The Queens of Fontevraud Abbey

Fontevraud Abbey, France is the burial site of two Queens of England 

(By Pierre Mairé,CC BY 2.5, Wiki Commons)

It was one of the most well known religious houses of the 12th century, made more famous by its associations with the powerful dynasty that dominated parts of western Europe at the time. The Plantagenet links to the Abbey of Fontevraud were extensive. And in death it became the resting place of several of its most famous members. Among them, two Queens of England: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of Angouleme.

Eleanor of Aquitaine's tomb at Fontevraud Abbey

(By By Aurore Defferriere -Wiki Commons)

Eleanor's association with Fontevraud was long and important. The Plantagenets had become great benefactors of the abbey since its foundation in 1105. In 1189, her husband, Henry II, was buried there following his death at the nearby Chinon castle. Eleanor retired to the Abbey in 1200, exhausted by the continental politics which she had dominated for so long. She left its walls the following year to intervene in the succession dispute between her youngest son, John, and her grandson, Arthur, but retreated there again within months and took the veil. Eleanor of Aquitaine died at Fontevraud on April 1st 1204 and was buried there alongside Henry, their second son, Richard the Lionheart and their youngest daughter, Joan, once Queen of Sicily.

The tomb of Isabella of Angouleme at Fontevraud Abbey

(By Adam Bishop - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wiki Commons)

Four decades later, Fontevraud became the burial place of another English consort, the last woman Eleanor had seen follow her to the throne. Isabella of Angouleme had become Queen of England in 1200 on her marriage to John and on his death had fought to have their son crowned as King Henry III before heading back to France where she married her own daughter's husband to be. In 1244, Isabella was accused of trying to poison King Louis IX of France and she fled to Fontevraud to seek refuge. She died there on June 4th 1246 and was buried alongside Eleanor, Henry and Richard. John had been buried at Worcester Cathedral.

Fontevraud Abbey

Eleanor and Isabella's tombs can still be found at Fontevraud although their remains were lost during the French Revolution. Two consorts, two very different stories but both Queens at Fontevraud Abbey.