Tag: king richard

The Abandoned Queen by Austin Hernon

Austin Hernon is the author of The Wars of the Magna Carta series — military historical sagas — and the Berengaria of Navarre Medieval Trilogy: early Plantagenet novels set during the Third Crusade and the reign of Richard the Lionheart.

For the second instalment of my Berengaria of Navarre trilogy, The Abandoned Queen, I wanted to provide a little historical background. Why did England have a Basque queen between 1191 and 1199? Queen Berengaria didn’t chase or lobby for that crown. She was fully occupied managing her widowed father’s court.

Her father, King Sancho VI of Navarre was an enlightened man and ensured that all his children received the same comprehensive education. Therefore, by the time she was in her twenties, Berengaria was educated, multilingual, intelligent, and a keen observer of European politics and diplomacy of the time. The person who invited her to become Queen of England was none other than Richard the Lionheart’s mother: the dowager Queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine. She, the matriarch of the Plantagenet dynasty, was anxious to preserve the royal bloodline. With Richard already bound for Palestine, there was no guarantee he would return, and she was also determined to keep the runt Prince John off the throne.

But why was Richard bound for the Holy Land? The answer to that lies in the Third Crusade. Pope Gregory VIII called for the Crusade, which was intended to conquer the Holy Land and bring it under Christian control. Three kings responded to his call: King Phillip II of France; Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor; and Richard I of England.

A glance at a map of the time reveals that the kingdom of Navarre abutted Eleanor’s duchy of Aquitaine. In proposing that Berengaria marry Richard, Eleanor was able to satisfy her desire for a daughter-in-law and secure a useful ally on her southern border. And what princess would refuse the opportunity to be made a queen?

Once Berengaria had agreed to the plan, she and Eleanor set off together in hot pursuit of the war-bound king. And what an unexpected adventure the brave princess had volunteered for.

The Road to Runnymede is Out Now

Congratulations to David Field, whose gripping historical saga, The Road to Runnymede, is out now!

The Road to Runnymede is the sixth historical novel in The Medieval Saga Series – thrilling action-packed adventures set during and after the Norman Conquest.

England, 1199

After the death of Richard the Lionheart, his brother, John takes the English throne with the support of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

But John has a rival in the person of young Arthur, Duke of Brittany, who Richard had acknowledged as his rightful heir.

Arthur’s claim is the superior one under Angevin law, and it is backed by the majority of the nobles in Maine and Anjou, supported by King Philip II of France, who is anxious to break up the Angevin Empire.

John’s preference for foreign favourites, his heavy taxation of the English nobility to fund his military failures, his brutal reaction to opposition and his belief in his divine right to rule provoke a powerful group of barons into a rebellion.

But when John agrees to sign the Magna Carta, a fragile peace is restored.

It doesn’t take long for John to renege on his word. And the barons respond by inviting the young Prince Louis of France to invade.

In the midst of all this chaos, Earl Hugh of Flint, together with his powerful cousin Earl Ranulf of Chester, find themselves reluctantly serving a king who is destroying their country from within.

Their lives, their families and their estates are continually at risk as England turns on itself.

Who will emerge victorious? Will a new king bring stability?

Or is England doomed to once more be thrown into a period of turmoil…?