Eleanor of Aquitaine

Queen of France and then of England, she dominated the internal strife of the Plantagenet dynasty in her later years.

Life

Heiress of Aquitaine

Eleanor was the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine. At fifteen she inherited the vast Duchy of Aquitaine in southwestern France, and the same year she married the French heir Louis VII, becoming queen. She accompanied her husband on the Second Crusade, where her close relationship with her uncle Raymond at Antioch gave rise to rumors, and the couple grew increasingly estranged thereafter.

Twice a Queen

In 1152 her marriage was annulled by the church because she had not borne a male heir, and only a few months later she married Henry, lord of Normandy and Anjou, who was younger than she. Two years later Henry was crowned King Henry II of England, and Eleanor became Queen of England, bringing Aquitaine into the Plantagenet domains. Late in life, for supporting several of her sons in a joint rebellion against Henry II, she was held captive by her husband for more than ten years, regaining her freedom only after his death.

Legendary Queen

Eleanor was one of the longest-serving and most enduringly influential queens of medieval Western Europe, witnessing and taking part in the fortunes of both the French and English royal houses. Later generations have often romanticized her as a patron of the culture of courtly love, but this image largely derives from later literary embellishment; her real historical role lay chiefly in territorial inheritance, diplomatic marriages and power struggles within the royal family.

Legacy

Eleanor was Queen of France and England in turn, and mother of the English kings Richard I and John. Her vast domains kept the English and French royal houses entangled for a long time afterward and are seen as one of the distant causes of the Anglo-French conflict. In her later years she took an active part in government, raising the ransom for Richard I and helping John defend his lands. Her image as a patron of courtly love literature owes much to later embellishment, but her political activity was indeed rare among queens of her time.

Major works & achievements

• Inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine
• Joins the Second Crusade with Louis VII
• Remarries to Henry II, becoming Queen of England
• Raised the ransom for the captured Richard I

Did you know? She is buried alongside Henry II and Richard I at Fontevraud Abbey in France.

Key dates

• 1122Born in the Duchy of Aquitaine
• 1137Inherits the Duchy of Aquitaine and marries Louis VII
• 1147Joined her husband on the Second Crusade
• 1152Her marriage is annulled; she marries Henry
• 1154Henry II is crowned, and she becomes Queen of England
• 1173Confined for backing her sons' revolt
• 1189Freed after the death of Henry II
• 1204Died at Fontevraud Abbey