#OTD: Marriage of a Queen, Berengaria of Navarre

One of England's most forgotten queens took her throne, on this day, in 1191. Berengaria of Navarre, consort of Richard I, married her king on May 12th 1191 in a romantic wedding that promised much and delivered little.



Berengaria is perhaps best known as the Queen who never stepped foot in England. However, the odds were stacked against her from the start. Her predecessor as consort was the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the greatest rulers and politicians in Europe. Eleanor had been at loggerheads with her husband, Henry II, until his death in 1189 and then an overwhelming influence on the son that succeeded him, her favourite, Richard, already a lionheart of legend. Eleanor chose Berengaria as queen and arranged every element of the marriage. The new queen was always going to struggle to emerge from the shadows of this regal powerhouse.

The wedding itself had all the elements of romance that surrounded her new husband's life and reputation. Berengaria was on her way to meet him to make their marriage vows when her ship was blown off course and she ended up on Cyprus where the local ruler, Isaac Comnenus, was far from thrilled to see her. Enter stage left the Lionheart who was in his element with a cause to defend and an island to capture. His conquest complete, he wed his beautiful bride in the impossibly pretty surroundings of Limassol in a chapel dedicated to England's patron saint, George. She was crowned there the same day by the Archbishop of Bordeaux, thus ensuring Richard's Aquitaine heritage was enshrined in the marriage, too.

But that's the interesting thing about Richard and his queen. From the very start, she was a side note in what was meant to be her big day. The staging was perfection but the reality was slightly different. Richard spent most of their married life fighting while his mother managed the politics. Berengaria did briefly accompany him on a Crusade but her queen's household was set up in her husband's continental lands and they saw relatively little of one another. Unsurprisingly, they had no children. When he died, in 1199, she settled in Le Mans but had to fight to get some of the money owed to her by Richard's brother, John. In the end, it was Eleanor of Aquitaine who helped her. Berengaria, Queen of England died in 1230.