Berengaria of Navarre

Depiction by Charles Allston Collins (1850)

Name: Princess Berengaria of Navarre

Birth name: Jimenezeko Berengela Sánchez

Born: c. 1165 - 1170, Kingdom of Navarre

Father: King Sancho VI of Navarre 'The Wise'

Mother: Princess Sancha of Castile

House: Jiménez

Nationality: Navarrese

Religion: Catholicism 

Consort of: Richard I

Reign: 12 May 1191 - 06 April 1199 (7 years)

Coronation: 12 May 1191

Predecessor: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Successor: Isabella of Gloucester *disputed* 

Died: 23 December 1230 (aged 59-65), Le Mans, County of Maine, Kingdom of France

Cause: *Unknown*

Burial: L'Épau Abbey

Motto: N/A 

Spouse(s):

• King Richard I of England 'The Lionheart' (m. 1191 - 1199) 

Children:

• N/A 

Appearance:
She was described as beautiful with dark hair and dark eyes. She was also described as petite and elegant.
 
Character:
She was a talented musician and admired for her piety. 

Upon her retirement, she devoted her time to helping charities and aiding the poor, even founding an abbey in Le Mans. 

She was also quite independent and maybe even introverted as she spent most of her time alone, working on charitable projects in western France. 

She was loyal to her husband and very fond of him.
 
Biography:
Berengaria was born some time between 1165 and 1170, in the Kingdom of Navarre. She was the eldest of six children born to King Sancho VI of Navarre, and his wife, Princess Sancha of Castile. 

In 1185, her father granted her the Fiefdom of Monreal, and from an early age, Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and current Queen Consort of England, sought to have her betrothed to her son, Prince Richard, in order to create an alliance with Navarre to protect the southern borders of Aquitaine. It is likely that Berengaria and Richard did meet during this time, and the two of them got along well and seemed to find each other attractive. 
 
However, Richard was already betrothed to Princess Alys of France, so most of the negotiations for the marriage between Berengaria and Richard were carried out in secret. Richard eventually terminated his marriage contract with Alys in 1190, especially after she likely became his father's mistress, which would make a marriage between them impossible in the eyes of the Catholic Church. By this point, Richard had already become King Richard I of England, but he did not stay in his new kingdom for long, as he soon left to join the Third Crusade. He ordered his mother to bring Berengaria to him and the two of them travelled there before she was left in the care of Richard's sister, the Dowager Queen of Sicily, Joan. 

When the two of them set sail for the Holy Land in 1191, their ship was blown off course, and they were captured by Emperor Isaac of Cyprus. Upon hearing this, Richard briefly abandoned the crusade and came to their rescue, invading Cyprus and capturing the island, overthrowing Isaac in the process. 

Berengaria then married Richard soon afterwards and was crowned the Queen Consort of England on the same day. She would then join her new husband as he continued the crusade efforts, though it's not known if their marriage was ever consummated. 

Berengaria returned to Europe ahead of her husband, who would then be captured himself upon his own return to the continent. While staying in Maine, Berengaria attempted to raise money for her husband's ransom.
 
Once freed, Richard would remain distracted with military campaigns, and he and Berengaria rarely, if ever, spent any time together during this period. The Pope had to order Richard to reunite with his wife and cease his neglect of her, to which he obeyed, and had her brought to him again, where they would spend weekends at church together. 

Berengaria appears to have genuinely loved her husband, perhaps more so than he felt for her, though there was always mutual respect between them. However, the two of them would have no children together, further fuelling speculation that the marriage was never consummated, and that Richard may have in fact been bisexual or homosexual. 
 
While still campaigning in France, Richard would be shot by an arrow, and the resulting wound turned gangrenous. He would die of the infection in 1199, and Berengaria was devastated by the news. 

After his death, the new King John of England would often fail to pay her pension, and still owed her money after his own death in 1216. 
 
Berengaria then settled in Le Mans, where she became Lady of Le Mans. She never re-married, and devoted the remainder of her life to religion. 

It was here that Berengaria died in 1230 of unknown causes.
 
Rule:
During her time as consort, Berengaria never actually set foot in the Kingdom of England. She did not play a large role in politics, and when she was not accompanying her husband on holy excursions, she was working for charities far away from England. 

She was unable to produce an heir for Richard I, with the marriage perhaps never being consummated. 

However, she was able to save him from capture by paying his ransom, demonstrating her loyalty and dedication as a wife and consort.

 

Trivia:

• She is the only English consort to have never actually set foot in England during her reign.

 

Quotes:

 

N/A

 

 

Sources & Further Reading:

Charles Allston Collins - Berengaria's Alarm for the Safety of her Husband, Richard Coeur de Lion.JPG - Wikimedia Commons. (2009). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Allston_Collins_-_Berengaria%27s_Alarm_for_the_Safety_of_her_Husband,_Richard_Coeur_de_Lion.JPG 

Epistolae | Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England. (n.d.). Epistolae - Columbia University Libraries. https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/79.html

Storey, G. (2022) Berengaria of Navarre. Team Queens. https://teamqueens.org/berengaria-of-navarre/