The Crusaders stopped en-route at Sicily, where Richard's sister, Joanna, the dowager Queen, was being held captive by her nephew, Tancred, the new King, who was also refusing to return her dowry. Tancred became more amenable when Richard arrived on the scene and when he captured the city of Messina, Tancred was forced to release her. Phillip, outshone by Richard, sulked. He raised the issue of his sister, Alys, who had been betrothed to Richard since childhood. Gossip claimed that Richard refused to marry Alys as she had been seduced by his father and was even rumoured to have borne the late King's child.
The English King informed Phillip that he intended to marry the Princess Berengaria of Navarre, the daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre, whom his mother was escorting to Sicily. Richard and Berengaria had met only once prior to their espousal, at a tournament at Pamplona held by her father. There was little the slighted Phillip could do other than simmer.
The voyage to the Holy Land continued, but the ship carrying Berengaria and Joanna was shipwrecked on the coast of Cyprus in the course of a violent storm. The Cyprians besieged the English survivors of the wreck at Limasoll. A large ammount of treasure, intended for use on the crusade, was appropriated by Isaac Comnenus, the Emperor of Cyprus. Richard dispatched a letter to Isaac, which was arrogantly ignored. Outraged, he unleashed the full force of the famed Plantagenet fury on the unfortunate Isaac. The Cyprian Emperor was overthrown and English governors were set up over the island which was used as a garrison for the crusade.
The English contingent of the Third Crusade arrived at Acre, in the Holy Land, at Whitsun, 1191. Richard's reputation seems to have arrived before him and on 11th of July, the Moslem defenders surrendered the city to the Christian army. Richard, Philip, and Leopold V of Austria, leader of the German contingent to the Crusade, disagreed over the distribution of the spoils of their victory. Richard deeply insulted Leopold when he threw down his standard from the walls of Acre, an action which was to have dire consequences for him in the future. A further cause of dissension among the leaders of the crusade was Richard's support of Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, while Philip Augustus and Leopold supported his rival for the title, Conrad of Montferrat.
King Phillip Augustus of France was anxious to return home, he did not enjoy being eclipsed by Richard and was piqued at the repudiation of his sister. He set sail for France on 3rd of August , abandoning the Crusade. An exchange of prisoners from Acre was arranged with Saladin, but problems arose in the arrangements. Richard believed Saladin to be creating delays. He consequently ordered the massacre of all the Moslem prisoners. This act of cruelty remains a bloody stain on his reputation.
On 7th September, at Arsuf, the armies of Richard and Saladin clashed in battle. Saladin was forced to retreat. Richard then marched on Jaffa, and began to strengthen it as a garrison for Jerusalem. The army arrived at the foothills of the Holy City on 3rd January, 1192. They were, however, exhausted , short of supplies and sickness was rife in their ranks, and were consequently obliged to return to the safety of the coast.
A truce was negotiated with the Moslems. A superlative general but a poor politician, Richard proposed that Saladin should give the Holy Land to his nephew Saphadin, whom he suggested should marry his sister Joanna, forming a peaceful alliance between Christian and Moslem. The bemused Saladin, unable to believe his luck, accepted. Joanna, however, who possessed the famed family temper in full measure, refused outright to contemplate marriage with a Moslem, resulting in a heated family dispute.
Richard made attempts to negotiate with Conrad of Montferrat, but Conrad, who distrusted him due to his support of Guy de Lusignan, refused. Following an election of the nobles of the kingdom in April, Conrad was unanimously voted as King of Jerusalem, however, before his coronation could take place, he was murdered at Tyre by two Hashshashin. Conrad held his claim to the throne through his marriage to the heiress Isabella of Jerusalem, who just over a week later was married to Henry II of Champagne, the nephew of both Richard and Phillip, (through Eleanor of Aquitaine's first marriage to Louis of France). Rumours circulated that Richard had had some involvement in Conrad's murder.
Richard recieved disquieting news from England, his younger brother John was plotting against him. He made a further approach to Jerusalem but again realised he could not take the city and that he must now urgently return home. Heartened, Saladin then re-took Jaffa. Richard staged a daring counter attack and although heavily outnumbered, put the Moslems to flight. Having negotiated a three year truce, which retained his conquests and gave Christians access to Jerusalem, the King sailed for England.
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_2.htmLestat said that Saladin 'allowed' King Richard to leave - as if he was captured or some such rubbish. A treaty was reached, and he returned home. He wasn't 'allowed' to leave.
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