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Beatrice of England (25 June 1242[1] – 24 March 1275), also known as Beatrice de Dreux, was a Princess of England as the daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Hersiblings were 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, andHenry of England. She and her family were members of the Royal house of Plantagenet, which first ruled in the 12thcentury and was founded by Henry II of England.
Beatrice was born in Bordeaux, France, the second eldest daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Beatrice's childhood was plagued by tragedy, and the stresses of Her father's reign coupled with her mother's unpopularity with the English people.
Her oldest brother Edward became dangerously 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.
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.
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 de Dreux, heir to the dukedom 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)
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. Her husband succeeded as duke 11years after her death, therefore Beatrice was never styled Duchess of Brittany.
Though little information is available concerning Beatrice's activities, she was an important part of English history. Her marriage to John II helped forge an alliance with France, thus placing the Earldom of Richmond under the so-called shieldof England.
During Henry's reign, there was much opposition to him in England. At a time when Simon de Montfort wanted to strip the king of some of His power to give more say to the barons, it was necessary for Henry to strengthen his rule via family marriages to useful people. His first daughter had married the King of Scotland, and Beatrice's marriage to John II, who controlled the Earldom of Richmond, gave Henry an additional source of power. Moreover, a substantial number of French nobles cameto England and could be appointed to political positions.
When Henry was crowned, very few areas within the Angevin empire (comprising Gascony, Béarn, Angoulême, Saintonge and Agenais), remained loyal to Henry.
The marriage of Beatrice and John II would prove to be useful for Henry III, if only to help Henry recover Poitou. Now Henry had English security and influence on the northern border, andthe instance on English overlordship. Though Henry was planning on regaining Poitou, he was defeated after his campaign. Because he could not regain Poitou, his domains were small comparedto the Angevin empire. With his various strategies, Henry III reigned over England for 56 years until his death in1272.
Thomas Wolfgang
Ackermann
