Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Provence (prôväNs') [key], d. 1291, queen consort of Henry III of England. The daughter of Raymond Berengar, count of Provence, she was married to Henry in 1236. She was a vigorous and incisive woman and had much influence on her husband, as did her unpopular relatives and other foreign courtiers who followed her to England. During the ascendancy of Simon de Montfort in 1264–65, Eleanor raised mercenaries in France for her husband's cause. She was dispatched to a convent in 1286 but was sometimes consulted by her son, Edward I.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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