Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon

Alfonso II of Aragon

Alfonso II or Alfons I ; Huesca, 1-25 March 1157 – 25 April 1196), called the Chaste or the Troubadour, was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1164 until his death. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon and the first King of Aragon who was...

 and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho

Sancho, Count of Provence

Sancho was the count of Cerdanya from 1168, Provence from 1181 to 1185, and Roussillon from 1185. He was the youngest son of Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona and Queen regnant Petronilla of Aragón....

 to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

.

In 1193, Alfonso married Gersenda II of Sabran

Garsenda of Forcalquier

Garsenda or Garsende de Sabran was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209. She brought Forcalquier to the House of Barcelona and united it to Provence...

, daughter of Rainou, Count of Forcalquier and Gersend of Forcalquier. They had a child who became Ramon Berenguer IV

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence

Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...

 as count of Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

.

According to explanations in the manuscripts of Gaucelm Faidit

Gaucelm Faidit

Gaucelm Faidit was a troubadour, born in Uzerche, in the Limousin, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France, Spain, and Hungary...

's poems, Alfonso was a rival of the troubadour's for the love of Jourdaine d'Embrun.

Alfonso II died in Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, Italy.

Ancestry