Eleanor was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she would go onto become queen-consort of France and later queen of England.
Eleanor was the elder daughter of William, tenth Duke of Aquitaine. The couple had two daughters. In 1147, Eleanor accompanied her husband on the Second Crusade, travelling to Constantinople and Jerusalem. The Crusade was a failure and relations between Eleanor and her husband, already poor, deteriorated even further. Eleanor's failure to produce a son contributed considerably to this tension, and in 1152 they were divorced.
Two months later Eleanor married Henry of Anjou, who in 1154 became king of England. The couple had five sons and three daughters. For nearly two decades, Eleanor played an active part in the running of Henry's empire, travelling backwards and forwards between their territories in England and France. Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World, Polly Schover Brooks (1983) (for young readers) Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography, Marion Meade (1977) Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, Amy Kelly (1950)