Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily 1165-1199

On 21st March 1152 the marriage of [her step-father] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 32] and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 30] was dissolved by Hugh Toucy Archbishop of Sens at the Château de Beaugency on the grounds of consanguinity. Both Louis and Eleanor were present as were the Archbishops of Rouen and Bordeaux. Samson Mauvoison Archbishop of Reims acted on behalf of Eleanor. In dissolving the marriage Louis lost control of the Duchy of Aquitaine which was to have far reaching consequences for the next three centuries.

On 18th May 1152 Whit Sunday [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 19] and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 30] were married at Poitiers Cathedral [Map]. They were more closely related than Eleanor and her previous husband [her step-father] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 32]. The marriage would bring the Kingdom of England, and the Duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine under the control of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She the daughter of [her grandfather] William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and [her grandmother] Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet Duke Normandy and Empress Matilda [aged 50]. They were half third cousins. He a grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 27th March 1168 [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 46] and her party were ambushed by brothers Guy I King Jerusalem [aged 18] and Geoffrey Lusignan [aged 18].

Patrick of Salisbury 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 46] was killed. He was buried at the Church of St Hilary, Poitiers. His son William [aged 18] succeeded 2nd Earl Salisbury.

William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke [aged 22] held off the enemy, was wounded and captured whilst Eleanor escaped. Eleanor subsequently paid his ransom.

On 29th December 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket [aged 51] was murdered at Canterbury Cathedral [Map] by four knights on behalf of [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 37]. Whether Henry ordered the murder, or whether the four knights were acting without orders, is a matter of conjecture. The first use of the well-known phrase "Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest" appears some five hundred and more years later in Robert Dodsley's 1740 Chronicle of the Kings of England.

In December 1174 King William I of Scotland [aged 31], imprisoned at Falaise Castle [Map], signed the Treaty of Falaise by which he agreed [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 41] was overlord of Scotland. He also agreed to marry a bride of Henry's choosing. He married Ermengarde Beaumont Sarthe Queen Consort Scotland [aged 4] twelve years later.

Simon Senlis 7th Earl Huntingdon 6th Earl of Northampton [aged 36] succeeded 7th Earl Huntingdon, 6th Earl of Northampton.

On 5th September 1186 King William I of Scotland [aged 43] and Ermengarde Beaumont Sarthe Queen Consort Scotland [aged 16] were married at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map] by Archbishop Baldwin of Forde [aged 61]. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map]. His bride had been chosen by [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 53] as part of the Treaty of Falaise. William received Edinburgh Castle [Map] as a wedding gift from King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria and Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria. They were half fourth cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 6th July 1189 [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 56] died at Chinon Castle [Map]. William Mandeville 3rd Earl Essex Count Aumale was present. He was buried at Fontevraud Abbey [Map]. His son [her brother] Richard [aged 31] succeeded I King of England.

On 15th September 1189 [her brother] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 32] held a Council meeting at Pipewell [Map] at which he appointed a number of Bishops:

Bishop William Longchamp was elected Bishop of Ely.

Bishop Godfrey Lucy was elected Bishop of Winchester.

Bishop Richard Fitzneal [aged 59] was elected Bishop of London.

Archbishop Hubert Walter [aged 29] was elected Bishop of Salisbury.

Before 12th May 1191 [her future sister-in-law] Berengaria of Navarre Queen Consort England [aged 26] and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 69] met King Richard's sister Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 25] at Messina, Sicily [Map] from where they travelled to Limassol [Map].

On 12th May 1191 [her brother] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 33] and [her sister-in-law] Berengaria of Navarre Queen Consort England [aged 26] were married at Chapel of St George at Limassol Castle [Map]. She was crowned Queen Consort England the same day by the Hélie de Malemort, archbishop of Bordeaux, Jean aka John Fitz Luke, bishop of Évreux and Bernard II de Lacarre, Bishop of Bayonne. She the daughter of Sancho "Wise" King Navarre [aged 59] and Sancha Ivrea. He the son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 69]. They were half fourth cousins.

Richard's mother and sister Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England and Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 25] were present.

On 26th March 1199 King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 41] was besieging Châlus Chabrol Castle. During the course of the evening King Richard "Lionheart" I of England was shot by a crossbow. Richard died on 6th April 1199. His brother John [aged 32] succeeded I King of England.

His mother Eleanor appears to have been present at his death as confirmed in a Charter by her on 21st April: 'quia dilectus noster Lucas, abjbas de Torpiniaco, affuit nobiscum infirmitati et funeri karissimi filii nostri regis, et circa eiusdem exequias pre omnibus aliis religiosis laboravit.' i.e. 'because our beloved Luke, abbot of Turpenay, was with us during the illness and at the funeral of our most dear son the king, and worked more than all other religious men in carrying out his obsequies.' Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall also mentioned that Richard 'summoned by letter his mother, who was dwelling at Fontevraud'.

There was a brother between Richard and John named Geoffrey Duke of Brittany who had a son Arthur [aged 11], who was around twelve, and a daughter Eleanor [aged 15], who was around fifteen, whose mother was Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany [aged 38].

King Philip II of France [aged 33] had planned for Eleanor to marry his son, probably to bring Brittany into the French Royal family, possibly to pursue a claim on England.

King Philip II of France supported Arthur's claim to the English throne. In the resulting war Arthur was captured, imprisoned and never seen again. Eleanor was captured, probably around the same time as Arthur, and imprisoned, more or less, for the remainder of her life, even after King John's death through the reign of King Henry III since she represented a threat to Henry's succession.