Christmas 1166 was one to celebrate for one of England's most celebrated queens. Eleanor of Aquitaine was at the height of her powers, one of the most important people in Europe with political influence and cultural kudos that few could match. And as the festive season got under way, she also had a very personal reason to celebrate. For on Christmas Eve 1166, Eleanor gave birth to a son.
He was born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford as Christmas Eve was being celebrated and his parents, Eleanor and her second husband, King Henry II of England, named him John. It was an unusual name for a royal prince but this baby boy, a fifth for the couple, was never expected to inherit much land, let alone the throne of England. He would turn out to be the couple's last child.
Their marriage, born of lust and a desire to conquer all before them, had soured in the years since they had worked together to put Henry on the throne of England. But the arrival of another son was a source of great joy to both of them and John would come to win much affection from both his parents even if his brothers and the kingdom he eventually inherited weren't quite so enamoured of him.
So this special Christmas for a queen was all about the most precious moments of all, those of a parent with her newborn child. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a powerful influence on England, Europe and the medieval period but in 1166, at Christmas time, she enjoyed once more the special love of mother and son.
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