Constance of Castile, Queen of France
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Constance of Castile, (1141-4 October 1160), was a daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Berenguela of Barcelona. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona and his third wife Douce I of Provence.
She was the second wife of Louis VII of France, following his divorce from Eleanor of Aquitaine. The official reason for her husband's divorce had been that he was too close a relative of Eleanor for the marriage to be legal by Church standards; ironically, he was even more closely related to Constance.
Constance bore her husband two children:
- Marguerite de France, 1158-1197, who married first Henry the Young King of England, and then Béla III of Hungary, leaving no living children.
- Alys de France, 1160-1220, who was betrothed (but never married) to Richard I of England, and later married to William IV of Ponthieu.
Constance died giving birth to her second child. Her husband remarried a mere five weeks after her death, desperate for a son.
[edit] References
Meade, Marion, Eleanor of Aquitaine
| Preceded by Eleanor of Aquitaine |
Queen of France 1154 – 1160 |
Succeeded by Adele of Champagne |
