[[A.D. 1291.]] She survived her husband nineteen years, and when she died her body was embalmed and placed in a vault until King Edward, her son, returned from his campaign in Scotland. Then he summoned all his barons and clergy to Ambresbury, where the funeral rites were duly performed and his mother's body was buried. Her heart was conveyed to London and interred in a church. [Illustration: 0163] {160} CHAPTER X. ELEANORA OF CASTILE, FIRST QUEEN OF EDWARD I. (A.D. 1244-1291). |Edward I. was only fifteen years old when he accompanied his mother across the Pyrenees from Bordeaux, to claim the hand of Eleanora, sister to King Alphonso of Castile, to whom he had been betrothed several months before. [[A.D. 1256.]] The marriage was solemnized a few days, after his arrival, feasts and tournaments in honor of the event followed, and then the little bride of ten years proceeded with her lord to Paris. She was present at the feast of kings, given by King Henry to celebrate his son's marriage, of which mention is made in the preceding reign. When Henry III. and Queen Eleanor returned to England, the young couple went with them and made their public entry into the metropolis in grand state. Among the numerous entertainments given to welcome the bride, that which took place at the house of John Mansel, the secretary of state, was the most remarkable. All the royal family, with their entire retinue, were present, and as the mansion was by no means capacious enough to accommodate so large a party, tents were erected on the surrounding grounds. Considering that seven hundred messes of meat were served at one meal, it is not surprising that Mansel's house was too small. {161} [Illustration: 0165] {163}A few months later, Prince Edward took his little wife to Bordeaux to complete her education, which had scarcely begun at the time of her marriage. While she pursued her studies, the prince led the life of a knight-errant, wandering from place to place, and taking part in various tilting matches and tournaments until summoned to England to take part in the civil wars that resulted, after several years, in the complete restoration of Henry III. [[A.D. 1265.]] Peace was so far established in 1265 as to warrant the return of Queen Eleanor, who took her daughter-in-law home with her. Prince Edward met the ladies at Dover, and was delighted to welcome his wife, who had, during her absence, developed into a remarkably handsome woman. She had clear cut, delicate features, a fine figure, and magnificent black hair, peculiar to Spanish ladies. The young couple set up their establishment at the palace of Savoy, built by Edward's uncle, but passed much of their time at Windsor Castle, where, a year later, their first son was born. He received the name of John, after his unworthy grandfather. In 1267 a second son was born and named Henry.