Biography of Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks 1140-1160

Paternal Family Tree: Ivrea

Maternal Family Tree: Etienette Countess Provence and Arles

1137 Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

1152 King Louis and Queen Eleanor's Annulment

1152 Marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

1154 Louis VII marries Constance of Castile

In November 1128 [her father] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 23] and [her mother] Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon [aged 12] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Castile, Queen Consort Leon. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Raymond III Count Barcelona [aged 45] and [her grandmother] Douce Gevaudan Countess Barcelona. He the son of Raymond Ivrea and Urracca "Reckless" Jiménez Queen Consort Aragon and Pamplona. They were third cousin once removed.

Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

On 25th July 1137 [her future husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 17] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 15] were married at the Cathedral of Saint-André, Bordeaux [Map] by Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux. Her father William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine had died some three months previously leaving Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England as a ward of Louis's father Louis VI King of the Franks [aged 55] who quickly married her to his son Louis with a view to the Duchy of Aquitaine becoming joined with the Kingdom of France. A week later Louis VI King of the Franks died and his son Louis and Eleanor became King and Queen of France. She the daughter of William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of Louis VI King of the Franks and Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. They were third cousin once removed.

Eleanor gave Louis a rock-crystal vase as a wedding gift which he subsequently gave to Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. The vase is now in the Louvre.

Crystal vase, 'of Eleanor'. Crystal: Iran (?), 6th-7th century (?). Mounting: Saint-Denis, before 1147; 13th and 14th centuries. Rock crystal, nielloed and gilded silver, precious stones, pearls, champlevé enamels on silver. Originating from the treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)" (This vase, Eleanor, his spouse, gave it to King Louis, Mitadolus to his ancestor, the king to me, Suger, who have offered it to the saints).

Vase de cristal, "d'Aliénor". Cristal: Iran (?), VI-VII siécle (?). Monture: Saint-Denis, avant 1147; XIII et XIV siécles. Cristal de roche, argent niellé et doré, pierres pécieuses, perles, émaux champlevés sur argent Provient du trésor de I'abbaye de Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)". (ce vase, Aliénor, son épouse, l'a donné au roi Lous, Mitadolus a son aïeul, le roi à moi, Suger, qui l'ai offert aux saints).

Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux: In 1137 he was appointed Archbishop of Bordeaux. On 18th July 1155 he died.

William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine: William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine were married. She by marriage Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine. In 1099 he was born to William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine at Toulouse. On 10th February 1127 William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine died. His son William succeeded X Duke Aquitaine. On 9th April 1137 William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine died. His daughter Eleanor succeeded XI Duchess Aquitaine.

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Around 1140 Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks was born to [her father] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 34] and [her mother] Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon [aged 24].

On 15th January 1149 [her mother] Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon [aged 33] died.

In 1151 [her brother] Sancho III King Castile [aged 17] and [her sister-in-law] Blanche Ramirez Queen Consort Castile [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Castile. She the daughter of García "Restorer" IV King Navarre and Marguerite Aigle Queen Consort Navarre. He the son of [her father] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 45] and [her mother] Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon. They were fourth cousins.

In 1152 [her father] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 46] and Richeza Unknown Queen Consort Castile Queen Consort Leon were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Castile, Queen Consort Leon. He the son of [her grandfather] Raymond Ivrea and [her grandmother] Urracca "Reckless" Jiménez Queen Consort Aragon and Pamplona.

King Louis and Queen Eleanor's Annulment

On 21st March 1152 the marriage of [her future husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 32] and 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.

Marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

On 18th May 1152 Whit Sunday King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 19] and 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 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 William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and 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.

Louis VII marries Constance of Castile

In 1154 Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 34] and Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks [aged 14] were married in Orléans. She by marriage Queen of the Franks. Somewhat curiously they were more closely related than Louis and his first wife Eleanor of Aquitaine [aged 32] whose marriage had been annulled on account of consanguinity. The difference in their ages was 20 years. She the daughter of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 48] and Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon. He the son of Louis VI King of the Franks and Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. They were second cousins.

In 1157 [her daughter] Margaret Capet was born to [her husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 37] and Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks [aged 17]. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.85%. She married (1) 27th August 1172 her half fourth cousin Henry the Young King, son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (2) July 1186 King Béla III of Hungary.

On 21st August 1157 [her father] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 52] died. His son [her brother] Sancho [aged 23] succeeded III King Castile. His son Ferdinand [aged 20] succeeded II King Leon.

On 31st August 1158 [her brother] Sancho III King Castile [aged 24] died. His son [her nephew] Alfonso [aged 2] succeeded VIII King Castile.

On 4th October 1160 [her daughter] Alys Capet Countess Ponthieu was born to [her husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 40] and Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks [aged 20]. Her mother died in childbirth. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.85%. She married 20th August 1195 her third cousin once removed William Montgomery IV Count Ponthieu, son of John Montgomery I Count Ponthieu and Beatrice St Pol Countess Ponthieu, and had issue.

Louis VII marries Adela of Blois

On 13th November 1160 [her former husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 40] and Adèle Queen of the Franks were married a month or so after his second wife [deceased] had died in childbirth; Louis needed an heir. She by marriage Queen of the Franks. She the daughter of Theobald Blois II Count Champagne IV Count Blois and Matilda Carinthia Countess Champagne and Blois. He the son of Louis VI King of the Franks and Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. They were third cousin once removed. She a great granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses

Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

On 18th September 1180 [her former husband] Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 60] died in Paris [Map]. His son Philip [aged 15] succeeded II King France: Capet.