This king illustrates how to make yourself even more unpopular, by marrying someone who is not approved!
Henry III's marriage to Eleanor of Provence in 1236 did not prove popular because, although she was a beauty - she was known as La Belle - she did bring over to England a large amount of relatives - the Savoyards - from France, who promptly took up posts in the English government. This was not a popular move. Henry was betrothed to Eleanor on 22 June 1235, when she was only twelve. She was the second eldest of four daughters. All the daughters became Queens.
She was married to Henry on 14 January 1236, when she was only thirteen, at Canterbury Cathedral. She was dressed in a golden gown, which was fitted at the waist and fell to the floor in wide pleats. Then it was off to London, to be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
Eleanor was similar in many ways to modern day princesses. She became a fashion leader and her style was often copied by those at Court. On the official records, Henry III and Eleanor had five children, but there could be at least another four. The eldest of whom was Edward I, who married Eleanor of Castile.
Right: Edward I was a great soldier, who was known as the Hammer of the Scots. He took Scotland's Stone of Destiny, on which Scotland's Kings were crowned and took it back to Westminster Abbey, where it is still there to this day.
Above: Eleanor of Castile sucking blood from her husband, who had suffered a snake bite in France.
World History
