Berengaria of Portugal

Berengaria of Portugal
Infanta Berengaria, in Antonio de Hollanda's Genealogy of the Royal Houses of Spain and Portugal (1530-1534)
Queen consort of Denmark
Tenure	1214–1221
Born	c. 1198
Died	27 March 1221 (aged 22–23) Ringsted, Denmark
Burial	St. Bendt's Church
Spouse	Valdemar II of Denmark
Issue	Eric IV of Denmark Sophia, Margravine of Brandenburg Abel of Denmark Christopher I of Denmark
House	Burgundy
Father	Sancho I of Portugal
Mother	Dulce of Aragon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Berengaria of Portugal (Portuguese: Berengária; Portuguese pronunciation: [bɨɾẽˈɡaɾiɐ]) (Danish: Bengjerd) (c. 1198 – 27 March 1221), was a Portuguese infanta, later Queen consort of Denmark. She was the fifth daughter of Portuguese King Sancho I and Dulce of Aragon. She married Danish King Valdemar II and was the mother of Danish kings Eric IV, Abel and Christopher I.

Berengaria was the tenth of eleven children born to her parents. By the age of fourteen in 1212, Berengaria was an orphan; her father died in 1212, while her mother had died in 1198. In various annals and ballads she is called Bringenilæ, Bengerd, Bengjerd and related forms.

Berengaria was introduced to King Valdemar through his sister, Ingeborg, the wife of King Philip II of France, another of her cousins; she was by that time at the French court, having left Portugal with her brother Ferrante in 1212.

Within seven years of marriage, the couple had four surviving children:

Old folk ballads say that on her deathbed, Dagmar of Bohemia, Valdemar's first wife, begged the king to marry Kirsten, the daughter of Karl von Rise and not the "beautiful flower" Berengaria. In other words, she predicted Berengaria's sons' fight over the throne would bring trouble to Denmark, although this is merely legend and there is no historical proof of this.