"Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England" Topic

"Of the many princesses available as a bride for Richard the Lionheart, King of England, Berengaria of Navarre was chosen to be his queen. There were two reasons for this choice. The first was for the usual dynastic purpose of having an heir. The second rationale was for strategic and political reasons relating to Richard's desire to go on Crusade to the Holy Land.

Berengaria was born c. 1170. Her parents were King Sancho VI the Wise of Navarre and Queen Sancha-Beata of Castile. We don't know anything about Berengaria's education but the court of Navarre had assimilated some of the troubadour and courtly love culture from southern France. The chroniclers did describe Berengaria as "wise" and she had an unsullied reputation. Richard may have seen Berengaria when she was a young girl on a visit to Pamplona in 1177.

Richard was engaged to Alys, the sister of King Philip II of France for many years but the marriage was never celebrated. Alys had come to the English court of Richard's father King Henry II when she was a young girl and she may have been seduced by King Henry and had his child. Richard needed King Philip's participation in the Crusade and so delayed his marriage to Alys as long as he could. In the meantime he pursued an alliance with Navarre. While he was on Crusade, he needed someone to guard his holdings in southern France and King Sancho was in a position to defend Richard's interests…"
See here.
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Amicalement
Armand

Possibly the coolest historical name for a princess.

I first "encountered" Berengaria in Graham Shelby's "The Kings of Vain Intent", and naturally sided with her in believing that Richard was a scamp. Shelby has colored my view of the woman ever since….

and here
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