Bengerd, princess of Portugal and queen of Denmark from 1214 - 1221.

Queen Bengerd (baptized Berengaria) was born in Portugal and was the daughter of the Portugese king Sancho I. She was born in either 1191 or 1194 and was King Sancho’s fifth daughter. The King died in 1212, leaving Berengaria orphaned.

Bengerd married Valdemar Sejr in 1214. One of the aims of the union was to help Bengerd’s brother, King Alfonso II (1185-1223) form alliances against France, where Valdemar Sejr’s sister was queen.

Bengerd and Valdemar Sejr had 4 children: Sophie, Erik Plovpenning, Abel, Christopher. All of their sons succeeded on the throne.

Queen Bengerd was buried in Sct. Bendt’s Church in Ringsted where many of the Danish kings were buried. In 1855 her tomb was opened and the findings supported the traditional stories of her beauty: One thick braid, finely built bones and a well-formed skull.

Bengerd appears in legends and myths about the reign of Valdemar Sejr and his two queens, but the claims put forth in these legends have not been substantiated by any written evidence. The legends emphasize that Queen Bengerd was seen as the complete opposite of Valdemar’s first wife, Queen Dagmar.

Queen Bengerd was not very popular, yet was seen as being a very beautiful woman, with her dark eyes and black hair. Ballads describe her as being a bitter plum, while Dagmar was extremely popular, a blond with blue eyes.