Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > The Queen from Provence > Status Update

‘He could always be seen among his companions because he was so much taller than they were and his bright flaxen hair was readily recognisable. His parents called him affectionately, Edward Longshanks, and they marvelled at his healthy good looks while they were terrified of that childhood fever which had been the bogy to haunt their lives.’

‘wondered then if there might come a day when the barons decided they would rise once more in England as they had under King John, when they would tire of a King on whom they could not rely. How would Henry stand the strain? And Eleanor? Did she realise that the people were murmuring against her, that they could not forgive her for bringing her family and friends to England and keeping their pockets well filled?’

‘Richard bowed his head. He was beginning to wonder whether the royal marriage was as beneficial as he had thought it would be. True, Eleanor was a lovely girl, but she was exercising too much power over the King and her family was becoming a nuisance. The fact was, she was too strong-minded and the King was too besotted.’

‘She could not entirely believe it. It was like a dream coming true. It was too neat. Marguerite Queen of France. Herself Queen of England. And largely because of the clever juggling of Romeo de Villeneuve. If she had not written that poem... if she had not - on Romeo’s advice - sent it to the Duke of Cornwall... No, it was too much to believe. It was what she had wanted more than anything.’