Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Queen Who Wouldn’t Take No for an Answer

Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen consort of both France and England, was not your average royal. She was a force to be reckoned with, a woman who knew what she wanted and refused to settle for anything less. Her life was like something out of a soap opera, with enough drama and scandal to make even the most jaded viewer sit up and take notice.

Born in 1122 in what is now southwestern France, Eleanor was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine. From a young age, she was known for her beauty and intelligence, as well as her strong will and independent spirit. When her father died, she inherited his vast lands, which made her one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe.

At the tender age of 15, Eleanor married King Louis VII of France in a bid to strengthen the alliance between her family and the French crown. But the marriage was not a happy one, and Eleanor soon grew bored with her pious and unexciting husband. She longed for adventure and life of passion, something she was not going to find with Louis.

So she did what any self-respecting queen would do: she demanded an annulment. But Louis was not inclined to give her one, and Eleanor found herself trapped in a loveless marriage. Undaunted, she set off on a crusade to the Holy Land, hoping to find some excitement there.

It was on this journey that she met her next husband, Henry II of England. He was everything Louis was not – charming, witty, and devastatingly handsome. Eleanor fell in love with him on the spot, and soon began scheming to escape her French prison and become Henry’s queen.

But she had a problem: the Pope had forbidden Louis to grant her an annulment. Eleanor was nothing if not resourceful, however, and she found a way around this obstacle. She claimed that Louis had never consummated their marriage, thus rendering it null and void. The Pope gave her his blessing, and she was free to marry Henry.

It was then that Eleanor’s life really took off. As queen of England, she bore Henry eight children, including two future kings. But she was not content to simply stay at home and raise babies. She was a woman of the world, and she loved nothing more than to travel and explore. She was a patron of the arts, a music lover, and a skilled poet.

But she was also a woman with enemies. Her husband was a notorious womanizer, and Eleanor did not take kindly to his infidelities. She plotted against him, even going so far as to encourage their sons to rebel against him. For her troubles, she was imprisoned for 16 years.

But even that could not keep Eleanor down. When Henry died, she was released from her captivity and became queen mother to her grandson, Richard the Lionheart. She was a respected adviser to the king, and even went on a crusade of her own at the age of 70.

Eleanor died at the ripe old age of 82, having lived a life that was full of adventure, scandal, and intrigue. She was one of the most remarkable women of her time, and she left a lasting legacy that continues to be felt today. Long live Queen Eleanor!