Berenguer II supported Victor IV against Pope Alexander III, who, in turn, supported King Louis VII of France. The county of Provence was in a strategic location, between France and the Italian Peninsula. Frederick Barbarossa also wanted to win to his side Count Ramon Berenguer IV, who entered in an alliance with the kings of France, Castile and León. In contrast, Ramon Berenguer II, soon cousin by marriage of the Emperor, gained prestige and could face the pretensions of the lord of Les Baux, who had just received the Imperial Provence as a fief. Premarital negotiations lasted almost a year and a half. Richeza and Count Ramon Berenguer II were finally married between January and October 1161. They had only one daughter, Douce of Provence, born about 1162. Ramon Berenguer II was killed during the siege of Nice in 1166. Soon after her second husband's death, plans for a new marriage for Richeza began. Apparently, she was betrothed to Raymond V, Count of Toulouse, by her cousin the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa around 1166; at the same time, the now Countess Douce II of Provence was engaged to the future Raymond VI. Count Raymond V wanted with this engagement to become more closely tied to the Hohenstaufen dynasty and took full control over the County of Provence. However, the firm opposition of King Alfonso II of Aragon (Richeza's future son-in-law) soon cancelled both betrothals, and with the help of the Genoese, he began a war against Raymond V that lasted eight years. Some sources stated that in fact Richeza and Raymond V were married, however this event is refuted by the majority of modern historians. Countess of Eberstein By 1167, Richeza married her third and last husband, Count Albert III of Eberstein, who fought at the side of Frederick Barbarossa in his wars against the Guelphs. She moved to Germany with her new husband. From this union were born two sons, Counts Albert IV and Konrad II of Eberstein. Little is known about the later life of Richeza. She died in 1185. References Sources |- |- 1140s births 1185 deaths Year of birth uncertain Hispanic empresses and queens Remarried royal consorts Castilian queen consorts Leonese queen consorts Galician queens consort Countesses of Provence 12th-century Polish nobility 12th-century Polish women 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 12th-century Spanish women Polish princesses Piast dynasty Castilian House of Burgundy