He didn’t just cheat on a queen.He hid his mistress in a maze. King Henry II’s betrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine became one of the most enduring legends of medieval England. While Eleanor ruled, governed, and outmatched the king at every turn, Henry hid his mistress, Rosamund Clifford, in a secluded tower at Woodstock—protected by a labyrinth so complex that the queen, in theory, could never reach her. But legends say Eleanor found her anyway. The stories darken from there. Some claim Rosamund was forced to choose between poison or the blade. Others say Eleanor spared her life and sent her to a convent, where Rosamund died young in her…

Eleanor of Aquitaine wasn’t just a queen—she was a political force who shaped the fate of empires. Born heiress to the vast Duchy of Aquitaine, she entered adulthood already one of the richest and most influential women in Europe. Her first marriage, to Louis VII, was cold, controlled, and suffocating. After fifteen years of duty without partnership, she refused to spend the rest of her life fading beside a king who never understood her. Their marriage was annulled. Eleanor walked away with her lands intact. And just weeks later, she made a move that shocked Europe—she married Henry II, future king and the one man whose ambition matched her own.…

Eleanor of Aquitaine stands out as one of the most remarkable queens in European history. Her early life was marked by privilege, education, and political awareness, but even her noble birth could not shield her from the upheavals of royal life. She was married to King Louis VII of France, yet their union ended in divorce after Eleanor failed to produce a male heir—a setback that might have crushed the ambitions of a lesser woman. But Eleanor was far from ordinary. After her divorce, she married Henry II of England, a union that would dramatically reshape the political landscape of medieval Europe. Together, they had eight children, including five sons.…