History

 Queens of the Crusades by Alison Weir 

This is one of those books that would have been better consumed as a physical book than an audiobook; I wanted to annotate and take notes. This was dense and filled with information. My key takeaways: Henry II is horrible! He kept Eleanor of Aquitaine pregnant, cheated on her constantly, and made her raise one illegitimate son.  Then he had an affair with the betrothed of his 3rd son. Eleanor was a saint for putting up with him. Henry II's 3rd son, Richard becomes king and he relies heavily on his mother for support. He and Berengaria have no children and he names his younger brother, John, is successor. John is horrible. At 33 he marries Isabella who is younger than 12 because he's obsessed with her. They get their marriage annulled and he marries another Isabella. In addition to being a creep he was hotheaded and kept invading places and losing allies. When he dies his oldest son, Henry, becomes king as a child and Isabella is NOT the regent. Henry III, grandson is Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his wife Eleanor were reckless and spent money frivolously. They were constantly asking people for loans. His oldest son, Edward, great grandson of Eleanor of Aquitaine, becomes king and he marries an Eleanor. He kept her pregnant (18 pregnancies but not all survived) and kept her with him on his crusades. Three of the kings of the crusades relied heavily on Eleanor of Aquitaine, and even during her grandsons' rule she continued to be an important figure. All roads lead back to Eleanor of Aquitaine.