Constance of Castile (1136 or 1140 – 4 October 1160)[1] was Queen of France as the second wife of Louis VII, who married her following the annulment of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine.[2] She was a daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Berengaria of Barcelona,[3] but her year of birth is not known.
| Constance of Castile | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen consort of the Franks | |
| Tenure | 1154 – 4 October 1160 |
| Coronation | 1154 |
| Born | 1136–1140 |
| Died | 4 October 1160 (aged 19–24) |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Castilian House of Ivrea |
| Father | Alfonso VII of León and Castile |
| Mother | Berenguela of Barcelona |
Life
editThe official reason for her husband's annulment from Eleanor of Aquitaine had been that he was too close a relative of Eleanor for the marriage to be legal by Church standards; however, he was even more closely related to Constance. They were second cousins through William I, Count of Burgundy.
Constance died giving birth to her second child. Desperate for a son, her husband remarried a mere five weeks after her death.
Constance was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Paris.
Children
editConstance had two children:
- Margaret, 1157–1197, who married first Henry the Young King of England,[4] and then Béla III of Hungary[5]
- Alys, 1160–1220, who married William IV of Ponthieu[6]
References
edit- ^ Deslot, Thierry (1996). Impératrices et Reines de France [Empresses and Queens of France] (in French). Paris: Les Editions La Bruyère. ISBN 2-84014-279-1.
- ^ Bouchard 2001, p. 126.
- ^ Bradbury 2007, p. 165.
- ^ Warren 1978, p. 90.
- ^ Jaritz & Szende 2016, p. 84.
- ^ Warren 1978, p. 26.
Sources
edit- Bouchard, Constance (2001). Those of My Blood: Creating Noble Families in Medieval Francia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Bradbury, Jim (2007). The Capetians. Hambledon Continuum.
- Jaritz, Gerhard; Szende, Katalin, eds. (2016). Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective. Routledge.
- Warren, W. L. (1978). King John. University of California Press.