The legend of the Count of Forcalquier, Raimond Bérenger V de Provence, is always a surprise for those who discover it for the first time. And for good reason! The story tells of the incredible destiny of Marguerite, Eléonore, Béatrix and Sancie of Provence, the Count of Forcalquier’s four daughters. Beautiful and intelligent just like their mother Béatrix of Savoy, all would become queens by marrying, one after the other, a sought-after king.
The eldest, Marguerite of Provence married at the time of the Capetian dynasty the King of France Louis IX, better known as St. Louis, but was always kept from power by her mother-in-law, Blanche de Castille. Eléonore, meanwhile, married King Henry III of England and managed to create a Provençal home in England. Sancie married Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III who also bore the title of Holy Roman emperor. As for the youngest Béatrix, legend says she was the wife of the brother of Louis IX, Charles of Anjou, who in turn became the Count of Provence, King of Naples and later King of Sicily.
This unique story, steeped in history, has inspired L'Occitane to create the famous Rose 4 Reines range which today becomes Roses et Reines and which includes a new fresh and velvety fragrance that uses Provençal rose extract derived through enfleurage, a traditional process made innovative by the L’OCCITANE research team.