Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > Plantagenet Queens and Consorts: Family, Duty and Power > Status Update

‘Isabella was politically isolated from Edward and her own royal properties and income were confiscated by Despenser himself. Isabella up to this point had displayed all the virtues of a good queen. She provided heirs for Edward II, she gave wise counsel through reconciliation with his barons, and she ensured diplomatic amity with France.’

‘Eleanor was not a popular queen, but she was a strong-willed woman who imposed her will upon her husband’s reign in many beneficial ways, especially during the de Montfort rising. She was given more liberty than Eleanor of Aquitaine over her dower lands and in her involvement in government, marriages and appointments to important offices of stage. She was a loving, loyal partner to her husband.’

‘Eleanor of Provence’s story is part of the Eleanor legacy in that Henry III, her husband, was the Duke of Aquitaine, an inheritance from his grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine. Both Eleanors were duchesses of Aquitaine and no doubt Eleanor of Provence was familiar with Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life and resounding impact on queenship and dowagership.’