RAMON BERENGUER IV, COUNT OF PROVENCE

'Ramon Berenguer IV' (1195 – 19 August 1245), Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Gersenda II of Sabran. After his father's death (1209), Ramon was imprisoned in a castle in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who added Forcalquier to his domain.
On 5 June 1219, Ramon married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas I of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. Along with two stillborn sons (1220 & 1225), Ramon and Beatrice had four daughters, all of whom, married kings.
# Marguerite of Provence (1221–1295), wife of Louis IX of France
# Eleanor of Provence (1223–1291), wife of Henry III of England
# Sanchia of Provence (1228–1261), wife of Richard, Earl of Cornwall
# Beatrice of Provence (1231–1267), wife of Charles I of Sicily
Ramon Berenguer IV died in Aix, France.

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★ Howell, Margaret. ''Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth-Century England'', 2001