Will Berengaria’s king ever return to her side?

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Havingdefeated Saladin’s forces in Jaffa, Richard the Lionheart has sent his queen, Berengaria of Navarre to Rome while he handles business elsewhere.

Not knowing when the king will return, Berengaria sets about making diplomatic connections with Pope Celestine III and Rome’s high-ranking cardinals.

Disaster strikes when the news arrives that Richard is being held hostage by Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI — a major political rival. Horrified, Berengaria and the king’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, begin to raise funds to pay his ransom.

But not everyone is so eager to see Richard’s release. Having designs on England’s throne and the king’s French possessions, Richard’s brother, Prince John, has revolted in his absence, supported by King Philip of France. Together, they conspire to prolong Richard’s captivity.

With tensions rising throughout Europe, Berengaria worries that she will once more be caught in the middle of a war. And without her husband by her side, she begins to despair of ever producing an heir to secure England’s unwieldy throne…