Richard the Lionheart: The Crusader King of England

While Richard I is one of medieval England’s most famous kings he is also the most controversial. This reassessment looks at his deeds and achievements in a new light. The result is a compelling new portrait of “the Lionheart” which shows that the king is every bit as remarkable as his medieval contemporaries found him to be. It shows him to be a man badly let down by some of those around him, especially his brother John and the duplicitous French king Philip. The foibles of his character are also exposed to the full, including his complicated relationships with the key women in his life, especially the imposing contemporary figure of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his wife, Berengaria, with whom he failed to produce an heir, leading to later suggestions of homosexuality.