Congratulations to Austin Hernon, whose captivating medieval adventure, The Abandoned Queen, is out now!
The Abandoned Queen is the second book in the Berengaria of Navarre Medieval Trilogy: Early Plantagenet novels set during the Third Crusade and the reign of Richard the Lionheart.
1191
Having married Richard the Lionheart, Berengaria of Navarre is now preparing herself for the turbulent life of a queen.
Though he has not yet secured an heir, Richard is determined not to settle down until he has recaptured Jerusalem from the Saracen forces. Vowing to stay by his side for as long as possible, Berengaria accompanies him on the perilous voyage to the Holy Land.
Caught up in battle plans, Richard has barely a moment to spare for his new bride. And after witnessing a sea battle and a deadly siege in Akko, Berengaria is left disturbed by the king’s ruthlessness.
Surrounded by misery and bloodshed, the young queen begins to understand the true cost of war. And as Richard becomes ever more consumed by his ambitions, she starts to wonder whether their marriage will ever have a chance to flourish…
Will Richard survive his brutal Crusade? Will he and Berengaria return to England in triumph?
Or will the horrors of war tear their marriage apart?
Austin Hernon is the author of The Wars of the Magna Carta series — military historical sagas — and the Berengaria of Navarre Medieval Trilogy: early Plantagenet novels set during the Third Crusade and the reign of Richard the Lionheart.
For the second instalment of my Berengaria of Navarre trilogy, The Abandoned Queen, I wanted to provide a little historical background. Why did England have a Basque queen between 1191 and 1199? Queen Berengaria didn’t chase or lobby for that crown. She was fully occupied managing her widowed father’s court.
Her father, King Sancho VI of Navarre was an enlightened man and ensured that all his children received the same comprehensive education. Therefore, by the time she was in her twenties, Berengaria was educated, multilingual, intelligent, and a keen observer of European politics and diplomacy of the time. The person who invited her to become Queen of England was none other than Richard the Lionheart’s mother: the dowager Queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine. She, the matriarch of the Plantagenet dynasty, was anxious to preserve the royal bloodline. With Richard already bound for Palestine, there was no guarantee he would return, and she was also determined to keep the runt Prince John off the throne.
But why was Richard bound for the Holy Land? The answer to that lies in the Third Crusade. Pope Gregory VIII called for the Crusade, which was intended to conquer the Holy Land and bring it under Christian control. Three kings responded to his call: King Phillip II of France; Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor; and Richard I of England.
A glance at a map of the time reveals that the kingdom of Navarre abutted Eleanor’s duchy of Aquitaine. In proposing that Berengaria marry Richard, Eleanor was able to satisfy her desire for a daughter-in-law and secure a useful ally on her southern border. And what princess would refuse the opportunity to be made a queen?
Once Berengaria had agreed to the plan, she and Eleanor set off together in hot pursuit of the war-bound king. And what an unexpected adventure the brave princess had volunteered for.
Congratulations to Austin Hernon, whose page-turning Medieval saga, The Lionheart’s Bride, is out now!
The Lionheart’s Bride is the first novel in The Berengaria of Navarre Medieval Trilogy: early Plantagenet novels set during the Third Crusade and the reign of Richard the Lionheart.
1191
Eleanor of Aquitaine sets her sights on Berengaria, Princess of Navarre as a potential bride for her son, Richard the Lionheart.
Richard is determined to make his mark crusading, and might not return, so Eleanor is keen to see an heir on the way to stop his feckless younger brother John from inheriting the kingdom.
Richard is not averse to his mother’s plans for the succession, but his priority lies in fulfilling his reputation as an indomitable warrior.
Berengaria is charmed by the prospect of travelling to a distant land to marry a handsome king of a distant land but she finds she has to accompany Eleanor in a race across Europe to catch her elusive bridegroom.
War on land, storms at sea, and the risk of alienating a conniving Pope go only some way to preparing Berengaria for life with the crusading Lionheart.
Will Richard’s blood-fuelled ambition be compatible with the husband Berengaria dreams of? Can she make her mark under Eleanor’s wing?
Or will she find her new life to be a lot more than she bargained for…?
Congratulations to David Field, whose gripping historical saga, The Absentee King, is published today! The Absentee King is the fifth book in the Medieval Saga series.
England, 1189
Richard the Lionheart has been crowned King of England.
But his obsession with fighting in the Third Crusade sends him off to foreign lands.
The nation is left in a perilous state, with high public offices sold off, and trusted favourites left to rule during Richard’s absence.
Richard’s dissolute and envious younger brother John feels humiliated, not least when Richard declares his four-year-old nephew Prince Arthur to be his heir, and he causes unrest throughout the nation by enforcing harsh laws designed to keep the population under his iron fist.
Chief Justice, Earl William of Repton, is ordered to investigate the possibility that John is seeking to undermine his brother Richard’s rule.
And when news reaches England that King Richard has been captured, and is being ransomed by Henry VI of Germany, William becomes convinced that John is plotting to seize the English crown.
Will Richard be released? Will he return to claim his throne?
Or will John succeed in his mission to overthrow the absentee king…?
