It was around 10 years later before they actually got together as it was really a marriage of convenience which was typical during those times.
When Eleanor came to England she moved in to apartments that are said to be the first in the whole of England to have carpets in them.
She was a very devoted companion to the King and went with him wherever he went, no matter how dangerous or perilous the travels may be.
During Edwards reign the Scottish began to be full of ideas of conquest so Edward and his army marched North to rid the Scottish of such ideas and thoughts. It was during this time that Eleanor became dangerously ill at Harby in Nottinghamshire - as soon as the news reached the King he raced off to be by her side.
Sadly the King was too late and when he arrived at her side she had already died.
Queen Eleanor’s body was embalmed, her internal organs were removed and were buried in Lincoln - the Heart in the Friars Pradicants Church and the rest in the Cathedral. The body itself was to be laid in state at Westminster Abbey.
On the 4th of December 1290 the funeral procession began a march of over 150 miles and every time the procession stopped, as spot was marked where a cross should be erected in memorial to the Queen.
No one knows for sure the exact amount of crosses, but it is believed to be around 14 or 15. What we do know, is that only 3 remain, two of which are in the county of Northamptonshire which were erected during the years 1291 and 1294.
The best example of which can be found in Geddington. The King had a palace here which is why, as chief mourner, he decided this would be one of the stops on his route.
Contrary to popular belief, the Eleanor Cross was not damaged by King Henry VIII, but instead the cross that is believed to have once been on top of the monument was damaged due to squirrels...
On the 22nd of July the annul Geddington Feast would take place. During the feast (for fun) the villagers used to hunt squirrels in the nearby woods and chasing them along the streets and up the monument where the merry-makers below would then begin to pelt the squirrels to death with stones!
Not everyone's aim was brilliant and over time the uppermost cross got damaged.
To say that this damage was frowned upon by the local religious community so they removed the cross so no more damage could occur.
In 2007 I took a few photographs of the Eleanor Cross in Geddington and you can see them here, on Flickr:
In 2012 during the Queens 60th Jubilee bunting was hung from the Cross as shown here:
