Eleanor argued that the Gascons were to blame for the crisis, while Henry, backed by the Lusignans, blamed Simon's misjudgment. Henry and Eleanor quarrelled over the issue and were not reconciled until the following year. Forced to intervene personally, Henry carried out an effective, if expensive, campaign with the help of the Lusignans and stabilised the province. Alfonso signed a treaty of alliance in 1254, and Gascony was given to Henry's son Edward, who married Alfonso's half-sister Eleanor, delivering a long-lasting peace with Castile. On the way back from Gascony, Henry met with Louis for the first time in an arrangement brokered by their wives, and the two kings became close friends. The Gascon campaign cost more than £200,000 and used up all the money intended for Henry's crusade, leaving him heavily in debt and reliant on loans from his brother Richard and the Lusignans. The Sicilian business Henry did not give up on his hopes for a crusade, but became increasingly absorbed in a bid to acquire the wealthy Kingdom of Sicily for his son Edmund. Sicily had been controlled by Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire, for many years a rival of Pope Innocent IV. On Frederick's death in 1250, Innocent started to look for a new ruler, one more amenable to the Papacy. Henry saw Sicily as both a valuable prize for his son and as an excellent base for his crusading plans in the east. With minimal consultation within his court, Henry came to an agreement with the Pope in 1254 that Edmund should be the next king. Innocent urged Henry to send Edmund with an army to reclaim Sicily from Frederick's son Manfred, offering to contribute to the expenses of the campaign. Innocent was succeeded by Pope Alexander IV, who was facing increasing military pressure from the Empire. He could no longer afford to pay Henry's expenses, instead demanding that Henry compensate the Papacy for the £90,000 spent on the war so far. This was a huge sum, and Henry turned to parliament for help in 1255, only to be rebuffed. Further attempts followed, but by 1257 only partial parliamentary assistance had been offered. Alexander grew increasingly unhappy about Henry's procrastinations and in 1258 sent an envoy to England, threatening to excommunicate Henry if he did not first pay his debts to the Papacy and then send the promised army to Sicily. Parliament again