Poitiers, May 18th 1152
On Sunday, 18 May 1152, Aliénor d' Aquitaine (1124-1204) and Henry II (1133-1189) were married in the cathedral of St Pierre, Poitiers, the match that was to result in forging the greatest empire of the 12th century-Europe. Henry Plantagenet, son of Geoffrey V, already the duke of Normandy, heir to England, Anjou and Maine, was lucky to win the greatest prize on the marital market- the former queen of France now free to be wed again, the eldest daughter and heiress of Duke William X of Aquitaine. She had divorced two months previously, her first marriage to the king of France, declared null and void by the Pope on grounds of consanguinity.
Rencontre à Poitiers /Meeting in Poitiers