How did Eleanor of Aquitaine become queen of France and then of England?

Question

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Answer 1

Eleanor was born in 1122, daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine.  Her father died when she was about 15, and as the oldest daughter (no sons in the family), she then became the wealthiest woman, sole heiress to her father's land of Aquitaine.  Before her father died, he had made arrangements for her to marry the king of France, Louis VII, and soon afterwards her father's wishes were carried out and she married young Prince Louis.  His father, Louis VI (Louis the fat) died soon afterwards, making her husband King Louis VII and she his queen.  

After several years they had two daughters, but she soon tired of Louis.  Louis had been intended for the church (until his older brother was killed in a "freak accident" collision with a pig) and he was always a weak king with the temperament and desire to be a monk rather than a king.  Eleanor was outgoing and enjoyed adventure, and though he still loved her she wanted to be free of him.  After returning from the crusades, she met the young Henry Plantagenet and his father.  It is thought that she first had a brief affair with Henry's father, Geoffrey of Anjou (who had taken on the name Plantagenet due to a piece of reed plant he always wore about).  She liked the young Henry Plantagenet -- he was 19 years old, she 31 -- and he also was taken with her, and no doubt with the great inheritance she had.  Eleanor pestered Louis until he finally granted her the annulment she wanted.  Henry's father disapproved of the idea of Henry marrying Eleanor, but since his father soon died, Henry went ahead and married Eleanor.  Meanwhile, Henry was seeking the throne of England from his mother's cousin, King Stephen, and they soon worked it out that Stephen would give the throne to Henry, rather than his own son, upon his death.  Stephen formally declared Henry as his heir, and within a year Stephen had died, and so Henry became King of England, start of a new dynasty the Plantagenets, and Eleanor as wife was his Queen.  Henry's mother, Matilda, had been the only legal descendant of Henry I, though her cousin Stephen had usurped the throne, and a civil war had ensued in England during the years Henry II was growing up.  Finally, after years of war between Matilda and Stephen, Matilda's son had settled the matter peacefully with Stephen.

Answer 2

Very briefly....

Eleanor of Aquitaine Timeline

  

· Born in 1122. Mother and Brother died soon after

· Father died in 1137, in the same year she was married to her first husband Louis VII King of France

· 1141 Eleanor and her 300 female followers joined the second crusade, there are many legends about the account of what happened during this time

· Marie, Eleanor's first daughter was born, 1145

· Her marriage was annulled in 1152 from Louis VII, not because of the horrible relationship but due to bloodlines

· Eleanor married Henry of Anjou, shortly after her and Louis VII's marriage was dissolved

· In 1154 Henry became King of England and was also more powerful than Louis, already the new marriage was rocky

· The Eleanor's youngest of ten children was born in 1166, by this time Henry had openly had mistresses

· Henry sent Eleanor in 1169 to restore order to Aquitaine, she arrived being a game piece but not a pawn, her goals were achieved and appointed son Richard as the heir

· Love Code was set up in 1170, Eleanor and her first born daughter Marie wrote down a "code of love", this included feminist ideas beyond the current thoughts of chivalry. "Court of love" was the practice of men going before the assessment of ladies to ask for love advice

· As Eleanor supported her sons they revolted against their father, 1173

· She was imprisoned until the death of Henry in 1189, three of her sons had died in the meantime

· Kind Richard followed his mother's advice and Eleanor became even more powerful politician

· 1191 Richard was wed in a match made by Eleanor (there were rumors Richard was a homosexual)

· Back in her favorite abbey Eleanor died at 82, 1204

English Literature during the time of Henry II and Eleanor

Answer 3

very briefly

she was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own wright and them marries the King of France

as she had two daughters

and was a pain on a crusade he divorced her and then she marries the king of England

Answer 4

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony Eleanor was Queen consort of both France (to Louis VII) and England (to Henry II) in turn, and the mother of two kings of England, Richard I and John.

King Louis VI, nicknamed "the Fat" was her guardian. He decided, he would marry the Duchess to his heir, and bring Aquitaine under the French crown, thereby greatly increasing the power and prominence of France and the Capets. Within hours, then, Louis had arranged for his son, Prince Louis, to be married to Eleanor. Eleanor and Louis were becoming estranged and on Whit Sunday, May 18, 1152, six weeks after her annulment , Eleanor married Henry.

Answer 5

after the death of her father she became the duchess of aquittane, leaving her with more land than the king of France. As such, she married prince Louis who then became King Louis. They did not have a very happy marraige because he was very intraverted and she loved parties, then when she insisted on going on the crusades, he divorced her. She then married the soon-to-be king of england, henry, with whom she had 3 sons (one of whom was Richard the Lionheart). Then, eventually king Henry thought that she was conspiring with her sons to overthrow him, so he locked her up in a tower.