Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
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Ramon Berenguer IV (V) (1195 – 19 August 1245), Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Gersenda II of Sabran. After his father's death (1209), Ramon was imprisoned in a castle in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who added Forcalquier to his domain.
On 5 June 1219, Ramon married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas I of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. After two stillborn sons, Ramon and Beatrice had four daughters, who all married kings.
- Marguerite of Provence (1221-1295), wife of Louis IX of France
- Eleanor of Provence (1223-1291), wife of Henry III of England
- Sanchia of Provence (1228-1261), wife of Richard, Earl of Cornwall
- Beatrice of Provence (1231-1267), wife of Charles I of Sicily
[edit] Sources
- Howell, Margaret. Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth-Century England, 2001