The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Richard's Statue Outside The UK Houses of Parliament

Richard "The Lionheart" of England was gay! Richard the Lionheart
(1157-1199) was the man whose valor became the symbol of chivalric
idealism. He single-handedly drove the Third Crusade and emerged as
the most famous figure of his time. His mother was the highly respected
Eleanor of Aquitaine, and he was her favorite son. Because Eleanor badly
wanted her son to produce an heir, she arranged a hasty wedding just before
Richard left for the Holy Land. She dragged in one Berengaria (sounds like a
country in the Balkans) to be the lucky bride.

No matter; Richard didn't even bother to stay for the wedding night.
Berengaria drifted so far into the background that when Richard died,
she had to sue the pope to be recognized as his heir. Quoth one biographer,
"He left no children by his marriage, which appears, in effect, to have
been no marriage."

You may well ask what Richard did to relax after a tough day of hacking
up infidels. John Boswell quotes a contemporary account of one of his
romantic flings: "Richard, Duke of Aquitaine, son of the king of England,
remained with Phillip, the King of France, who so honored him for so long
that they ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at
night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him
as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England
was absolutely astonished at the passionate love between them and marveled
at it."

He was crowned King of England in 1189 after defeating his father King Henry
II with the aid of his mother. After defeating a plot by his brother John, Richard
returned from the crusades and remained King until 1216.

Philiph of France actually supported his brother John in the attempted coup
and later was to become his great adversary. Never trust an ex-b/f boys!