Their expedition failed, and Louis and Eleanor returned to Europe on separate ships. In 1152, Eleanor and Louis' marriage was annulled, and Eleanor's estates that she previously owned were returned to her.
Within a year of her annulment, Eleanor married Henry who would eventually become King Henry II of England. Eleanor gave birth to five sons and three daughters over the next thirteen years. One of her sons turned out to be King Richard I "the Lionheart". The birth of Richard only deepened her legacy in history, because she gave birth to a good king in a time of corruption. In 1173, Eleanor made a rebellion against her husband. Eleanor was tired of his infidelities, the decisions he made, and most of all, having authority without power. Henry stopped the rebellion and for the next fifteen years Eleanor was put in prison.
Women who governed in their husband's name engaged in legal transactions, directed farming, collected monies in case of ransom, and brought up the children. Important royal regencies, who were women, rose when the king was away crusading. One example, was Blanche of Castile, who was the queen of Louis III of France. She became regent while her son, King Louis IX, engaged in the crusade. On his departure in 1247, Louis IX told his mother, "I leave my three children for your wards. I leave this realm of France to you to govern it. Truly I know that they well guarded and it well governed be". Blanche kept rebellions at bay, and extended the power of the French dynasty. In 1249, she completed the consumption of the Midi into the French state and made great alliances. As a result, the kingdom of France more closely resembles the appearance it has today.
In 1250, the crusade forces of France were a threat to Egypt. At that time, Salih Ayyub the Ayyubid Sultan was the ruler of Egypt. The crusaders marched toward Cairo around the same time that Salih died. Shagrat al-Durr, Salih's wife, hid the fact he was dead by saying that he was sick.