The Winter Crown: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine [Paperback]

<p><strong>As Queen of England, Eleanor has a new cast of enemies—including the king.</strong></p><p>Eleanor has more than fulfilled her duty as Queen of England—she has given her husband, Henry II, heirs to the throne and has proven herself as a mother and ruler. But Eleanor needs more than to be a bearer of children and a deputy; she needs command of the throne. As her children grow older, and her relationship with Henry suffers from scandal and infidelity, Eleanor realizes the power she seeks won't be given willingly. She must take it for herself. But even a queen must face the consequences of treason...</p><p>In this long-anticipated second novel in the Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy, bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick evokes a royal marriage where love and hatred are intertwined, and the battle over power is fought not with swords, but deception.</p><p><strong>The Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy:</strong><br>The Summer Queen (Book 1)<br>The Winter Crown (Book 2)<br>The Autumn Throne (Book 3)</p><p><b>1</b></p><p>Westminster Abbey, London, December 1154</p><p>At the precise moment Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, placed the golden weight of a crown on Alienor's brow, the child in her womb gave a vigorous kick that resonated throughout her body. Clear winter light rayed from the abbey's Romanesque windows to illuminate the Confessor's tomb in the sacrarium and cast pale radiance upon the dais where Alienor sat beside her husband, the newly anointed King Henry II of England.</p><p>Henry gripped the jeweled orb and the sword of sovereignty with confident possession. His mouth was a firm, straight line and his gray gaze purposeful. In the mingling of gloom and light, his beard glinted copper-red, and he exuded all the glow and vigor of his twenty-one years. He was already duke of Normandy, count of Anjou, and consort duke of Aquitaine and had lc�