He was engaged at just nine years old

Medieval rulers frequently formed marriage alliances because they facilitated the negotiation of peace treaties, political relations, and the right to make claims to one another's holdings. It was planned for Richard to wed one of Ramon Berenguer IV daughters in March 1159, but these plans fell through, and the union was never consummated. On November 2, 1160, Henry the Young King wed Margaret, a French royal prince's daughter. Despite their alliance, the Plantagenets and the Capetians, the family who ruled France, occasionally had disagreements.

To achieve a ceasefire between them in 1168, Pope Alexander III's intervention was required. The Gisors and the Vexin, which had been a part of Margaret's dowry, were now under Henry II's hands after he had invaded Brittany. Henry II of England, who was also the Count of Anjou and the Duke of Normandy, arranged for his nine-year-old son to be wed to Princess Alais, a nine-year-old daughter of French King Louis VII. But the ceremony itself never took place. Alias was instead imprisoned by Henry for 25 years, some of which he spent with her as his mistress.