Irene Angelina

''"A rose without a thorn, a dove without gall." - Walther von der Vogelweide describing Queen Irene''



Irene Angelina (Greek: Ειρηνη Αντζελινα) was the second daughter of Emperor Isaac Angelos II and his first wife Empress Consort Herina Palaiologina. A member of the House of Angelos, she was married off to Prince Philip von Schwaben of Swabia in a marriage arranged by her father and Philip's elder brother Henry in an attempt to improve relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. Irene had four daughters that survived to adulthood, of which Elisabeth von Schwaben is the youngest. She is the 25th great-grandmother of Alexia DiMercurio and Luke Cauldwell.

Personality
Irene was gentle and passive to a fault. Her beauty caught the attention of all who saw her, a situation she would not grow comfortable with. She was very shy as a young girl and tagged along with her younger brother Alexios most of the time. She grew a bit more extraverted as she matured, but ultimately remained shy her entire life. Irene moved to Germany for her arranged marriage to Philip von Schwaben--a match that would vastly improve her life. Philip was only four years older than her (a circumstance that was rare in the middle ages) and welcomed his new bride. Irene grew extremely close to Philip and it was said she loved him more than her children. Philip became a pillar of much-needed support for Irene; he was understanding of her shortcomings and was content to let her stay out of the spotlight.

Irene was a kind and loving mother to her daughters. She and Philip were very protective of their girls, even denying a high-ranking noble the hand of their then eight-year-old Beatrix believing her to be too young. Irene was devastated after Philip's murder, an event which would leave her a broken woman for the four months she managed to outlive husband. She became far more introverted and left her servants to care for her daughters, as she was unable to even care for herself.