Eleanor of Leicester

Eleanor of England, also known as Eleanor Plantagenet and Eleanor of Leicester, was born in 1215 in Gloucester. She was the youngest child of John, King of England, and Isabella of Angoulême. Eleanor was married to William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, at the age of nine, but he died in 1231, leaving her without children.

In 1238, Eleanor secretly married Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, despite having previously sworn an oath of chastity. Together, they had seven children. During the Second Barons' War, Simon became the de facto ruler of England after the Battle of Lewes in 1264, but was later defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.

Eleanor fled to France, where she became a nun at Montargis Abbey, founded by her husband's sister. She died there on 13 April 1275 and was buried in the abbey. Her brother Henry III allowed her proctors to continue litigation over the Leicester inheritance in English courts.