Page "Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall" Paragraph 8

Although Richard was elected in 1256 as King of Germany by four of the seven German Electoral Princes ( Cologne, Mainz, the Palatinate and Bohemia ), his candidacy was opposed by Alfonso X of Castile who was elected by Saxony, Brandenburg and Trier.

The pope and king Louis IX of France favoured Alfonso, but both were ultimately convinced by the powerful relatives of Richard's sister-in-law, Eleanor of Provence, to support Richard.

Ottokar II of Bohemia, who at first voted for Richard but later elected Alfonso, eventually agreed to support the earl of Cornwall, thus establishing the required simple majority.

So Richard only had to bribe four of them, but this came at a huge cost of 28, 000 marks.

On 27 May 1257 the archbishop of Cologne himself crowned Richard " King of the Romans " in Aachen ; however, like his lordships in Gascony and Poitou, his title never held much significance, and he made only four brief visits to Germany between 1257 and 1269.