Individual Details
Eleanor d'Aquitaine
(Abt 1124 - 31 Mar 1204)
The eldest daughter of Guillaume VIII-X de Poitou, duc d'Aquitaine, and Aénor de Châtellerault, Eleanor was born about 1124. When her brother Guillaume died in 1137 she became her father's heir. She was brought up by her grandfather, the renowned troubadour Guillaume VII-IX d'Aquitaine. When her father also died in 1137 she inherited the duchy of Aquitaine and married the French king, Louis VII. Their son was stillborn, but their two daughters would have progeny. Eleanor accompanied her husband on crusade and was rumoured to have had affaires with Saladin and others. On their return to France, Louis VII had their marriage annulled on 18 March 1152 on grounds of consanguinity.
Eleanor, then about 30, wasted no time in seducing the nineteen-year-old Henry, duke of Normandy, marrying him on 18 May 1152 in Bordeaux. Over the next fifteen years five sons and three daughters were born. Eleanor and Henry then grew apart and, when their children had grown up, she supported first one son and then another against Henry. In 1189 Henry died and Eleanor lived long enough to outlive her son Richard 'the Lionheart' and see her favourite son John become king before she herself died in 1204 aged about eighty-two, to be buried at Fontevrault.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Eleanor, then about 30, wasted no time in seducing the nineteen-year-old Henry, duke of Normandy, marrying him on 18 May 1152 in Bordeaux. Over the next fifteen years five sons and three daughters were born. Eleanor and Henry then grew apart and, when their children had grown up, she supported first one son and then another against Henry. In 1189 Henry died and Eleanor lived long enough to outlive her son Richard 'the Lionheart' and see her favourite son John become king before she herself died in 1204 aged about eighty-two, to be buried at Fontevrault.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | Abt 1124 | ||||
| Marriage | 11 May 1152 | Bordeaux, France - Henry II King of England | |||
| Death | 31 Mar 1204 |
Families
| Spouse | Henry II King of England (1133 - 1189) |
| Child | Princess Eleanor Plantagenet (1162 - 1214) |