Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Provence
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Name	Eleanor of Provence
Title	Queen consort of England
Caption	13th-century depiction
Reign	20 January 1236 – 16 November 1272
Spouse	Henry III of England
Issue	Edward I of England, Margaret of England, Beatrice of England, Edmund Crouchback, Katherine of England
House	House of Barcelona
Father	Raymond Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Mother	Beatrice of Savoy
Birth date	1223
Death date	24/25 June 1291
Burial place	Amesbury Priory

Eleanor of Provence was Queen of England as the wife of Henry III of England, whom she married in 1236. A member of the powerful House of Barcelona, her political influence and promotion of her Savoyard relatives made her a controversial figure during her husband's reign. She played a significant role during the Second Barons' War, raising troops and funds on the continent to support the royalist cause. After Henry's death, she retired to a convent in Amesbury Priory, where she died in 1291.

Early life and marriage

Eleanor was born around 1223 in Aix-en-Provence, the second daughter of Raymond Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Her upbringing in the sophisticated court of Provence exposed her to the troubadour culture and political diplomacy of southern France. In January 1236, she married Henry III of England at Canterbury Cathedral, a union strategically arranged to strengthen ties between the English crown and continental powers. The marriage brought a large contingent of her Savoyard uncles, including Peter II, Count of Savoy and Boniface of Savoy, to England, where they would receive significant patronage.

Queen of England

As queen, Eleanor was a devoted partner to Henry III of England and a keen patron of literature and religious houses, but her political actions often stirred resentment. She actively promoted the interests of her Provençal and Savoyard relatives, securing for them lands, titles, and marriages within the Kingdom of England, which alienated the native English nobility. Her influence was felt in royal policy, particularly during Henry's conflicts with Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and other barons over the provisions of the Magna Carta. Public hostility peaked during the Second Barons' War when her barge was attacked on the River Thames by London citizens who pelted her with stones and offal.

Regency and later life

During the Second Barons' War, Eleanor proved a formidable defender of the royal dynasty. While Henry III of England and their son, the future Edward I of England, were captive after the Battle of Lewes, she raised mercenary armies and secured loans from her relatives, including her sister Margaret of Provence, Queen of France. After the royalist victory at the Battle of Evesham and Henry's death in 1272, she initially served as regent in England before the return of Edward I of England from the Ninth Crusade. She spent her later years in religious retirement, first at the convent of Amesbury Priory in Wiltshire and later founding a Franciscan nunnery. She died on 24 or 25 June 1291 and was buried at Amesbury Priory.

Issue

Eleanor and Henry III of England had five children who survived infancy, securing the succession of the House of Plantagenet. Their eldest son was Edward I of England, a formidable monarch known for his conquest of Wales and legal reforms. Their daughters made significant diplomatic marriages: Margaret of England married Alexander III of Scotland, and Beatrice of England wed John II, Duke of Brittany. Their son Edmund Crouchback was granted the title Earl of Lancaster and played a key role in the later Wars of Scottish Independence. Another daughter, Katherine of England, was deaf from childhood and died young.

Legacy

Eleanor of Provence's legacy is complex, marked by her role as a matriarch of the Plantagenet dynasty and a controversial political figure. Her efforts to secure the throne during the Second Barons' War were crucial to the survival of her son's reign. However, her promotion of foreign courtiers contributed to the baronial discontent that culminated in the development of the Parliament of England. Through her children, she was an ancestor of subsequent English and Scottish monarchs, including Robert the Bruce and the royal houses of Stuart and Tudor. Her life reflects the tensions of 13th-century politics between royal authority, baronial power, and foreign influence.

Category:13th-century English people Category:English royal consorts Category:House of Plantagenet