Beatrice of England

Not to be confused with Princess Beatrice of York or Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom

Beatrice of England
Countess of Richmond
Tenure	1268–1275
Born	24 June 1242 Bordeaux, France
Died	24 March 1275 (aged 32) London, England
Burial	Grey Friars Church, London
Spouse	John II, Duke of Brittany
Issue	Arthur II, Duke of Brittany John, 1st Earl of Richmond Marie, Countess of Saint Pol Blanche, Countess of Artois Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault
House	Plantagenet
Father	Henry III of Winchester, King of England
Mother	Eleanor of Provence

Beatrice of England (24 June 1242 – 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. Her siblings 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, and Henry of England. She and her family were members of the Royal house of Plantagenet, which first ruled in the 12th century and was founded by Henry II of England.

Childhood

Beatrice was the second eldest daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. According to Matthew Paris, she was born in Bordeaux, France on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June). 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 youngest sister Katharine died at a very young age leaving Beatrice's parents grief-stricken. Katharine, who possibly had a degenerative disease that had caused her to become deaf, died 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.

Marriage and issue

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 duchy of Brittany. It was a love match. Beatrice later changed her name to Beatrice de Dreux, and she and John II had six children:

• Arthur II, Duke of Brittany
• John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
• Marie of Brittany, Countess of Saint-Pol, wife of Guy III of Châtillon (1268–1339)
• Pierre, Viscount de Leon (1269–1312)
• Blanche of Brittany, wife of Philip of Artois (1271–1327)
• Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault (1275–1342)

Beatrice

Death

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 honoured 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 11 years after her death, therefore Beatrice was never styled Duchess of Brittany.

Historical overview

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 shield of 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 came to 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, and the 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 compared to the Angevin empire. With his various strategies, Henry III reigned over England for 56 years until his death in 1272.

Her descendants include queen consorts Elizabeth Woodville and Anne of Cleves.

Ancestry

Family of Beatrice of England

16. Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou 8. Henry II, King of England 17. Matilda, Lady of the English 4. John, King of England 18. William X, Duke of Aquitaine 9. Eleanor of Aquitaine 19. Aenor de Châtellerault 2. Henry III, King of England 20. William VI Taillefer, Count of Angoulême 10. Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême 21. Marguerite de Turenne 5. Isabella of Angoulême 22. Peter of Courtenay 11. Alice of Courtenay 23. Elisabeth de Courtenay 1. Beatrice of England 24. Alfonso II, King of Aragon 12. Alfonso II, Count of Provence 25. Sancha of Castile 6. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence 26. Rainou, Count of Forcalquier 13. Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier 27. Gersend of Forcalquier 3. Eleanor of Provence 28. Humbert III, Count of Savoy 14. Thomas I, Count of Savoy 29. Beatrice of Viennois 7. Beatrice of Savoy 30. William I, Count of Geneva 15. Marguerite of Geneva 31. Beatrix of Faucigny

Bibliography

• Boutell, Charles. The Handbook to English Heraldry. University of Michigan, Michigan:
• Reeves and Turner, 1914. 138.
• Cannon, John, and Ralph Griffiths. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York, New York: Oxford UP, 1988. 147.
• Crawford, Anne. Letters of Medieval Women. Grand Rapids: Sutton, Limited, 2002. 35.
• French, George R. Shakespeareana Genealogica. Boston, Massachusetts: Macmillan, 1869. 5-30.
• Matthew Paris, Matthew Paris’s English History from the Year 1235 to 1273, trans. JA Giles, vol. 1 (George Bell & Sons, 1889)
• Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry : A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Boston: Genealogical Company, Incorporated, 2004. 13-18.
• The Yorkshire Archaeological Society. The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. Yorkshire: Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1905. 163.