On the 27th of May 1199, John Plantagenet was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. John was the last child of the illustrious King Henry II and the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine. When he was born on Christmas Eve of 1167 at Beaumont Palace in Oxfordshire, King Henry, his...
The birth of Empress Matilda
Matilda (the Latin form of Maud) is known as Empress Matilda. She is a legendary woman who could have been England’s first queen regnant in her own right. But the terrible wheels of fate were in motion, and she was never crowned Queen of England. She is a woman who...
A Plantagenet Captive King
Journey from Acre and Capture The peace treaty between Richard the Lionheart and Sultan Saladin was signed on the 2nd of September, 1192. It reestablished the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although without the holy city. The Third Crusade was officially over, and Richard set out on a long journey back home....
The Boy-king of France
On November 1, 1179, fourteen year-old Philippe Capet was crowned and anointed at Rheims as King of the Franks. By the time of Philippe’s death nearly 44 years later, he had greatly enlarged and transformed his dominion, and he was the first French monarch to style himself as the “King...