Episode 2: 1278-1290: Eleanor of Castile transforms Leeds Castle into a queenly paradise

It’s the remarkable and often overlooked Eleanor of Castile who’s the star of this episode, not her famously ruthless husband, Edward I. She not only transformed a standard Norman motte-and-bailey structure into the elegant Castle we know today; she brought some much-needed civilisation to the English court and established a precedent for women to become major property owners in their own right.

Picture Caption: William Torrel’s gilded brass effigy of Eleanor of Castile at Westminster Abbey, commissioned by her grieving husband, Edward I.

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