In the Holy Land, Eleanor is kept away from Louis's counsels and travels north to her uncle Raymond's principality of Antioch. Louis's advisers accuse the pair of adultery without proof, then have Eleanor seized and forced aboard a ship for the return journey. During a stop with Pope Eugene III, she presents a Latin canon-law argument that the marriage should be annulled for consanguinity. The pope rejects the case, threatens anyone who reopens it, and compels the couple to reconcile. A second daughter follows, while the failed crusade, hostile rumors, and continued absence of a male heir turn the marriage into an escalating political liability for Louis.
Notable Point · 8:30-10:50
The Second Crusade and papal refusal
Eleanor's experience on the Second Crusade leads to an annulment request that Pope Eugene III rejects while ordering the royal couple to reconcile.