by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: January 18, 2010

Eleanor of Provence, queen consort of England's King Henry III and mother of King Edward I, was born in Aix-en-Provence in or before 1223, the second of four daughters.

Her father was Ramon de Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran. Eleanor's mother was Beatrice of Savoy, Countess of Provence, daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and Marguerite of Geneva.

Like Marguerite, Beatrice and her daughters were renowned beauties. Each of Eleanor's three sisters married kings themselves: the eldest, Marguerite of Provence, married King Louis IX of France; third-born Sanchia of Provence married Richard, Earl of Cornwall, elected King of Germany; and youngest sister Beatrice of Provence became the wife of King Charles I of Sicily.

Besides being a dark-haired beauty, Eleanor was known for being learned, clever, and a skilled writer.

On 22 June 1235, she was promised in marriage to Henry III, King of England. Benedictine monk and English chronicler of the time Matthew Paris said she was "jamque duodennem," or already twelve years old, when she arrived in England. The wedding took place on 14 January 1236; from this, it can be extrapolated that she was born in 1223. Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated.

At the time of the ceremony, Eleanor had never before seen her future husband, nor set foot in his realm. Her wedding gown was of shimmering gold, with a skirt flaring out in wide pleats, and long, ermine-lined sleeves.

This same day, the newly wed royal couple journeyed to London, where they were greeted by a procession of citizens, then made their way to Westminster Abbey so Eleanor could be crowned Queen Consort.

There followed a full banquet attended by the entire nobility.

She became known, not just for her beauty and intelligence, but as a leader of fashion who regularly imported clothes from her native France.

She wore parti-coloured (or multi-coloured) cottes, a mediaeval outer garment similar to a long-sleeved tunic or shift. She would also casually thrust a dagger into the front of her silver or gold girdles.

Eleanor introduced a new, higher wimple, a cloth which winds around the head and hair, tucked under the chin. Wimples were worn during many stages of mediaeval culture because it was not proper for a married woman to show her hair; wimples are still worn today by some orders of nuns as part of the traditional habit.

She was also said to have favoured red silk damask and gilded decorations.

Eleanor bore Henry five children:

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