History often remembers its queens through spectacle. Whether it’s coronations held in gilded cathedrals or dynasties that reshape the social landscape, monarchs have been known to hold sway over their nations. But Berengaria of Navarre, a queen from the 12th century, defies this pattern.
Even though she was crowned Queen of England in a chapel on the island of Cyprus, Berengaria never once set foot in the land whose title she bore. Her reign was shaped not by the authority of a court, but by absence of homeland, of husband, and of recognition.
The queen consort was married to Richard the Lionheart, one of the most mythologized monarchs in European history, but her legacy is one of resilience. Click through this gallery to uncover the story of a queen without a country and a marriage without a court.