Beatrice of Rethel

Beatrice of Rethel (c. 1130/32 – 30 March 1185) was a French noblewoman, and the third Queen consort of King Roger II of Sicily.

Family

Beatrice was born sometime between 1130 and 1132, the eldest daughter^[1] and one of the nine children of Ithier, Count of Rethel and Beatrix of Namur. Her father was Count of Rethel from 1158 to 1171.^[2]

Marriage, Issue and Widowhood

In 1151, Beatrice married as his third wife, King Roger II, making her a Queen consort of Sicily. Her tenure as consort lasted only about three years as Roger died on 26 February 1154. Beatrice was a little over three weeks pregnant at the time of his death, and their only daughter was born the following November:

• Constance of Sicily (2 November 1154 – 27 November 1198). Married Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, by whom she had one son, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Queen Dowager survived her husband by thirty-one years but there is no record of her having married again.^[3] Her daughter Constance became Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Sicily on 25 December 1194.

References