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Today I have a guest post by Christy English, and at the bottom of this post you will find a giveaway of The Queen's Pawn. And it's open to all. So join in.
Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!
Royal Scandals at the Court of Henry II and Eleanor of AquitaineGuest Blog by Christy English, author of THE QUEEN’S PAWN
and TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE
and TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE
In my first novel, THE QUEEN’S PAWN, I touch on one of the royal scandals of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court, specifically, King Henry’s relationship with the young French Princess Alais. Alais came to England, betrothed to Prince Richard the Lionhearted, only to become the mistress of his father, the king. THE QUEEN’S PAWN explores the political intrigues and personal pain surrounding this liaison. Needless to say, Henry’s dalliance with the princess was frowned on by his courtiers, his sons, the King of France, and of course, Queen Eleanor.
But the scandals of the royal court of Henry II began even before Henry was king in England. In the year 1151, Eleanor was still Queen of France; she had been married for fourteen years to King Louis VII. Eleanor’s first marriage never produced a son and heir either for the duchy of the Aquitaine or for the kingdom of France. While King Louis seemed content that this was the will of God, Eleanor was not, and she worked for years to arrange an annulment that would set her free from the prison of her first marriage.
And now, we begin to see where the scandal come in: a little less than a year before Eleanor’s annulment was granted, eighteen year old Henry, Duke of Normandy, came to Paris to be confirmed as Duke by his overlord, King Louis of France. Eleanor and Henry met in a moment of instant mutual passion that I wrote about in my upcoming novel, TO BE QUEEN. After Eleanor was freed from her marriage to the King of France in the spring of 1152, in July of that year, Henry and Eleanor met at her palace in Poitiers, and married secretly.
Why marry in secret, you ask? The marriage that allied the great duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine should have been a wedding to rival that of Prince William and Kate. With one major difference: Eleanor and Henry married without their overlord’s permission. Their feudal lord was none other than her ex-husband, King Louis of France.
Once word of their secret marriage reached Louis, he was furious. Jealous and betrayed, Louis rode to war against the erstwhile couple. Henry of Normandy, as great a politician as he was a warrior, managed to make peace with Eleanor’s first husband, though the relationship between Henry and Louis was strained for years to come.
Henry went on to reclaim the throne of England, his rightful inheritance that had been taken by the usurper, Stephen of Blois. Upon Stephen’s death, Henry was crowned King of the English, and Eleanor was crowned Queen. For the first fourteen of their marriage, Eleanor and Henry were happy. Producing a child every year or two, they were allies and partners, working together to maintain the empire that they had created. Stretching from England, Ireland and Wales down to Normandy, Brittany, Anjou and the Aquitaine, no such empire had been seen since the time of Charlemagne. But with two people as strong willed as Henry and Eleanor, the marriage did not stay serene.
The scandal that drove a major wedge between Henry and Eleanor went by the name Rosemund Clifford. A young girl, a mere knight’s daughter, Rosemund has been described as the opposite of Eleanor. Quiet, demure, with soft blonde hair and clear blue eyes, Rosemund was a girl untouched by politics, who owned nothing save the clothes on her back. Henry was charmed by this girl, and set her up in a house of her own near his hunting lodge at Woodstock. But while this house was being built, Henry had the audacity to place his mistress in the royal castle at Oxford. Eleanor, eight months pregnant with their last child, Prince John, journeyed over the Channel in winter to see this Rosemund for herself. When she found the girl tucked away in her own keep, just as the gossips had said, a rift was torn in Eleanor and Henry’s marriage that was never truly made whole again.
Seven years later, Eleanor united with her sons in a rebellion against King Henry, the greatest scandal of Henry’s reign. Henry defeated his sons on the field of battle and forgave each of the boys, but placed Eleanor under house arrest. She stayed locked away until Henry died in the summer of 1189.
Royal scandals in the court of Henry II always had political ramifications, but often rose from personal conflicts. When ruling monarchs square off against each other, the personal becomes political, and once happy partnerships turn into a morass of betrayal.
Thank you Christy for this great guest post.
And now to the contest
THE CONTEST PART IS CLOSED
The Queen's Pawn - Out NOW
Princess Alais of France travels to England to marry Richard the Lionhearted, the son of King Henry II, armed only with her dowry, the valuable Vexin. When Alais arrives in the land of her father’s enemies, she is welcomed by the beautiful and powerful queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, the richest and most influential woman in Europe, sees a kindred soul in the young French princess. Intrigued by the girl’s strength and fire, Eleanor adopts Alais as her protégée, teaching the girl what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But Eleanor and Alais’ love for each other is threatened when the capricious and imperious King Henry meets the lovely young princess. Fascination with the king draws Alais deep into political intrigue, and she soon discovers what Eleanor is prepared to do to retain her position as queen. Alais, the one-time pawn, takes ruthless action of her own, as the two women become rivals both for the king’s love and the throne of England itself.
Who is Christy English?
I am a writer of historical fiction centering on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century. Look for my novel THE QUEEN’S PAWN from the New American Library, an imprint of Penguin.
My second novel, about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage to Louis VII of France, TO BE QUEEN, will be published by the New American Library in April 2011.
I am a writer of historical fiction centering on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century. Look for my novel THE QUEEN’S PAWN from the New American Library, an imprint of Penguin.
My second novel, about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage to Louis VII of France, TO BE QUEEN, will be published by the New American Library in April 2011.
When I am not writing about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century, I am at the theatre, visting the Metropolitan Museum of Art or roller skating in Riverside Park in New York City. Join me on my continuing adventures at ChristyEnglish.com.
