I have to confess that A MARRIAGE OF LIONS did not have a title for a long time, and the first title it acquired is not the one you see on the jacket cover.
The novel’s  working title for most of its first draft life in private was ‘Joanna de Valence’  because that was the subject matter.  I always knew it would change.

As I wrote and researched, one of the important elements that emerged, was Henry III’s delight in interior design, and particularly his fabulous personal quarters at Westminster, that later historians have called ‘The Painted Chamber’ because of the artwork and colour it displayed.  The majority of the work has not survived the vagaries of time.  Indeed, during Joanna and William’s lifetime a serious fire in 1263 destroyed much of the chamber’s decor.  The latter was repaired,  changed and redesigned during the closing years of Henry III’s reign and continued by his son Edward I.  I have written several scenes set in this chamber, with some pivotal drama and symbolism, so for a time, the novel’s working title became THE PAINTED CHAMBER.  However, it was about an object, rather than people and just slightly passive.  Another forthcoming blog post will look at The Painted Chamber in more detail.

The title, A MARRIAGE OF LIONS entered the arena as I was writing the final draft and although a latecomer, it was perfect.   It sounds good of course, with strong, emotive words, suggesting high drama in the content,  but a couple of other elements were strong selling points too.  Joanna’s famous grandfather, William Marshal, once regent of England, had carried a red lion as his heraldic device, so there was that immediate connection.

William Marshal’s scarlet lion

William de Valence: The first blazon featuring lions.

For William de Valence’s part, he was the half-brother of England’s king, and the royal lions of England need no introduction, added to which, William’s early heraldly (it later  changed) when he came to England, depicted lions in the strips across the top of his shield.

William and Joanna were strong and courageous personalities, but many of the other main players could claim the lion symbolism too – Simon and Eleanor de Montfort for example. Their marriage too, was one of lions.

Finally, we know from descriptions of The Painted Chamber, that in April 1243, Henry III had lions painted on the wall of the west gable of the Painted Chamber, so here was a symbolic nod to the chamber’s place in the story.

I pitched it to my agent and editor; we all thought it was a perfect fit – and here it is.  A MARRIAGE OF LIONS.