Berengaria was chosen as wife to Richard I of England by Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard had been betrothed to Princess Alice, sister of France's King Phillip IV. But Richard's father, Henry II, had made Alice his mistress, and church rules therefore forbid the marriage of Alice and Richard. The marriage with Berengaria would bring a dowry that would help Richard finance his efforts in the Third Crusade...read more