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The Mistress in the Maze
Rosamund Clifford and her legendary death at the hands of the vengeful Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Rosamund Clifford is one of the earliest and most notorious of English royal mistresses. Although not much is not known about her brief life, her death is the subject of folklore. Rosamund was the mistress of Henry II, the Angevin king of England who succeeded to the throne following the wars between his mother, Empress Matilda, and her cousin, King Stephen. Through his father, Henry was descended from the French Dukes of Anjou. The Angevins were renowned for their firey personas and were said to be the progeny of the devil himself. Despite being the King of the relatively small and nascent English throne, he advanced his station greatly by marrying the older and divorced Eleanor of Aquitaine. An heiress in her own right of the Duchy of Aquitaine, which encompassed much of Southern, modern-day France, Eleanor was rich and notorious. The Duchy of Aquitaine rivaled the French kingdom for prestige on the continent. Even more compelling, she was married to the pious King Louis VII of France but left the marriage to unite with Henry after failing to give Louis any sons. Eleanor and Henry produced many children, including four healthy sons, but their relationship was a power struggle. One that was aggravated by Henry’s love of Rosamund.
