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Eleanor was a devoted and loyal wife to Edward I. Theirs was a notoriously affectionate marriage, not only did she support him during the civil war and crusade, she played an active role as a cultural and religious patron, diplomat and arranger of marriages. Yet, there was another, more sinister side to Eleanor’s rule as queen. Widely perceived as a harsh and unscrupulous estate administrator, whose activities were criticised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Eleanor controversially took over debts owed by English subjects to Jewish financiers, and then took over the lands pledged for the debts.

Even so, on Eleanor’s death in November 1290, Edward I was devastated. Twelve, splendid monumental crosses marked the route of her funeral procession from Lincolnshire to Westminster; and three tombs were erected at Blackfriars Priory (London), Westminster Abbey and Lincoln Cathedral, for Eleanor’s heart, body and internal organs.

Historian Louise Wilkinson explores Eleanor’s life and her impact on 13th-century Britain and queenship.