Berengaria of Navarre

Berengaria of Navarre
Effigy of Berengaria in the chapter house of L'Épau Abbey, Le Mans
Queen consort of England
Tenure	12 May 1191 – 6 April 1199
Coronation	12 May 1191
Born	c. 1165–1170
Died	23 December 1230(1230-12-23) (aged 59–65)
Spouse	Richard I of England
House	Jiménez
Father	Sancho VI of Navarre
Mother	Sancha of Castile

Berengaria of Navarre (Basque: Berengela, Spanish: Berenguela, French: Bérengère; c. 1165–1170 – 23 December 1230) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval English queens, relatively little is known of her life.

Traditionally known as "the only English queen never to set foot in the country", she may in fact have visited the country after her husband's death, but did not do so before, nor did she see much of him during her marriage, which was childless. She did (unusually for the wife of a Crusader) accompany him on the start of the Third Crusade, but mostly lived in his French possessions, where she gave generously to the church, despite difficulties in collecting the pension she was due from Richard's brother and successor John after she became a widow.

In 1185, Berengaria was given the fief of Monreal by her father.Eleanor of Aquitaine promoted the engagement of Berengaria to her son, Richard the Lionheart. An alliance with Navarre meant protection for the southern borders of Eleanor's Duchy of Aquitaine, and helped create better relations with neighbouring Castile whose queen was Eleanor, a sister of Richard. Also, Navarre had assimilated the troubadour culture of Aquitaine and Berengaria's reputation was unbesmirched. It seems that Berengaria and Richard did in fact meet once, years before their marriage, and writers have claimed that there was an attraction between them at that time.