Constance of Castile
| Constance of Castile | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of France | |
 | |
| Tenure | 1154-1160 |
| Spouse | Louis VII of France |
| Issue | Marguerite de France Alys, Countess of the Vexin |
| House | House of Capet |
| Father | Alfonso VII of León |
| Mother | Berenguela of Barcelona |
Constance of Castile (1141 – 4 October 1160) was the second wife of Louis VII, King of France, following his divorce from Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a daughter of Alphonse VII, King of Galicia, León and Castile, and Berenguela of Barcelona. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona and his third wife Douce I of Provence.
The official reason for her husband's divorce from Eleanor of Aquitaine had been that he was too close a relative of Eleanor for the marriage to be legal by Church standards; ironically, he was even more closely related to Constance.
Constance died giving birth to her second child. Desperate for a son, her husband remarried a mere five weeks after her death.
Constance was buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis, Paris, France.
Children
Constance bore her husband two children:
- Marguerite de France, 1158–1197, who married first Henry the Young King of England, and then Béla III of Hungary, leaving no living children.
- Alys de France, 1160–1220, who was betrothed (but never married) to Richard I of England, and later married to William IV of Ponthieu.
References
- Meade, Marion, Eleanor of Aquitaine
