Richard I of England and Princess Berengaria of Navarre - 1191

[CyrilVladisla]

Richard I was King of England from 1189 to 1199. He married Princess Berengaria of Navarre. The wedding was held in Limassol on May 12, 1191 at the Chapel of St. George.
An English poem describes the wedding of Richard and Berengaria, suggesting it was celebrated in style:
There King Ric spoused Beringer
The King's daughter of Navarre
And made there the richest spousing
That ever maked any king.
And crowned himself Emperor,
And her Empress, with honour.

The union between the Princess of Navarre (Berengaria) and a Prince of England (Richard) would be very beneficial for Eleanor of Acquitaine. An alliance with the Kingdom of Navarre would mean protection to the southern borders of Acquitaine.
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Since Richard was busy preparing for the Third Crusade, he sent his mother Queen Eleanor to Navarre to secure Princess Berengaria's hand in marriage.

Richard and Berengaria were married in Limassol in May of 1191. There was great feasting and revelry.
A chronicler wrote:
"And there in the joyous month of May, 1191, in the flourishing and spacious isle of Cyprus, did King Richard solemnly take to wife his beloved wife Berengaria."
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The ceremony was performed by Richard's chaplain, Nicholas.
Richard the groom wore a rose silk tunic accessorized with a scarlet cap, gold embroidered cape and sash and a gold and silver scabbard.
​

 

[Meraude]

Berengaria was the only English queen never to visit England as a queen, and the couple spent very little time together. She lived as a widow for 31 years.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Berengaria was also never crowned Queen in England and her coronation took place at the Chapel of St George at Limassol Castle in Cyprus.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Berengaria and Eleanor reached Sicily on the last day of March in 1191. Berengaria's arrival coincided with Lent, the season of the Christian calender in which all marriages were prohibited by canon law. Richard and Berengaria could not therefore be legally joined together until the arrival of Easter.

 

[Curryong]

It was good that the wedding in May was celebratory with revels and feasting as the marriage itself was not very successful. There were all those rumours about Richard's supposed homosexuality, and the couple spent very little time together due to his constant campaigning.

 

[Denville]

Poor Berengaria.. She had a pretty sad life really. I think Richard really was not into marriage.. Other kings have been homosexual and they at least performed their husbandly duties and provided their wives iwht children. Ber had no children and Richard was away most of the time and clearly very indifferent to her.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

If Richard had performed his husbandly duties, Berengaria may have had a few children. One of these may have been a son who would have inherited the throne after King Richard I. That may have meant no King John. Also, Prince Arthur of Brittany may not have met a death at an early age.

 

[Curryong]

Yes, awful things occurred during the reign of King John and I'm sure Berengaria and Richard would have liked a son or two. However, if John had not come to the throne then there might never have been a Magna Carta, and in my opinion that would have been a huge loss to the world.

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction

 

[Countessmeout]

A lot of what ifs. If Richard hadn't forgiven John for his revolt, and continued his original succession, Arthur would have been named king.

Under more modern thought, Arthur was the clear heir. As the son of Geoffrey, John's older brother, Arthur had the stronger claim to the throne. His father's death did not remove his place in succession, should have just bumped him up one.

It was such thought which gave the house of York their claim to the throne in later centuries. They placed their claim on being descended from Lionel of Antwerp, the eldest son of Edward III to have a lasting blood line. They were descendents of the female line though. Lionel's great-granddaughter married a younger son of the line of Edmund, Duke of York (another son of Edward III). Unlike King John, John of Gaunt's line had a much stronger claim to the throne, being the male line.


As for the Magna Carta I think it was a matter of time. Even if King John didn't come to the throne, eventually the changes would come IMO. John was the final spark to light the powder keg, but there was already a powder keg there. The spark would have come, perhaps later, but still.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Richard spent so little time in England and more or less left his mother as Regent during his long absence.Berengaria of Navarre was the only English queen never to set foot in England ,I wonder if the couple spent any time together at all?

 

[Denville]

Presumably long enough to consummate the marriage. But much of his time, Richard was away at the wars, or in prison..and he didn't seem interested in beig with his wife, that much..

 

[An Ard Ri]

If the marriage was ever consummated

It seems Berengaria of Navarre had a better relationship with her sister in law,Joan of England,queen of Sicily.

 

[Denville]

I'd imagine it was consummated. I don't think Richard was incapable of a relationship with a woman, but ti wasn't high on his list of priorities, to father an heir or spend time with her or in engalnd. His war making was his principal interest

 

[tihkon2]

Wasn't Richard supposedly much more interested in Berengaria's brother, Sancho?

 

[Denville]

regardless of what his private inclinations were he married Berengaria, so I think the marriage was consummated..

 

[An Ard Ri]

I don't believe Berengaria of Navarre was given a Coronation ,one of the few English queens not to be crowned.

 

[Curryong]

Wasn't Richard supposedly much more interested in Berengaria's brother, Sancho?

Yes, there were rumours to that effect, but the interest was almost certainly not reciprocated. Sancho had a liking for the opposite sex.

I have also read that Berengaria was crowned Queen consort in Limassol Castle on Cyprus shortly after the wedding.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

When King Richard married Berengaria, he was still officially engaged to Princess Alys of France.

 

[Countessmeout]

Rumors of Richard's homosexual relations have led to rumors about the brothers of both his intended bride and his future bride. As common as the rumors are about Sancho, there are those about Philip II as well (Alys' brother). None have been proven for either man, historians debate whether he was in fact gay/bi or not.

There were also rumors that Alys was a mistress of Richard's father. If this was true, it would have made their engagement null. Richard couldn't marry a woman who had laid with his father under church law.

 

[Denville]

I rather think that Richard did not intend ot marry Alice because she had been seduced by his father.