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Birth:          1234 of Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France
Death:          23 Sep 1267 Nocera, Calabria, Italy
Burial:         Roque-Pymont, France

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_of_Provence
Beatrice of Provence (c. 1234 – 23 September 1267), was Countess of Provence and 
Forcalquier since 1245, Countess consort of Anjou and Maine since 1247, and Queen 
consort of Sicily and Naples since 1266 until her death.

She was the fourth and youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence 
and Forcalquier[1] by his wife Beatrice, in turn daughter of Count Thomas I of Savoy
[2] and Margaret of Geneva.[3]
Life[edit]

Inheritance of Provence and Forcalquier[edit]

Beatrice, like her sisters, mother and grandmother was known for her beauty. A 
description of Beatrice said she


"set men's hearts thumping and the fingers of troubadours to fevered twanging of 
lyres. Two of the balladists at the Provencal court were temporarily deprived of reason 
for love of the entrancing Beatrice"

All Ramon Berenguer IV's three older daughters married very well: The eldest, 
Margaret, was Queen of France as the wife of Louis IX; the second, Eleanor, was 
Queen of England as the wife of Henry III, and the third, Sanchia, was titular Queen 
of Germany as the wife of Henry's brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall.[4] King Louis IX's 
marriage to Margaret had been arranged by his mother, Blanche of Castile, with the 
hopes that he would inherit Provence and Forcalquier when her father died.

However, in his will signed on 20 June 1238 at Sisteron,[5] Ramon Berenguer IV 
unexpectedly left the Counties of Provence and Forcalquier to his youngest and still 
unmarried daughter, Beatrice.[6][7]

Marriage[edit]

Ramon Berenguer IV died on 19 August 1245 at Aix-en-Provence, and according to 
his will, Beatrice became Countess of Provence and Forcalquier in her own right, with 
the provision that the Dowager Countess could retain the usufruct of the County of 
Provence for her lifetime.

Now, Beatrice became one of the most attractive heiresses in medieval Europe, and 
soon several suitors appeared for her hand. Firstly, the neighboring rulers of her 
domains began their claims: the twice-divorced Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse and 
King James I of Aragon, who, despite being married to Jolánta of Hungary, invaded 
Provence and seized the residence of the Countess.[7] In addition, Frederick II, Holy 
Roman Emperor, dispatched the imperial navy to Provence to ensure Beatrice could 
marry one of his sons.

In such a difficult situation, the Dowager Countess decided to act quickly, placing 
herself and Beatrice in a safe fortress in Aix, secured the trust of its people and then 
asked Pope Innocent IV for his protection. In Cluny during December 1245, a secret 
meeting between Pope Innocent IV, Louis IX of France, his mother Blanche of Castile, 
and his youngest brother Prince Charles took place. It was decided that in return for 
Louis IX supporting the Pope militarily against Frederick II, the Pope would allow that 
Prince Charles marry Beatrice.[8] Mother and daughter were satisfied with this 
selection, [9] but under the terms of the treaty, Provence was to never go to France 
outright through Charles. It was agreed that if Charles and Beatrice had children, the 
Counties would go to them; if there was no issue, then the Provence and Forcalquier 
would go to Sanchia of Provence, and if she died without heirs, the Counties would go 
to the King of Aragon. Henry III of England protested these terms, arguing that he had 
not yet received the full dowry for his wife Eleanor nor his brother for Sanchia. He also 
still had the castles in Provence against the loan he had made to the late Count.[10]

Charles, along with Philip of Savoy and five hundred knights, rode from Lyon to 
Provence. On their way, they ran into Raymond VII of Toulouse, who also had an army 
on the way to Provence. However, Raymond VII had been deceived by knights in 
favour of Charles and for that reason he had brought fewer men, and Charles and his 
army were quicker. When Charles got to Aix-en-Provence, James I of Aragon, who had 
been there all along but was not allowed to see Beatrice, had his soldiers surrounding 
the castle in which the young Beatrice and her mother were. There was a brief 
struggle, but the King of Aragon retreated with dignity.[7]

To the young Beatrice, Charles (who was described as "an admirable young man") 
was a satisfactory resolution to her problems. Their marriage took place on 31 January 
1246 at Aix-en-Provence.[1] They had soldiers on guard and the bride was escorted 
down the aisle by her uncle, Thomas, Count of Flanders.


 


 Engraving of a sealing of Beatrice: Beatrice holds the fleur-de-lis; on the reverse, the 
arms of Provence
The inheritance of Beatrice also caused conflicts with her older sisters, who hoped 
that once their father had died, his domains would be divided between the four; 
however, Charles refused to share the Counties with his sisters-in-law. In 
consequence, the relationship of Charles and Beatrice with the three sisters, who felt 
cheated by their father's will, remained always tense.[11]

As soon as Charles became Count of Provence, he brought in his own team of French 
lawyers and accountants.[12] He excluded his mother-in-law from the running of the 
county and began taking castles, power and fees away from the nobles who had 
previously enjoyed a certain degree of independence in the running of their cities. 
Charles made himself very unpopular. The Dowager Countess moved herself to 
Forcalquier in protest, and in Marseille, Charles's officials were thrown out of the city. 
In the family conflict Beatrice sided with her husband.

Seventh Crusade[edit]

In May 1247, Charles and Beatrice were recorded as being in Melun, where Charles 
was knighted by his brother Louis. Beatrice accompanied Charles on the seventh 
crusade in 1248. Led by Louis IX, the crusaders made an extended procession 
through France. Before they left, Charles and Beatrice met with the Dowager Countess 
in Beaucaire to try to come to some terms of agreement concerning Provence. Whilst 
the more important matters were left until Charles and Beatrice returned, it was 
decided that Beatrice of Savoy would give up the rights to "the castle at Aix in 
exchange for a percentage of the county's revenue."

In Nicosia Beatrice gave birth to her first child, "a very elegant and wellformed son", 
as her brother-in-law Robert of Artois wrote home to his mother the Queen; however, 
the child lived only a few days.[13] Beatrice stayed with her sister Margaret in 
Damietta, when they lost contact with the King and his army; here Beatrice gave birth 
to her second child, while her sister Margaret too gave birth. Later in 1250, they were 
reunited with the rest of the crusade at Acre, where the King's ransom was paid. 
Charles and Beatrice, along with several other nobles, left soon after and journeyed to 
the court of Emperor Frederick II, to ask him to send the King of France more men for 
his crusade. However, the Emperor, who had been excommunicated,[14] needed his 
army to fight the Pope, and refused.

Beatrice and Charles returned to Provence in 1251, were some riots erupted at Arles 
and Avignon, instigated by Beatrice's mother, who felt Charles had failed to respect 
her claims in Provence. By July 1252 Charles had managed to defeat the revolt and 
was in the process of exercising his power as Count of Provence. However, in 
November of the same year, Blanche of Castile, regent of France while her son Louis 
IX was on crusade, died. Charles and Beatrice had to go to Paris, where Charles 
became co-regent of France with his brother, Alphonse.[15] The Pope offered Charles 
the Kingdom of Sicily in 1252, but Charles had to turn the offer down, as he was 
preoccupied with other affairs and he also did not have sufficient funds.

The crusaders returned in 1254. Charles and Beatrice spent Christmas in Paris that 
year, where all of Beatrice's sisters and their mother were present; it was noted that 
the other four women treated the younger Beatrice coldly, due to Raymond 
Berenguer's will.

Queen of Sicily and Naples. Death[edit]


 


 Statue of Beatrice of Provence, 13th century. Currently displayed at the Musée 
d'histoire de Marseille.
Beatrice's sister Margaret, the new Queen of France, publicly offended her in 1259, by 
not seating her at the family table; she claimed because Beatrice was not a queen like 
her sisters, she could not sit with them. Margaret had hoped to provoke her sister in 
treacherous behaviour so she would have a valid reason to invade Provence. Beatrice 
"with great grief", went to Charles and he reportedly told her:


"Be at peace, for I will shortly make thee a greater Queen than them".

When the newly elected Pope Clement IV granted Charles the Kingdom of Sicily, he 
had to defeat King Manfred, who had fallen out of papal favour. Another contender to 
win the throne of Sicily was Beatrice's nephew, Edmund Crouchback, but it soon 
became clear that Charles was the more promising candidate. In order to achieve his 
goal, Charles needed an army and Beatrice helped her husband raise one. She called 
on all her knights as well as the young men of France, and according to the later 
historian Angelo di Costanzo she pledged all her jewels, to make sure they joined her 
husband's army:


Beatrice, to aid [Charles] in the gratification of her ambition, sold all her jewels and 
personal ornaments, and expended her private treasure in collecting round her 
standard, not only her own vassals, but the chivalric youth of France, who were 
attracted to her service not less by her personal solicitations than by her rich gifts.[16]

In 1265 Charles of Anjou, with a small contingent embarked and by sea, arrived to 
Rome, where, on 28 June 28, was invested as King of Sicily by the Pope.[17] 
According to the storia di Manfredi, re di Sicilia e di Puglia of Giuseppe di Cesare who 
followed the narrative of the storia di Saba Malaspina, Beatrice followed her husband 
with the remaining army by sea, arriving to Italy only four months later.[18] In 
November of that year, the army of Charles, composed by 5,000 soldiers and 25,000 
infantrymen entered Italy and arrived in Rome in January 1266,[17] where on 6 
January both Charles and Beatrice were crowned King and Queen of Sicily by five 
cardinals sent by the Pope (who was sheltering in Perugia).[19] As soon as the 
coronation festivities had ended, Beatrice stayed in Rome with a small force to hold 
the city, whilst Charles rode out to the battle of Benevento. After her husband's 
victory, she chose the castle of Melfi as their residence.

Beatrice died on 23 September 1267, a little over a year after becoming queen[20] in 
either the Castello del Parco at Nocera Inferiore or in Naples (according to the storia 
di Saba Malaspina[21]). The cause of her death was not recorded, although it is 
believed that complications following a pregnancy could be the reason.[22] She was 
initially buried at Cathedral of San Gennaro in Naples, but in 1277 her husband 
transferred her remains to Aix-en-Provence at the Church of St. Jean de Jerusalem, 
where she was laid to rest with her father

Beatrice was the last ruling Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from the House of 
Barcelona; on her death, she left her Counties to her husband Charles.

Issue[edit]

Charles and Beatrice had the following children:
Louis (born and died 1248, Nicosia).
Blanche (1250 – bef. 10 January 1270), married in 1265 Robert of Flanders, Lord of 
Béthune and Dendermonde (he became Count Robert III in 1305, long after Blanche's 
death), by whom she had one son, Charles, who died young.
Beatrice (1252 – 17 November/12 December 1275), married in 1273 Philip of 
Courtenay, titular emperor of Constantinople, by whom she had one daughter, 
Catherine I of Courtenay, titular Empress of Constantinople.
Charles II (1254 – 6 May 1309), Count of Anjou and Provence, King of Naples, married 
Maria Arpad of Hungary, by whom he had issue.
Philippe (1256 – 1 January 1277), titular King of Thessalonica from 1274 and Prince of 
Achaïea, married in 1271 Isabella of Villehardouin, Princess of Achaïea and Morea
Robert (1258 – bef. 9 May 1265).
Isabelle (1261 –October 1303), married to Ladislaus IV of Hungary. Their marriage was 
childless.

Their descendants included Yolande of Aragon, Philippa of Hainaut, Isabella I of 
Castile, Henry VIII of England, Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II of 
Great Britain.

Parents
BERENGER Raimund V (IV) (ABT 1195 - 19 Aug 1245)
DE SAVOY Beatrice (ABT 1198 - Dec 1266)

Siblings
DE PROVENCE Margaret (Marguerite) (1221 - 21 Dec 1295)
OF PROVENCE Eleonore (Leonor) (ABT 1222 - 25 Jun 1291)
DE PROVENCE (DE SAVOY) Beatrice (1234 - 23 Sep 1267)

Marriage To ____ Charles I (21 Mar 1227 - 7 Jan 1285)
    m. Jan 1246 his 1st

Notes

Parents
____ Louis VIII "the Lion" (3 Sep 1187 - 8 Nov 1226)
DE CASTILE Blanche (Blanca) Alphonsa (BEF 4 Mar 1188 - 27 Nov 1252)

Children by ____ Charles I 21 Mar 1227 - 7 Jan 1285
____ Charles II "le Boiteux" ("the lame") (1248 - 5 May 1309)

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