Beatrice of England 1
- Born: 25 Jun 1242, Bordeaux, (Gironde), Aquitaine, France
- Died: 24 Mar 1275, London, Middlesex, England at age 32
Research Notes:
From Wikipedia - Beatrice of England :
"Beatrice of England", also known as "Beatrice de Dreux" (born 25 June 1242-1275) Born in Bordeaux, France. She was the second daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence , and sister of Edward I of England , Margaret, Queen of Scotland , Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster , Richard of England, John of England, Katherine of England, William of England, and Henry of England. She and her family were members of the Royal house of Plantagenet , which first ruled in the 12th century and was founded by Henry II of England .
Tragedy plagued Beatrice's childhood. Her oldest brother Edward became deathly ill when she was very young. Though he recovered, Beatrice's younger siblings Richard, Henry, William, Katharine, and John died at very young ages, leaving Beatrice's parents grief-stricken. Eleanor was especially upset about the death of her youngest daughter Katharine, who possibly had a degenerative disease that had caused her to become deaf and eventually die at the age of three.
Beatrice's childhood was also marred by the stresses of her father's reign. The English were unhappy with King Henry III owing to the influence that Eleanor and her Savoyard kinsmen exercised on the monarchy, and the Barons demanded more power. In 1263, Eleanor was sailing on a barge that was attacked by London citizens. This harsh, bitter, dislike created several problems for Henry III and his family. On the other hand, Eleanor and Henry enjoyed a happy marriage, and Beatrice grew up in a loving environment, close to her siblings.
Adult life At one point, Henry conducted negotiations for Beatrice to marry the king of France and also rejected a proposal that she should wed the son of the King of Norway. When she was eighteen she married John II, Duke of Brittany . Beatrice later changed her name to Beatrice de Dreux, and she and John II had seven children: Arthur II, Duke of Brittany John de Bretagne, 1st Earl of Richmond Marie de Dreux , wife of Guy III of Châtillon (1268-1339) Pierre, Viscount de Leon (1269-1312) Blanche de Dreux , wife of Philip of Artois (1271-1327) Eleonore, Abbess of Fontevrault (1274-1329)
Death Beatrice died on 24 March 1275 in London , England . Her death was once said to have occurred in childbirth, but the dates do not bear out this theory, which has been disproved in several articles. John II honored his wife with a chantry , an institutional chapel on private land or within a greater church, which was to be finished when he died, so that he and Beatrice would be together again. Beatrice was buried at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich , London.
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