An historical documentary looking at the life of the wife and queen of King Edward I of England, Eleanor of Castile.
This episode looks at the life of Eleanor from her marriage to Prince Edward of England, son of Henry III, the future King Edward I of England right up to her death at the age of 49 years old.
Following her marriage to Edward, a twelve year old Eleanor travelled by herself to England in the summer of 1255.
In medieval Europe, for a twelve year old girl to marry was considered normal.
Her new husband, Prince Edward, would have been around 16 years old and was already part of Henry III military expedition in Gascony.
Edward followed his new wife to England a few months later after his father has resolved the Gascony crisis.
Eleanor’s popularity as queen in waiting proved unpopular in England, as many quite rightly feared that many of Eleanor’s relatives came to England, at her father in laws invitation.
Little is known of Eleanor’s early life at the English court with her new husband.
It is known that between 1260 to 1261, that her mother, Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, married again to Jean de Nesle and returned to her native France.
Whether Eleanor attended the wedding or was even invited has never been recorded.
In 1264 the Second Baron’s War broke out when rebels led by Simon De Montfort tried to wrestle control of the country from Henry III.
The rebels aim was to create a parliament to rule the country.
Eleanor naturally supported Edward and his family against De Montfort.
Unlike her mother in law, Eleanor of Provence, Eleanor elected to stay behind in England rather than join the Royal Court in exile.
She actively sought to recruit archers from her mother’s home region of Ponthieu in France
A task now made easier since her mother had re-married and returned to the region.
When word reached De Montfort, following the Battle of Lewes, that Eleanor intended to recruit troops from Castile for the Royalist cause.
He removed Eleanor from Windsor Castle into imprisonment at Westminster Palace in Summer of 1264.
Her confinement though did not last a year, for her husband Edward escaped from De Montfort’s imprisonment in Hereford.
After Edward’s escape he led the Royalist army to victory against De Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, killing De Montfort in the process.
The defeat on the Barons in the second Baron's war saw the rise of both Eleanor and her husband.
With England now again a settled nation, Eleanor was pregnant numerous times.
Giving birth to three daughters and to two sons, John in 1268 and Henry in 1269.
With the belief that Edward and Eleanor had an heir and a spare, in 1270 they joined the eighth crusade in the Holy Land.
Edward intention was to join up with his uncle, Louis IX of France at Carthage, which is now modern day Tunisia.
But Louis died from dysentery which had infected his army.
Eleanor and her husband spent the winter in Sicily.
Most likely seeking security from being infected by the French army in Carthage.
The couple eventually arrived in the holy land in 1271 and set up their encampment in Acre.
Whilst staying here Eleanor gave birth to another daughter called Joan of Acre.
The royal couple stayed in the Holy Land for just over a year.
Even though the Crusade was considered a disaster, Edward’s presence marked him as a target.
An assassination attempt on his life was made in June 1272.
Edward was stabbed in the arm by a dagger that was assumed to be coated in poison.
Legend had it that Eleanor attempted to the suck the poison from his arm.
But whether this story is true or not, the wound was seriously inflamed, and surgeons had to cut a lump of flesh from his arm.
Leaving Acre a few months later, Eleanor and Edward arrived in Sicily, where they learned of the death of Edward’s father, Henry III.
It seemed their departure had nothing to do with the death of their eldest son, John, as they left the middle east a year after his death.
And, not due to the death of Henry III as they had already departed months before his death.
En route back to England, Eleanor and Edward were forced to stop in Gascony as Eleanor was due to give birth again.
Here Eleanor gave birth to another son, called Alphonso after her half-brother.
And again, Edward and Eleanor had another spare to the new male heir, Henry.
After the birth, the couple returned to England for their coronation.
Edward’s and Eleanor’s coronation took place at Westminster Cathedral on the 19th August 1274.
The royal couple’s marriage was considered a success in an age where many arranged royal marriages saw the monarch engaged in extra-marital affairs.
Edward did not have any mistresses and no illegitimate children.
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