Margaret of Provence

Eldest of the four Provençal sisters who all became queens — her sisters wore the crowns of England, Germany, and Sicily. Her marriage to Louis IX was reportedly affectionate but politically constrained by her formidable mother-in-law Blanche of Castile, who is said to have prevented her from spending much time alone with the king. She accompanied him on the Seventh Crusade and helped negotiate his ransom from captivity in Egypt.