Eleanor of Aquitaine was a powerful woman who had influence
of much of France and England in her lifetime. She was the wife of 2 kings and
the mother to 2 kings. She was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. She
participated in the Crusades in the Holy Land, was regent of England while her
son was on the Crusades and in captivity and raised the ransom for him. But
what of her genealogy?
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| Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine and Queen Consort of France and England. |
Bit of background first.
Eleanor was born around 1122 in France (probably Aquitaine)
to William X Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Chatelleraut. Her first marriage
was to Louis the Younger of France, son of Louis VI of France. He became Louis
VII of France a few days after the marriage. The couple married on the 25th
July 1137 at Bordeaux Cathedral, France. The couple had their marriage annulled
in 1152 due to consanguinity, most likely as Louis was desperate for a son but
was also celibate (unless his doctors told him not to be) and Eleanor’s eye had
be caught by another and was a strong woman and the King was not as strong, as
well as many other factors.
Eleanor secondly married Henry II, Duke of Normandy the son
of Geoffrey of Anjou and the Empress Matilda of England (the daughter of King
Henry I) in May 1152. Henry became King of England in 1154 after the death of
his Uncle Stephen. During this marriage the couple had a love hate relationship
with Eleanor and her sons fighting against the King. This lead to Eleanor
spending 19 years imprisoned on and off until the King died.
Eleanor had 10 children by her 2 husbands.
By King Louis she had:
1. Marie of France born in 1145 in France. She married Henry
I, Count of Champagne in 1164 and had 4 children. Marie was Countess of
Champagne. She died in 1198 in Champagne, France.
2. Alix of France born in 1150 in France. She married
Theobald V, Count of Blois in 1164 and had 7 children. She was Countess of
Blois. She died in 1197/98 in France.
By King Henry she had:
1. William IX, Count of Poitiers who was born in Normandy in
1153. He died in 1156 at Wallingford Castle and was buried in Reading
Cathedral.
2. Henry the Young King. He was born in 1155 at Bermondsey
Palace, London. In 1172 he married Margaret of France in Winchester Cathedral.
She was the half-sister of his half-sisters Marie and Alix. They had 1 son who
died when he was a few days old. Henry died in France in 1183 after a siege. He
was buried in Rouen Cathedral.
3. Matilda of England was born in 1156 at Windsor Castle. In
1168 she married Henry Duke of Saxony at Minden Cathedral and the couple had 5
children. Matilda was Duchess of Saxony. She died in 1189 at Brunswick, Saxony.
4. Richard I King of England (3/9/1189 – 6/4/1199). Richard
was born in 1157 at Beaumont Palace in Oxfordshire. He was King of England,
Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou,
Maine and Nantes (thank goodness he didn’t have all that on a business card).
Richard married Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre in
1191 in Limassol, Cyprus. The couple had no children. Richard died from an
arrow wound in 1199 in Chalus, Aquitaine and was buried at Fontevrault Abbey at
his father’s feet, except his heart which is in Rouen Cathedral.
5. Geoffrey II Duke of Brittany was born in 1158 in England.
In 1181 he married Constance of Brittany the daughter of Conan IV, Duke of
Brittany and they had 3 children. Geoffrey died in 1186 in Paris.
6. Eleanor of England, Queen Consort of Castile was born in
1611 in Normandy. She married in 1170 or 1177 King Alfonso VIII of Castile in
Burgos, Castile and they had 12 children. Eleanor died in Burgos in 1214 and
was buried there.
7. Joan of England, Queen Consort of Sicily and Countess of
Toulouse. Joan was born in 1165 in Anjou and married firstly King William II of
Sicily in 1177. She married Raymond VI Count of Toulouse in 1196 and they had 3
children. Joan died in Rouen in 1199 and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey at her
father’s head.
8. John, King of England (27/5/1199 – 19/10/1216). John was
born in 1166 at Beaumont Palace, Oxfordshire. He married firstly in 1189 at
Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire to Isabella Countess of Gloucester but the
marriage was annulled in 1199 on the grounds of consanguinity. He then married
in 1200 Isabella Countess of Angouleme in Angouleme and they had 5 children.
John died at Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire in 1216.
Eleanor died on the 1st April 1204 at Fontevraud
Abbey where she had become a nun. She was buried alongside her husband Henry II
and son Richard I.
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| Burials of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine |
So Eleanor was the Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of
France, Queen Consort of the Franks, Queen Consort of England and Regent of
England. She was mother of Kings, Queens consorts, Dukes, Duchesses, Counts and
Countesses. She had 10 children and 40 grandchildren. She is the 21 times great
Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II and thus 24 time great Grandmother of
youngest members of the Royal Family.
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