junior, who made her queen about two years after their marriage in 1154. Throughout this marriage, Eleanor was constantly pregnant, and produced eight children (five sons and three daughters), three of which were eventually kings, themselves."

Much more is available online about this colorful woman.

From Wikipedia:

"Eleanor's father ensured that she had the best possible education. Although her native tongue was Poitevin, she was taught to read and speak Latin, was well versed in music and literature, and schooled in riding, hawking, and hunting. Eleanor was extroverted, lively, intelligent, and strong willed."

"On 25 October 1154, Eleanor's second husband became King of the English. Eleanor was crowned Queen of the English by the Arcbishop of Canterbury on 19 December 1154."

Also see: http://www.alicemariebeard.com/law/eleanor.htm