Beatrice of England (25 June 1242 – 24 March 1275) was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Childhood Born 25 June 1242, Beatrice was the second-eldest daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Beatrice's childhood was plagued by tragedy, and by the stresses of her father's reign coupled with her mother's unpopularity with the English people. Her oldest brother Edward became dangerously ill when she was very young, though he recovered. However, their youngest sister Katherine, who possibly had a degenerative disease which caused her to become deaf, died at the age of three, leaving Beatrice's parents grief-stricken. The English were unhappy with King Henry III owing to the influence that Eleanor and her Savoyard kinsmen exercised on the monarchy, and the barons demanded more power. In 1263, Eleanor was sailing on a barge that was attacked by London citizens. This harsh, bitter dislike created several problems for Henry III and his family. On the other hand, Eleanor and Henry enjoyed a happy marriage, and Beatrice grew up in a loving environment, close to her siblings. Marriage and issue At one point, Henry conducted negotiations for Beatrice to marry the king of France and also rejected a proposal that she should wed the son of the king of Norway. On 22 January 1260, when she was seventeen, she married John de Dreux, heir to the duchy of Brittany, at Saint-Denis. She and John II had six children: Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1261–1312) John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (1266–1334) Marie of Brittany, Countess of Saint-Pol, wife of Guy III of Châtillon (1268–1339) Pierre, Viscount de Leon (1269–1312) Blanche of Brittany, wife of Philip of Artois (1271–1327) Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault (1275–1342) Death Beatrice died on 24 March 1275 in London, England. John II honoured his wife with a chantry, an institutional chapel on private land or within a greater church, which was to be finished when he died, so that he and Beatrice would be together again. Beatrice was buried at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich, London. Beatrice died before her husband succeeded to the duchy, therefore she was never styled Duchess of Brittany. Historical overview Though little information is available concerning Beatrice's activities, she was an important part of English history. Her marriage to John II helped forge an alliance