Lion’s Crown - Richard the Lionheart survives

Richard I


Richard I of England (1157 – 1199) was the king of England from 1189 to 1199. He is sometimes called Richard the Lionheart. Richard was the son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. As the third son and not expected to inherit the throne, he was a replacement child.In 1168 he became Duke of Aquitaine.


Richard was one of the leaders of the Third Crusade against Saladin, which never actually succeeded. During his journey, he conquered Sicily and Cyprus. He fought in the Battle of Acre and the Battle of Arsuf. In the end, as he was unable to win back Jerusalem from the Muslims, he decided to return back home to England. On his way back from the Crusade, Richard was captured by the Germans and the English people had to pay a huge ransom to set him free. He was considered a very brave and noble king, but he did not spend a lot of time in England - only six months of his eleven year reign were spent in his country.


Ida of Boulogne, his wife gave birth to a three sons, (Henry(1192), Geoffrey(1194) and William(1196)) and two daughters, (Alix(1189) and Matilda(1193)), he married Ida instead of his betrothed Alix of France.


On 1195 he had an arranges for an alliance of England and Aragon against France, on 1196, marrying his niece Berengaria of Castile to Peter III of Aragon, her suitors, Alfonso IX and Conrad of Swabia were compensated, Alfonso IX married Matilda of Brittany(1185) and Conrad of Swabia married Eleanor of Brittany(1184), daughters of his deceased brother Geoffrey of Brittany.[1]





1. The POD is in 1189, the death of Matilda of Brittany and Richard I marries Ida of Boulogne.
 
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Richard did not see very interested in "knowing" his wife, despite shared residence periods. In you want him to have legitimate children, maybe change the bride ? Ida of Boulogne, eldest granchild to King Stephen, born c. 1160 and Countess of Boulogne in her own right since 1173, might be a good candidate.
 
Richard did not see very interested in "knowing" his wife, despite shared residence periods. In you want him to have legitimate children, maybe change the bride ? Ida of Boulogne, eldest granchild to King Stephen, born c. 1160 and Countess of Boulogne in her own right since 1173, might be a good candidate.
Good suggestion..I am taking that..thanks..
 
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Given the suggestion, with some supporting evidence, that Richard the Lionheart was homosexual, you might want to address this before positing quite such an active production line of offspring following marriage. The question is one that is debated, without any firm conclusion being reached.

Of course, whether the offspring posited in your timeline are Richard’s is another question. In OTL, Richard never fathered any legitimate children, and reportedly rewarded his favourite servants by allowing them to sleep in his bed at night. It is not recorded what his wife, who didn't share his bed, thought of this.
 
Given the suggestion, with some supporting evidence, that Richard the Lionheart was homosexual, you might want to address this before positing quite such an active production line of offspring following marriage. The question is one that is debated, without any firm conclusion being reached.

Of course, whether the offspring posited in your timeline are Richard’s is another question. In OTL, Richard never fathered any legitimate children, and reportedly rewarded his favourite servants by allowing them to sleep in his bed at night. It is not recorded what his wife, who didn't share his bed, thought of this.

All of this is true, but Richard had also an illegitimate son, so he might have been bisexual. Maybe a relationship with an other woman could have pushed him to "do his duty" and father some children.
 
All of this is true, but Richard had also an illegitimate son, so he might have been bisexual. Maybe a relationship with an other woman could have pushed him to "do his duty" and father some children.
King James and Edward II has the same case as Richard..
 
A more interesting question is whether Richard would have faced a similar financial crisis to that John faced. Was the cost of Richard's wars sustainable? Would Richard have had to take similar measures to those John tok? Would thse have led to a situation where Richard would have been forced to sign something much like Magna Carta?
 
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