The tomb effigy of Berengaria of Navarre has been exposed to the elements over the past 50 yearsThe tomb effigy of Richard the Lionheart’s wife, Berengaria of Navarre, was sculpted upon her death in 1230 as a sign of respect. Yet over the past couple of centuries, there seems to have been scant regard in France for the only English queen who is never thought to have set foot in England. Since the French Revolution in 1789, Berengaria’s effigy has been broken, moved several times, left in a barn, lost and found again covered in wheat and hay. Its latest resting place is the chapterhouse at Epau abbey in central France, where it is exposed to the elements. French officials are now seeking to do Berengaria justice at long last by restoring the effigy to its former glory and putting it back

Source: The Times August 03, 2020 16:11 UTC