Constance of Castile
Queen consort of the Franks
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.
Life
The 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
Constance 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
- ^ 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
- 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.
Constance of Castile Cadet branch of the House of Ivrea Born: 1136–1140 Died: 4 October 1160 | ||
| French royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Eleanor of Aquitaine | Queen consort of France 1154–1160 | Vacant Title next held by Adela of Champagne |
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- t
- e
Royal consorts of France
Robertians and Bosonids (751–987)
- Bertrada of Laon
- Gerberga
- Desiderata of the Lombards
- Hildegard
- Fastrada
- Luitgard
- Ermengarde of Hesbaye
- Judith of Bavaria
- Ermentrude of Orléans
- Richilde of Provence
- Adelaide of Paris
- Richardis
- Théodrate of TroyesR
- Frederuna
- Eadgifu of Wessex
- Beatrice of VermandoisR
- Emma of FranceB
- Gerberga of Saxony
- Emma of Italy
- Adelaide of Aquitaine
- Rozala of Italy
- Bertha of Burgundy
- Constance of Arles
- Matilda of Frisia
- Anne of Kiev
- Bertha of Holland
- Bertrade of Montfort
- Adelaide of Maurienne
- Eleanor of Aquitaine
- Constance of Castile
- Adela of Champagne
- Isabella of Hainault
- Ingeborg of Denmark
- Agnes of Merania
- Blanche of Castile
- Margaret of Provence
- Isabella of Aragon
- Marie of Brabant
- Joan I of Navarre
- Margaret of Burgundy
- Clementia of Hungary
- Joan II, Countess of Burgundy
- Blanche of Burgundy
- Marie of Luxembourg
- Joan of Évreux
Consorts to debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.
