Alys of France appears in
Eleanor Anne Porden
Eleanor Anne Porden (14 July 1795 – 22 February 1825) was a British Romantic poet. She was the first wife of the explorer John Franklin.
Early years and education
Eleanor Anne Porden was born in London, 14 July 1795. She was the younger surv ...
's As "Alasia of France," 1822 epic poem ''Cœur de Lion''. In it, Alys joins the army of
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
during the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
to avenge herself on
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
for rejecting her.
Under another spelling, Alaïs, she appears as Henry's lover in
James Goldman
James Goldman (June 30, 1927 – October 28, 1998) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay ''The Lion in Winter'' (1968). His younger brother was novelist and screenwriter William Goldman.
Biogra ...
's 1966 play ''
The Lion in Winter
''The Lion in Winter'' is a 1966 play by James Goldman, depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. It premiered on Broadway at the ...
''. She was played by
Jane Merrow
Jane Josephine Meirowsky (born 26 August 1941), known professionally as Jane Merrow is a British actress who has been active from the 1960s in both Britain and the United States.
Early years
Merrow was born in Hertfordshire to an English mothe ...
in the
1968 film adaptation, by
Julia Vysotskaya
Julia Aleksandrovna Vysotskaya (russian: Юлия Александровна Высоцкая; born 16 August 1973) is a Russian actress and television presenter.
Biography
Julia Vysotskaya was born in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, Russian ...
in the
2003 TV adaptation and by
Sonya Cassidy
Sonya Cassidy is a British actress.
Career
Cassidy is known for her roles as Clara in the BBC period drama '' The Paradise'', as Celine Ashworth in the police detective series '' Vera'', as the Oracle in Syfy fantasy series '' Olympus'', and as ...
in the 2011 London theatre production. In Christy English's novel ''The Queen's Pawn'' (2010), Alais comes to England to marry Prince Richard only to become the mistress of King Henry II.
Alys has a minor role in
Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman (August 13, 1945 – January 22, 2021) was an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She was best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she wrote four medieval ...
's novels, ''
Time and Chance'' (2002) and ''
Devil's Brood
''Devil's Brood'' is a historical novel written by Sharon Kay Penman, published in 2008, and is the third volume in her Plantagenet series, preceded by '' When Christ and His Saints Slept'' and '' Time and Chance'', and followed by ''Lionheart'' ...
'' (2008). In Judith Koll Healey's novel ''The Canterbury Papers'' (2005), Alys is sent on a mission to England to retrieve some letters from
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
for Eleanor of Aquitaine. In Healey’s second novel, ''The Rebel Princess'', Princess Alys confronts corrupt court officials and religious fanatics in the pursuit of her disappeared illegitimate son Francis, whose very existence could unsettle the thrones of England and France.
She was played by
Katherine DeMille
Katherine Lester DeMille (born Katherine Paula Lester; June 29, 1911 – April 27, 1995) was a Canadian-born American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s.
The adopted daughter of director Cecil B. De ...
in ''
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
'' (1935); by
Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress.
Biography
Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...
in the 1963 British children's TV series ''
Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
''; by
Lorna Charles
Lorna Yabsley (born 19 July 1964 in Salcombe) is a British former actress, photographer and author, who pioneered the "reportage" style of wedding photography during the early 1990s.
As a teenager she attended Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts ...
and
Lucy Gutteridge
Lucy Kérimée Gutteridge (born 28 November 1956) is an English retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt in the television miniseries '' Little Gloria... Happy at Last'' (1982), for which she received a Go ...
in ''
The Devil's Crown
''The Devil's Crown'' is a BBC television series which dramatised the reigns of three medieval Kings of England: Henry II and his sons Richard I and John. It is also known as ''La couronne du Diable'' in French.
The series was written by Jack ...
'' (1978); and by Rebecca Viora in ''Richard the Lionheart: Rebellion'' (2005).
Cultural depictions of female royals