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{{Infobox royalty
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| father = [[Raymond Berenguer IV, Count of Provence]]
| mother = [[Beatrice of Savoy]]
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 23 September {{death year and age|1267|
| death_place =
}}
'''Beatrice of Provence''' (c.
▲[[Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence]] and Forcalquier, had four daughters, but no sons. His eldest daughter, [[Margaret of Provence|Margaret]], was Queen of France as the wife of [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]]; his second daughter, [[Eleanor of Provence|Eleanor]], was Queen of England as the wife of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], and his third, [[Sanchia of Provence|Sanchia]], was titular Queen of Germany as the wife of Henry's brother [[Richard, Earl of Cornwall]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=72}} King Louis IX's marriage to Margaret had been arranged by his mother, [[Blanche of Castile]], with the hopes that he would inherit Provence and [[County of Forcalquier|Forcalquier]] when Ramon Berenguer died. He, however, left everything to Beatrice, making her Countess of Provence in her own right. [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], dispatched the imperial navy to Provence to ensure Beatrice marry one of his progeny and James I of Aragon, in the hopes of uniting Provence and Toulouse, had planned to marry Beatrice, but when her father died the French court intervened, by getting [[Pope Innocent IV]] to refuse the marriage.
==Marriage==
When Ramon Berenguer died on 19 August 1245, he left [[Provence]] to his youngest daughter, and his widow was granted the [[usufruct]] of the county of Provence for her lifetime. Beatrice then became one of the most attractive heiresses in medieval Europe. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, sent a fleet and [[James I of Aragon]] sent an army to seize her, so her mother placed herself and Beatrice in a safe fortress in Aix, secured the trust of its people then sent to the Pope for his protection. The Pope was also a target for Frederick's military incursions in France. In [[Cluny]] during December 1245, a secret discussion, between Pope Innocent IV, Louis IX of France, his mother Blanche of Castile, and his brother [[Charles of Anjou]], took place. It was decided that in return for Louis IX supporting the Pope militarily, the Pope would allow Charles of Anjou, youngest brother to the French King, to marry Beatrice of Provence. Mother and daughter were satisfied with this selection.{{sfn|Cox|1974|p=146–149,153}} But Provence was to never go to France outright through Charles. It was agreed that if Charles and Beatrice had children, the county would go to them; if there was no issue, then the county would go to Sanchia of Provence. If Sanchia died without an heir, Provence would go to the King of Aragon.▼
▲
Charles, along with Philip of Savoy and five hundred knights, rode from Lyon to Provence. On their way, they ran into Raymond VII Count of Toulouse, who also had an army on the way to Provence. However, Raymond of Toulouse had been deceived by knights in favour of Charles and for that reason he had brought fewer men, and Charles and his army were quicker. When Charles got to Aix-en-Provence, James I of Aragon, who had been there all along but was not allowed to see Beatrice, had his soldiers surrounding the castle in which the young Beatrice and her mother were. There was a brief struggle, but the King of Aragon retreated with dignity. To the young Beatrice, Charles, who was described as "an admirable young man", was a satisfactory resolution to her problems. The marriage took place on 31 January 1246, in Aix-en-Provence. They had soldiers on guard and the bride was escorted down the aisle by her uncle, [[Thomas, Count of Flanders|Thomas]].▼
▲Charles, along with Philip of Savoy and five hundred knights, rode from Lyon to Provence. On their way, they ran into Raymond VII
As soon as Charles became Count of Provence, he brought in his own team of French lawyers and accountants.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=73|ps=: "When [Charles] arrived in Provence, early in 1246, there came with him a host of lawyers and accountants trained at the French court."}} He excluded his mother-in-law Beatrice of Savoy from the running of the county and began taking castles, power and fees away from the nobles who had previously enjoyed a certain degree of independence in the running of their cities. Charles made himself very unpopular. Beatrice of Savoy moved herself to [[Forcalquier]] in protest, and in Marseille, Charles's officials were thrown out of the city. In the family conflict the younger Beatrice sided with her husband.▼
▲As soon as Charles became Count of Provence, he brought in his own team of French lawyers and accountants.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=73|ps=: "When [Charles] arrived in Provence, early in 1246, there came with him a host of lawyers and accountants trained at the French court."}} He excluded his mother-in-law
[[File:Beatrice.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Engraving of a sealing of Beatrice: Beatrice holds the [[fleur-de-lis]]; on the reverse, the arms of Provence]]
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==Queen of Sicily==
Beatrice's sister Margaret, the new Queen of France, publicly offended her in 1259, by not seating her at the family table; she claimed because Beatrice was not a queen like her sisters,
When the newly elected [[Pope Clement IV]] granted Charles the Kingdom of Sicily, he had to defeat [[Manfred of Sicily|King Manfred]], who had fallen out of papal favour. Another contender to win the throne of Sicily was Beatrice's nephew, [[Edmund Crouchback]], but it soon became clear that Charles was the more promising candidate. In order to achieve his goal, Charles needed an army and Beatrice helped her husband raise one. She called on all her knights as well as the young men of France, and according to the later historian [[Angelo di Costanzo]] she pledged all her jewels, to make sure they joined her husband's army:
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*{{cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |authorlink=Steven Runciman |date=1958 |title=The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century |location=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |oclc=315065012 |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book |last=Abulafia |first=David |date=1995 |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=Volume 5, C.1198-c.1300 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=052136289X |ref=harv}}
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