Marguerite of Provence

Marguerite of Provence (St. Maime, c. 1221 – December 21, 1295, Paris) was the eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy.

Her maternal grandparents were Thomas I of Savoy and Marguerite of Geneva, daughter of William I of Geneva.

Her younger sisters were:

Eleanor of Provence became the Queen consort of Henry III of England.

Sanchia of Provence who became the Queen consort of Richard, Earl of Cornwall and rival King of the Germans.

Beatrice of Provence who was the Queen consort of Charles I of Sicily

Marguerite herself became the Queen consort of Louis IX of France and mother to eleven children:

1. Blanche (1240–April 29, 1243)
2. Isabelle (March 2, 1241–January 28, 1271), married Theobald II of Navarre
3. Louis (February 25, 1244–January 1260)
4. Philippe III (May 1, 1245–October 5, 1285)
5. Jean (born and died in 1248)
6. Jean Tristan (1250–August 3, 1270)
7. Pierre (1251–1284)
8. Blanche (1253–1323), married Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile
9. Marguerite (1254–1271), married John I, Duke of Brabant
10. Robert, Count of Clermont (1256–February 7, 1317). He was the ancestor of King Henry IV of France.
11. Agnes of France (c. 1260–December 19, 1327), married Robert II, Duke of Burgundy

Marguerite, like her sisters, was noted for her beauty and in the early years of their marriage she and Louis enjoyed a warm relationship. Her Franciscan confessor, William de St. Pathus, related that on cold nights Marguerite would place a robe around Louis' shoulders, when her deeply religious husband rose to pray. Another anecdote recorded by St. Pathus related that Marguerite felt that Louis' plain clothing was unbecoming to his royal dignity, to which Louis replied that he would dress as she wished, if she dressed as he wished. However, the chronicler Joinville noted with disapproval that Louis rarely asked after his wife and children, and in later years Louis became vexed with Marguerite's ambition.

She accompanied Louis on his first crusade and was responsible for negotiations and ransom when he was captured. She was thus for a brief time the only woman ever to lead a crusade.

After the death of Louis on his second crusade, during which she remained in France, she returned to Provence.

She was devoted to her sister Queen Eleanor of England, and they stayed in contact until Eleanor's death.

Sources

• Murray, Jacqueline. Conflicted Identities and Multiple Masculinities, 1999

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