Eleanor of Aquitaine

Although very little is known of her childhood, and even the year of her birth is uncertain, Eleanor was about 14 years old when she became Duchess of Aquitaine, Poitiers and Gascony: ruler of the oldest, largest and richest region in medieval Europe.

She came into her inheritance after the death of her father in 1137. He had arranged with the king of France that she would then marry his son Louis, uniting but not binding the regions. With the death of the elder French king in the same year, Eleanor and her new husband Louis became King and Queen Consort of France. They were probably only 16 and 14 years old.

The marriage, and one of the subject of True Love Waits, lasted until 1152 when it was annulled on grounds of consanguinity. No son had been born to the couple; their second daughter Alix may have been conceived during the final stages of the Second Crusade.

Eleanor married Henry of England and Normandy within the year. Younger than her, he was the now-grown man once proposed as a betrothal partner for her infant child Marie. Henry became king of England in 1154 and with him, Eleanor, now Queen Consort of England, gave birth to eight more children. They themselves became kings and queens and cultural leaders, having massive influence in their own times and beyond.

Eleanor and Henry’s marriage was famously difficult, ultimately leading to actual warfare. She died when her son John was king, having earlier run the country as regent during the long absence of her son Richard on the Third Crusade. Garnering a reverence throughout the centuries, Richard the Lionheart’s success sprung from his mother’s skill and bravery. Among her dynastic legacies is the long Plantagenet conflict called the War of the Roses.

Records of Eleanor‘s works as a ruler may have been later removed or disappeared, her place in history being controversial. Instead speculation, myth and legend have grown around her and followed her through nine centuries. There is now a large appreciative readership for the many fine books about her that can be found.