Queens Who Married 2 (Or More) Kings

Queens Who Married Two or More Kings Thank you to Send A Cake for sponsoring this video. We hear a lot about kings who, upon losing a beloved wife to childbirth, exhaustion, etc., quickly move on to bride number two, and sometimes three, four, five, or even six. But there were also plenty of queens who, upon being widowed, were enough of a catch that they promptly moved on to a newer model and took the consort throne again of the same or a different country. Let's meet seven queens who married two or more different kings. Cleopatra VII, pharaoh of Egypt, was born in 69 BCE. Her father, Ptolemy XII, was the latest in a line of Greek pharaohs of Egypt, leading back to Alexander the Great's conquest. The dynasty adopted the ancient Egyptian custom of keeping the throne in the family through the marriage of royal siblings. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of genetic problems. Ptolemy XII married his cousin, Cleopatra V. Their children received excellent educations, but Cleopatra stood out for her keen intellect and charm. She was the only Ptolemaic ruler who actually bothered to learn the Egyptian language. When the pharaoh died, the throne went to 11-year-old Ptolemy XIII. He was married to his 18-year-old sister, Cleopatra VII, who was appointed his co-ruler. They did not have a sexual relationship. The young king resented his older and wiser sister, minting coins with her face, putting her name on documents, and generally hogging all the power. He was the one with the penis, after all. He drove Cleopatra out of the country. But she built her own army and a civil war began. She managed to get the powerful dictator of the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar, on her side. According to legend, she was presented to him when a carpet was unrolled and she spilled out. It has long been assumed that the queen of Egypt must have been an incredibly alluring beauty to have won him over. But it was actually her brilliance, wit, and conversation that made Caesar her lover and loyal ally. Together, they defeated Ptolemy, who was killed in battle. As a woman, Cleopatra couldn't just claim the throne, so she married her next brother, 12-year-old Ptolemy XIV. This Ptolemy was smart enough to stay out of his big sister's way. Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar's son, Caesarion. Mother and child visited Rome and stayed at Caesar's palace. But he already had a wife, so she did not play the role of Roman consort. Two years later, Caesar was assassinated and Cleopatra fled back to Egypt. Her brother-husband, Ptolemy XIV, was now 15 and getting more willful. So she had him poisoned and proclaimed her son as her co-ruler, Ptolemy XV, which meant she was now totally in charge. Cleopatra was a very involved and just ruler for 18 years. While her ancestors were more concerned with partying, she focused on helping her people through droughts, brokered peace between her Greek and Egyptian subjects, and improved the economy. Meanwhile, Rome was in the midst of a civil war, and Cleopatra soon formed an alliance with politician and general Mark Anthony. Their partnership extended into the bedroom, and she gave birth to three more children. She funded his invasion of several neighboring kingdoms. He divorced his wife, Octavia, to marry her. But this pissed off Octavia's brother, Octavian, who happened to be the new emperor of Rome. He sailed his armada to Egypt. Mark Anthony led he and Cleopatra's navies. But they were defeated, and he took his own life. Cleopatra was heartbroken, and when she heard that Octavian was on his way, and intended to drag her back to Rome in chains, she decided to take her own life as well. Contrary to myth, she was not bitten by an asp, but more likely drank poison. Zoe Porphyrogenita, Thrice Byzantine Empress Zoe was born in 978 to Constantine VIII, the junior co-emperor. Her uncle, Basil II, refused to allow Zoe or her sisters to marry, as their husbands would have a claim on the throne. The girls were raised in obscurity inside the palace's women's quarters. When Zoe was 23, an envoy arrived to select a bride for Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. The eldest daughter, Eudacia, was disfigured by smallpox, while the youngest, Theodora, was very plain. Strikingly beautiful, Zoe was selected and set sail to Italy. But when she landed, she was informed that her groom had died, so she went back to Constantinople. Zoe remained single in the women's quarters for the next 27 years. She filled her days with operating a cosmetics laboratory to preserve her youthful looks. Her uncle died childless, and her father decided the only way to continue the Macedonian dynasty was to allow his middle-aged daughters to marry and give the throne to one of their husbands. Theodora was ordered to wed nobleman Romanos, but as he was already married, she refused. Romanos' wife was sent to a convent, and Zoe was ordered to marry him instead. The bride was 50, but her lotions and elixirs had worked. She was noted for her youthful beauty. The day after the wedding, Emperor Constantine died, and Romanos III and Zoe were crowned emperor and empress. In the tight confines of the women's quarters, Zoe had come to hate her sister Theodora. Once she was empress, she set spies on her, and eventually it forced her to become a nun. The empress was obsessed with continuing the Macedonian dynasty. She tried desperately to become pregnant, using magic charms, amulets, and potions, but to no avail. She alienated her husband, and he refused to share her bed. Rejected, Zoe engaged in a number of love affairs. Romanos paid little mind and took mistresses of his own, but when Zoe took up with a handsome 23-year-old servant named Michael, and bragged that she would put him on the throne instead, the emperor got worried. 66-year-old Romanos was found dead in the bath. He had probably been drowned on his wife's orders. That same day, Zoe and Michael were married, and they called the patriarch to crown them. Although he initially refused, a payment of 50 pounds of gold changed his mind. If Zoe thought her new husband would be her pet, she was mistaken. He sent her back to the women's quarters and kept her under guard while he ruled the empire, but he had no skill for statecraft. He was also in poor health, and when it was clear that he was dying, he forced his estranged wife to adopt his nephew, also named Michael. Michael IV died at the age of 30. Michael V vowed to respect Empress Zoe, but he promptly charged her with regicide and banished her to a convent on a remote island. The people were not pleased with his treatment of the royal blooded heir by a common usurper. They rose up and supported Zoe and her sister Theodora. Theodora was quite happy in her convent, but delegates dragged her kicking and screaming into the Hagia Sophia, where she and Zoe were crowned as co-empress regnants. Michael V was blinded and lived out the rest of his life as a monk. The sister empresses still hated each other and jostled for power. Zoe decided to cut Theodora out by remarrying and placing her new hubby on the throne with her. Orthodox law allowed only three marriages in a lifetime, so she had to be careful with her final choice. The first potential husband she interviewed made it clear that he planned to take charge, so she sent him away. The second was poisoned days before the wedding by his soon-to-be ex-wife. Finally, the 64-year-old empress settled on a 38-year-old former lover, who was crowned Constantine IX. Finally, Zoe found a husband who treated her with respect and allowed her to exercise her power. The one caveat was that he brought his mistress, Sklerina, with him. Zoe didn't mind sharing her bed and allowing Sklerina to walk behind her, but the people were outraged by the royal love triangle. Rumors circled that the mistress was planning to assassinate the rightful empress. Zoe had to reassure them that she was in fact alive. The imperial polyandry continued for eight years, until Zoe died in 1050, age 72. Constantine IX remained on the throne with Theodora for another five years. When Theodora died, the Macedonian dynasty came to an end, and a court bureaucrat, Michael VI, ascended the throne. Emma of Normandy, twice Queen of England and Queen of Denmark and Norway. Emma was born around 984, the daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy. At 18, she wed 36-year-old King Æthelred of England. He already had 10 children by his first wife, including several healthy sons. Emma had three more children, Edward, Godgefjord, and Alfred. In 1013, King Sven Forkbeard of Denmark and Norway invaded. Æthelred was known as the Unready, meaning ill-advised. He lived up to his name by losing spectacularly. He, Emma, and their children were sent on the run to Normandy. 54-year-old King Sven died suddenly just five weeks after his conquest. Supposedly he was speared in bed by the ghost of a centuries-dead English martyr, Saint Edmund, but more likely it was a living assassin. Sven named his son Canute as his heir, but English nobles backed Æthelred retaking the throne. Emma was queen again for another two years, until her husband died at 50. His son from his first marriage, Edmund Ironside, claimed the throne, but Canute invaded and was victorious. He gave Edmund the Consolation Prize of Wessex, but within months, the former king was assassinated, supposedly while on the toilet. Back on the throne, Canute was keen to legitimize his rule by marrying an English royal, and Emma thought she might quite like being queen again, so the pair tied the knot. Through this marriage, Emma was also queen of Denmark and Norway. One small issue was that Canute already had a wife, Elfgefue of Northampton, but as she was back in Denmark, and their union was technically only a handfast, Canute got away with this act of bigamy. Over time, Emma and Canute developed a genuine affection, but their family was not without drama. Emma sent her two sons by Æthelred, Alfred and Edward, to Normandy for their protection. They were a serious threat to Canute and his oldest son, Harold Hereford. Emma and Canute had two children together, a daughter, Gunnhilda, who became Holy Roman Empress, and a son, Harthacnut, who was also in competition with his older brothers for the Emma was a powerful queen with the backing of many noble families. She convinced her husband to name her son as his heir. When Canute died at 40, Harthacnut was away in Denmark, so Harold Hereford got his butt on the English throne first. Emma tried to undermine him by spreading rumors that he was not really Canute's son, but the result of an adulterous affair between Canute's first wife and a peasant. She called her older sons by Æthelred, Alfred and Edward back to England to press their own rights, but the brothers were attacked. Edward escaped, but Alfred was captured and blinded with a red-hot poker. He died from his wounds. Harold didn't get to enjoy his stolen crown for long. He died of a mysterious disease at 24. Harthacnut returned to England and took the throne. He had his treacherous brother's body exhumed, publicly beheaded, and thrown in the Thames. But Harthacnut promptly fell ill with tuberculosis and died at 24. While on his deathbed, his mother persuaded him to name his half-brother Edward as the next king. Edward the Confessor became one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon monarchs. Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings and mother of two more, died in 1052 at the age of 68. In the Middle Ages, mothers were celebrated every year on Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent. Medieval moms were allowed one day off from fasting to honor their hard work the rest of the year, so they could have a little treat, like, say, a cake. I gave my mom the Blossom Mother's Day Exploding Box from Cinda Cake. We were both enchanted by the fluttering butterflies, and she loved the box with our photos. It makes a great keepsake. Cinda Cake is a unique, fun holiday gift idea your special someone will never forget. And it's not just for mamas. Cinda Cake has cute and creative options for graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or whatever special occasion you're celebrating. Visit CindaCake.com to order an unforgettable gift for your loved one. And use my discount code HOLIDAY10 to get 10% off. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and Queen of England Eleanor was born in 1124. As her father, William X, Duke of Aquitaine, had only daughters. He raised her as his heir and gave her an exceptional education. Eleanor was gifted with a keen intellect. When she was 15, her father died and named King Louis VI of France as her guardian. There was a serious fear that the wealthy young duchess would be kidnapped and forced to marry, so King Louis promptly sent his own son, also called Louis, to marry her and claim her lands. The monarch then died and the young couple became King and Queen of France. Louis VII adored his beautiful and worldly bride, while she was rather disappointed to find herself married to a prudish boy who disliked sex. It took them seven years to have a child. By the time their daughter was born, their marriage was falling apart. The couple went on a crusade together and each brought their own army. Eleanor proved to be a superior commander. While traveling through the mountains, she got tired of waiting for her husband's disorganized troops and moved her men ahead. Left behind, Louis' army was ambushed and thrown into a canyon. The king barely escaped the slaughter by dressing as a pilgrim. When he caught up with his wife, he blamed her. But Eleanor wasn't having it and demanded a divorce. The pope begged the power couple to stay together, and he made a special bed for them, claiming that with his blessing they were sure to conceive a son and heir. They gave it a shot, but when another girl was born, they finally called it quits and got an annulment. Single again, Eleanor immediately wrote to Henry, Duke of Normandy and proposed marriage. Eleanor was 30 and Henry 21. Her support bolstered his campaign to reclaim the English throne from his cousin Stephen, who had usurped it from his mother, Empress Matilda. When Stephen's last surviving son died, he called an end to the civil war and named Henry as his heir. He became king in 1152 and Eleanor was queen again, this time of England. The couple had a tumultuous relationship and argued relentlessly, but they conceived eight children. After 15 years of marriage, Eleanor moved back to Aquitaine and brought her younger offspring with her. With her encouragement, their eldest surviving son, Henry, raised an army against his father. While the family was locked in battle, Eleanor was captured and held prisoner by her estranged husband for 16 years. When Henry's beautiful young mistress died mysteriously, many thought Eleanor had ordered her murder. Young Henry died of dysentery at 28. His brothers Richard, Joffrey, and John continued to wage war against their father. After 19 years of family feuding, King Henry died and his son became King Richard I. His first order was to set his mother free. Eleanor was a valuable advisor to her sons, Richard and John, as they took their turns on the throne. She lived to the remarkable age of 80. Anne of Brittany Queen of the Romans and twice Queen of France Anne was born in 1477, the eldest surviving child of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. The duchy was at war with France to keep its independence. The duke used his daughter as a pawn and negotiated a number of simultaneous marriage contracts. He kept his eight potential son-in-laws ignorant of each other. Each believed they would be the next Duke of Brittany, so continued to send money and troops to aid in the war against France. When Anne was 11, her father died and she became duchess. That's when arguments heated up over which of her fiancées she should actually marry. Anne flat out refused Alain I of Albert, calling him repulsive. She preferred Maximilian, son of the Holy Roman Emperor, so they were married by proxy and she was named Queen of the Romans. But before he arrived to meet his bride, King Charles VIII of France laid siege to Anne's castle. She had no choice but to accept his offer of marriage. Maximilian protested to the Pope, but possession has always been nine-tenths of the law. The 14-year-old duchess arrived to her second wedding in a magnificent coach, wearing a dress of cloth of gold and a coat of 139 sable pelts. She was described as a slim, rosy-cheeked girl. Her 21-year-old groom was ugly, ill-formed, with a large nose and swollen lips which perpetually hung open. But her personal feelings were immaterial. She had a duty and delivered six children in seven years. The king was thrilled when their first child was a healthy baby boy, but little Charles Orland died at three during a measles outbreak. Their other five children were all stillborn or died shortly after birth. Anne was devastated by grief. Charles went to Naples and made his wife queen there as well, but she really just wanted to go home. King Charles accidentally struck his head on a doorframe. He felt fine and the couple proceeded to watch a game of tennis. But on the way home, he fell into a coma. The smack on the head had caused a cranial hemorrhage and he died nine hours later. 21-year-old Anne was rather pleased to be widowed and free to return to Brittany. She took charge of the government, appointed counselors, and issued gold coins bearing her likeness. But months into her newfound freedom, the new king of France, Louis XII, pulled the rug out from under her. Her marriage contract stipulated that if Charles died without a son, Anne would have to marry his successor. Louis already had a wife, but he quickly annulled his marriage to Joan of France. He humiliated her by giving public testimony that she was deformed and thus he had been unable to consummate their marriage. Joan made out all right with a generous pension and became a nun. Anne reluctantly returned to France to become its queen for a second time, but she was now older and wiser. She negotiated a new marriage contract which ensured that she had the right to govern Brittany and that it would pass to her second child, male or female. Her third marriage was happier. Louis honored her rights in Brittany and allowed her to visit often. She also had more freedom to embrace her love of art and music. She commissioned a series of unicorn tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, and the printing of an early feminist book, The City of Ladies. She founded the Order of the Ladies of the Court, the first chivalric order for women. Anne became pregnant five times with Louis. She had three sons who all died, but two daughters, Claude and Renée, who survived to adulthood. Anne doted on them. She wanted to secure Breton independence by granting it to Claude and marrying her to Emperor Charles V, but Louis refused, insisting that their daughter wed his own heir, Francois, thus keeping his bloodline on the French throne and annexing Brittany to France. Anne was furious and briefly left him. In the end, she did not live to be a merry widow again. She died of a kidney stone attack, which her body, weakened by 11 pregnancies, could not cope with. She was only 36. Heartbroken, Louis arranged for a magnificent funeral for his wife and a marble mausoleum in the Basilica of Saint-Denis. He honored at least one of his wife's wishes by sending her heart, encased in a golden reliquary, back to Brittany. Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and Queen of France Eleanor was born in 1498, the eldest child of Philip the Handsome and Juana of Castile. Her paternal grandfather was Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Her maternal grandparents were Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile. Eleanor was only eight when her father died and her mother, drowning in grief and mental illness, was locked up by her own father. She and her siblings were raised in Brussels by their aunt, Margaret of Austria. She made sure they received an excellent education. Eleanor's imperial grandfather negotiated her marriage to Prince Henry of England. But when the handsome 18-year-old became King Henry VIII, he didn't want to marry an 11-year-old. He opted instead for her beautiful and charming 24-year-old aunt, Catherine of Aragon. Other candidates for Eleanor's hand included Louis XII of France, who was 52, Polish King Zygmunt I, who was 43, and the Duke of Lorraine. But no husband could be settled on. At 19, she had an affair with Friedrich II, Elector of Palatine. Her younger brother, Charles, discovered their love letters and expelled Friedrich from court. Eleanor was Charles' favorite sibling, but he made it clear who was in charge. He ordered her to marry King Manuel I of Portugal, 30 years her senior, with a hunchback. Eleanor gave birth to two children, Charles, who died in infancy, and Maria. After three years, Manuel died of the plague, and Eleanor's stepson became King João III. She was forced to leave her daughter behind and return to her brother, who had recently become Holy Roman Emperor. He captured King François of France in battle, and as part of his ransom, he insisted that the handsome king marry his sister. François found his bride very unattractive and rarely slept with her. He publicly flaunted his mistress. Eleanor maintained her composure, was kind to her stepchildren, and devoted to charity work. She attempted to keep the peace between her husband and brother, but could not prevent further war. François died after 17 years of marriage, and the 49-year-old Dowager Queen returned to her brother once more. For years, she had been trying to see her only child, Maria. Finally, after 28 years apart, they were reunited. Eleanor professed her love, but Maria blamed her mother for preventing her marriage to her cousin, King Philip II of Spain. She cut the meeting short. Heartbroken, Eleanor fell ill on the journey home. She was taken into a farmhouse, where she died at 59. Maria Francisca of Savoy, Queen of Portugal twice, was born in 1646 in Paris. She was the daughter of Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours. Her mother, Elisabeth de Bourbon-Vendôme, was a granddaughter of Henri IV of France, and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estre. She had only one surviving sibling, a sister Marie-Jeanne. When their parents died, the Duchess of Nemours went to their uncle, but the family fortune went to the teenage girls. Meanwhile, Portugal was at war with its neighbor, Spain. France was keen to stick it to their arch-rival by supporting their enemy, so a proposed between King Alfonso VI of Portugal and a French princess. Louis XIV settled upon Maria Francisca. She wasn't of particularly high-ranking blood, but her impressive dowry made up for it. The 20-year-old princess arrived in Lisbon for two months of feasts and fireworks, but once the honeymoon was over, it was clear that the marriage had serious problems. When Alfonso was three, he had suffered an illness which left him paralyzed on the right side of his body and affected his intellect. He became king at 13, but his mother, Queen Luisa de Guzman, acted as his regent, even after he turned 18. Alfonso exhibited wild and disruptive behavior. He and his friends terrorized Lisbon by night. Their favorite sport was to break into convents and assault nuns. Luisa tried to reign her son in by banishing his friends. Angered, he sent her to a convent and replaced her with politician Castelo Mayor. He'd had some luck calming the king by the time Maria Francisca arrived. She was intelligent and ambitious, but Melor denied her a seat on the royal council. The queen was not only kept out of the boardroom, she was also frustrated in the bedroom, as her husband was impotent. Delivering an heir was her only path to power. The king's younger brother, Pedro, Duke of Béja, was far sharper. He and Maria began an affair, and their pillow talk soon turned to plotting. Pedro staged a coup and forced Melor out. He was appointed prince regent, and he imprisoned his brother in the Azores, islands in the middle of the Atlantic. Though Alfonso was still technically king, Pedro ruled Portugal. Maria filed for an annulment based on Alfonso's impotence, and married Pedro instead. The princess regent gave birth to a daughter, Isabel. She suffered a miscarriage which prevented her from conceiving again. This was bad news for the Braganza dynasty, which was now on the brink of extinction. Her distant cousin, Louis XIV of France, had supported Pedro's coup, but he was furious when Maria informed him that war-exhausted Portugal would not return the favor in the Franco-Dutch war. Pedro instead made alliance with England and sent his sister Catherine of Braganza to marry King Charles II. In 1683, after 15 years of imprisonment, Alfonso VI died at the age of 40. Pedro II officially became king, and Maria Queen of Portugal for the second time. But her tenure was short-lived. She fell ill and died three months later, at the age of 37. Modern examination of her remains revealed that she was suffering from syphilis, though how she contracted the sexually transmitted infection remains a mystery. Pedro remarried Maria Sophia of Nuremberg, who provided him with eight children, including a much-needed heir to the Braganza dynasty. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe, comment your thoughts, and check out my other history videos. You can also join my Patreon to support my work and get early access to all of my multi-part series. Thank you for watching!