Margaret of L'Aigle (french: Marguerite de L'Aigle, es, Margarita de L’Aigle) (died 1141) was

Queen of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...

as the first wife to

García Ramírez of Navarre García Ramírez ( eu, Gartzea Remiritz), sometimes García IV, V, VI or VII ( 1112 – 21 November 1150), called the Restorer ( es, el Restaurador, eu, Basque: ''Berrezarlea''), was the King of Navarre (Pamplona) from 1134. The election of Gar ...

. She was the daughter of Gilbert of L'Aigle and Juliana du Perche, daughter of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche.

Life

Though daughter of the

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

lord of L'Aigle, she had connections with the region where she would marry. Her maternal grandmother, Beatrice of Montdidier, was sister of

Felicia The name Felicia derives from the Latin adjective '' felix'', meaning "happy, lucky", though in the neuter plural form ''felicia'' it literally means "happy things" and often occurred in the phrase ''tempora felicia'', "happy times". The sense o ...

, Queen of Navarre and Aragon. Her uncle,

Rotrou III, Count of Perche Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great (''le Grand''), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was ...

, had fled Normandy in despair after a family tragedy, the loss of his wife, son, and two nephews, Margaret's brothers Engenulf and Geoffrey of L'Aigle, in the 1120 wreck of the ''

White Ship The ''White Ship'' (french: la Blanche-Nef; Medieval Latin: ''Candida navis'') was a vessel transporting many nobles, including the heir to the English throne, that sank in the Channel during a trip from France to England near the Normandy ...

''. Leaving Margaret's mother Juliana in charge of his County of Perche, Rotrou returned to Aragon, where he had earlier spent time fighting, and while there this second time he arranged Margaret's marriage.

Marriage and children

Margaret was married in 1130 to a royal scion, García Ramírez, lord of Monzón, four years before his unexpected election to the throne of Navarre. He confirmed the rights and privileges of the church of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

on the advice of "''uxoris mee Margarite regina''" by charter dated 1135. Margaret was to bear García: * Sancho VI * Blanca, born after 1133, married

Sancho III of Castile Sancho III (c. 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was s ...

* Margaret, named after her mother, married

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II of Sicily, Roger II and Elvi ...

Garcia's relationship with Margaret was, however, unstable. She supposedly took many lovers and showed favouritism to her French relatives. She bore a second son named

Rodrigo Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name '' Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vi ...

, whom her husband refused to recognise as his own. He was never acknowledged as a son by the Navarrese king, even after Margaret's death, and he was widely considered a bastard, though his sister Margaret did not treat him as such. He certainly never behaved as anything other than the son of a king. Margaret died on May 25, 1141. Later deceased, she still recalled her for years in several documents. Her husband later remarried, yet her younger daughter remembered her fondly.Jacqueline Alio. ''Margaret, Queen of Sicily''. New York, 2016, p 170.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marguerite of L'Aigle Year of birth unknown 1141 deaths 12th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre 12th-century Spanish women House of Jiménez Navarrese royal consorts