Even though he didn’t even speak English and that he only lived in England for a very short time, King Richard the Lionheart is considered one of the best and most iconic British monarchs in history. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know much about this historical character you’ve likely heard about him. Whether through his mention in the many Robin Hood tales, his story as a famous crusader, or even through majestic statues, Richard the Lionheart is definitely a symbol of popular culture.
Now, delving a bit deeper into his story, there’s one aspect that has made him some sort of an icon, and that is his sexuality. For the past century, Richard the Lionheart has been seen as a gay icon leading the list of British LGBTQ+ monarchs alongside King James I and Queen Anne of England. But, what differentiates Richard the Lionheart from these rulers is the fact that there’s little to no evidence about his sexual preferences.
Richard the Lionheart’s story
In the early 12th century, England had an immense territory that King Henry II planned on dividing amongst his four children. Not happy with the decision, and each wanting to rule the entire territory (which included part of France), the brothers rebelled against their father and between them in a cruent civil war. With the support of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was finally named King Richard I in 1189.
However, despite being victorious, Richard was never interested in England, nor did he had any connection to its culture and history. As mentioned, he didn’t even speak the language. Still, being King of such big and powerful domains gave him the tools and resources necessary to venture into his crusade quest. During his absence, his younger brother, John, was left in charge, and that’s the setting of the famous Robin Hood tales. But that’s another story.
Was Richard the Lionheart gay?
For centuries, the fact that he took so long to marry and that when he did, he did everything to stay away from his wife, raised some questions about his preferences. However, there’s a small piece of historical evidence that many historians took as clear proof that Richard the Lionheart was gay. Moreover, that he had an affair with France’s King, Philip II.
In 1187, during Richard’s fight for the throne, he allied with King Philip II. Both men spent a lot of time together to the point that in one of Roger de Hoveden’s chronicles, a contemporary chronicler, it’s stated that Richard “remained with Philip, the King of France, who so honored him for so long that they ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them.”
Not only that, in Hoveden’s text he even states that Phillip “loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England was absolutely astonished by the passionate love between them and marveled at it.” Adding to the case of Richard the Lionheart’s sexuality, historians also have taken into account the fact that Richard was betrothed to Philip’s sister, Alice. Richard broke off the engagement claiming she was having an affair with his father and had even given birth to a child.
He married Berengaria of Navarre while he was still engaged to Alice, but as we said, even after the wedding, he spent very little time with her and never had children. Actually, Richard the Lionheart only had an illegitimate son, Philip of Cognac, with an unidentified mother.
Astute politician
Other historians have devoted their research to demonstrate that more than the gay icon modernity has turned Richard the Lionheart into, he was actually a very astute politician who knew perfectly well the rules of politics to keep his power and ambitions. Now, let’s be clear, this doesn’t mean he pretended to be gay to make alliances; it actually has to do more with the conventions of the time.
As we talked, the main evidence historians who believe Richard the Lionheart was gay is that extract from Hoveden’s chronicles where he states that Richard and Philip spent some nights together. Actually, sharing a bed was seen as a statement of trust between two politicians. According to John Gillingham, one of Richard the Lionheart’s most influential biographers, sharing a bed was the culmination of their political alliance.
The idea was to show a powerful image of France and England trusting each other so much that they would even share the bed, one of the most private places anyone can have. According to Gillingham, it would be the Medieval equivalent of the modern-day photo of two politicians shaking hands. In other words, the symbolic meaning this act would have was so powerful as well as the customary Medieval diplomatic kiss kings and aristocracy would have when making alliances.
Moreover, back in the day, the King’s bedroom wasn’t used only by the monarch. They would always be accompanied by their closest servants sleeping at the foot of their beds, so two men spending the night in one’s bed-chamber wasn’t precisely the most private place to engage in amatory activities.
Richard the Lionheart and King Philip of France’s relationship
The relationship between the two monarchs started on the right foot, and both had a powerful alliance between France and England. However, their relationship eventually got into bad terms. For the last years of Richard’s life, Philip became one of his biggest enemies, and they even went to war against each other.
Richard the Lionheart died on April 6, 1199. He was shot with an arrow by a boy who claimed he had done so in revenge for the death of his family. He was sentenced to death, but he was forgiven by Richard while agonizing on his deathbed. He went to be known as one of the greatest and noblest kings in history through legends and poems.
Now whether he was gay or not, it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, the discussions over the sexuality of important figures in history are only evidence that despite the old-fashion morals many still have, diversity has always been the norm.
