Eleanor of Provence

Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence (1198 - 1245), and Beatrice of Savoy (c.1198 - c.1267) had four daughters, all of whom married kings. Their second daughter, Eleanor (c.1223 - 1291), was not well-liked by her subjects.She loved reading, and was well-educated. Like her mother and sisters she was considered very attractive. One contemporary English chronicler, the Augustinian canon Peter Langtoft (died c.1305), described her as "the fairest May of life."Her older sister Margaret married the King of France, and Eleanor's uncle, Bishop William of Savoy, persuaded Henry to consider Eleanor. Such a marriage would tie him politically to France.Matthew Paris says she was already 12 years old when she arrived in England to marry King Henry III (illustration is from a Matthew Paris manuscript). He had looked at several different potential brides, but she was politically the most appropriate for the 28-year-old king.The reason for the country's dislike was the number of foreigners—called…