Richard I, the Lionhearted

Richard I, of England
Richard I was born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, England on September 8, 1157. He was the third son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He had 3 older siblings and 5 younger siblings. King Henry grew up in Normandy and began training for knighthood, and he proved to be a fierce fighter. As well as being an educated man, able to compose poetry in French and Provençal, he was also very attractive; blond, blue-eyed, his height estimated at six feet four inches. From an early age he appeared to have significant political and military abilities, beca…