Early Years
In 1185 Berengaria was given the fief of Monreal by her father. Eleanor of Aquitaine promoted the engagement of Berengaria to her son King Richard. An alliance with Navarre meant protection for the southern borders of Aquitaine. Also, Navarre had assimilated the troubadour culture of Aquitaine and Berengaria's reputation was unbesmirched. It seems that Berengaria and Richard did in fact meet once, years before their marriage, and writers have claimed that there was an attraction between them at that time.
In 1190, Eleanor met Sancho in Pamplona and he hosted a banquet in the Palacio Real de Olite in her honour. The betrothal could not be celebrated openly, for Richard had been betrothed for many years to Princess Alys, sister of King Philip II of France. Richard terminated his betrothal to Alys in 1190 while at Messina. It has been suggested that Alys had become the mistress of Richard's own father, King Henry II, and possibly the mother of an illegitimate child; a marriage between Richard and Alys would therefore be technically impossible for religious reasons of affinity.
Read more about this topic: Berengaria Of Navarre
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)