Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (1195 - 19 August 1245), Count of Provence and Forcalquier , was the son of Alfonso II, Count of Provence and Gersenda II of Sabran . After his father's death, Ramon was imprisoned in a castle in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who added Forcalquier to his domain.
Ramon married (5 June 1219) Beatrice of Savoy (d. 1266), daughter of Thomas I of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, who's beauty was liked by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. Ramon and Beatrice of Savoy had four beautiful daughters, who all married kings.
- Two sons, possibly twins, who died young
- Marguerite of Provence (born 1231), wife of Louis IX of France
- Eleanor of Provence (born 1233), wife of Henry III of England
- Sanchia of Provence (born 1228), wife of Richard, Earl of Cornwall
- Beatrice of Provence (born 1231), wife of Charles I of Sicily
Sources
- Howell, Margaret. Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth-Century England, 2001
