... was the elder of the two daughters of William X, Duke of Aquitaine. They had a younger brother, also named William, who died at the age of four years. In 1137, when her father died whilst on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Eleanor became Duchess – making her, at the age of 14 or 15, one of the richest and most powerful women that Mediaeval Europe had known.
Three months after the death of her father, Eleanor married Louis, the son of her guardian King Louis VI of France. A few weeks later, Eleanor's father–in–law died and her husband succeeded him as King Louis VII. Eleanor and Louis VII had two daughters, Marie and Alix. As queen of France, Eleanor participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade. Soon afterwards, she sought an annulment of her marriage, but her request was rejected by Pope Eugene III. Eventually, Louis agreed to an annulment, as fifteen years of marriage had not produced a son. The marriage was annulled on 21 March 1152 on the grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree. Their daughters were declared legitimate, custody was awarded to Louis, and Eleanor's lands were restored to her.
As soon as the annulment was granted, Eleanor became engaged to Henry, Duke of Normandy – a great–grandson of King William I of England, and her third cousin. The couple married on Whitsun, 18 May 1152 (less than two months after the annulment). In 1153, King Stephen signed a treaty with Henry's mother, the Empress Matilda, to end the Anarchy by recognising Henry as his heir over his surviving son, William of Boulogne. Stephen died in October 1154, less than a year after the signing of the treaty, and so Henry and Eleanor became king and queen of England.
They had five sons and three daughters, but they eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned Eleanor in 1173 for supporting the revolt of their eldest son, Henry the Young King, against him. She was not released until 6 July 1189, when her husband died and their eldest surviving son, Richard I, ascended the throne. (Henry the Young King had died of dysentry in 1183, while engaged in a campaign in Limousin against his father and brother.) As queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade. She died in 1204, having lived well into the reign of her youngest and only surviving son, John.
This note is an edited version of the Introduction to Wikipedia's Eleanor of Aquitaine page.
© Haydn Thompson 2022