Our ancestry, like our place, contributes to who we are. Though neither define us, both influence us. Both create a sense of pride or persistence to overcome, loyalty or desire to distinguish yourself.
I used to watch with great interest shows like “Who Do You Think You Are?”. Then, a few years ago, my recently retired mom found that I too have a very distinct lineage: on my dad’s side of the family through my paternal grandmother, I was directly related to every royal family in Europe. Ironically, she learned that Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II (yes of the movie, “The Lion in Winter”), King and Queen of France and England, are my 22nd great grandparents.
I say ‘ironically’ because I had just bought for Grace the Royal Diary of a young Eleanor of Aquitaine at a flea market for $1 and we had just finished reading it together. I then read everything I could about her and found many parallels between her life and my own—and if you know her history and read my book you can guess what they might entail.
Then the ironies continue. Weeks after learning of this distinctive lineage, I was notified I was the recipient of the Place Marketing Award and was to be the Guest of Honor at the Place Marketing Forum’s Annual Meeting — in France. I had never been invited to France before and thought this had to be fate. While there, I could visit where my great grandparents were laid to rest and remembered: Fontevraud Abbey.
My mom kept uncovering lineages and connections to other royal ancestors and modern celebrities, most notably Julie Andrews for example. But I stayed fixated on the Plantagenets and made my plans to travel by train from the conference to Fontevraud where Eleanor spent her final years, was her favorite place of all, and where the family lied in effigy. I learned that the Abbey had just completed renovations (that year!) to be a hotel as well. So I immediately booked to stay there and, upon explaining my interest in the place to the staff, was treated wonderfully and assigned my own personal staff member to help in every aspect of my planning and stay.
I have to say that staying at Fontevraud Abbey and getting exclusive access to the grounds and sacred spaces will be one of the favorite days of my life. Olivier, my personal staff at the hotel, gave me a special candle and access to my royal family effigies. And upon being brought to the place late at night in the Abbey, I promptly burst into tears. Luckily for me, Olivier was understanding of my reaction (when even I wasn’t) and allowed me a private moment before he snapped some pictures. I stayed late with the effigies in the Abbey by myself until around 2 a.m. before retiring to my room on the grounds. It was an unworldly night to say the least.
The local and even national press in France got word and ran stories about my journey (after researching for themselves my lineage chart). One headline was “Unbelievable: Descendant of Eleanor of Aquitaine is an American”. Gotta love the French.
I receive regular updates from Olivier about the Abbey and their remarkable achievements of honoring history and sacred places through highlighting them with modern technology. It remains the best example of wedding the two I’ve ever seen. The staff undergo a year of interviewing and screening to attain positions there and many expressed to me the honor they feel in being charged with the keep of this sacred and important place for France and Europe. If you are ever in the Anjou area of France, you must go see it. Let me know if you do and I’ll tell Olivier to expect you!
News Articles (local and national runs)
News Articles (local and national runs)
Grounds in Fontevraud
Effigies of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was the first medieval queen who publicly advocated for women to be learned so she is remembered in effigy reading a book that today has been modernized with a spotlight on the book, to drive home that point.
Ariel view of Fontevraud
Depiction of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Some resemblance, I suppose)