As the eldest child, Melisende was raised as heir presumptive. Frankish women in the Outremer had a higher life expectancy than men, in part due to the constant state of war in the region, and as a result Frankish women exerted a wide degree of influence in the region and provided a strong sense of continuity to Eastern Frankish society. Women who inherited territory usually did so because war and violence brought many men to premature death, and women who were recognized as queen regnant rarely exercised their authority directly, with their spouse exercising authority "jure uxoris", through the medium of their wives. Contemporaries of Melisende who did rule, however, included Urraca of Castile (1080–1129), and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204). During her father's reign Melisende was styled as "daughter of the king and heir of the kingdom of Jerusalem", and took precedence above other nobles and Christian clergy in ceremonial occasions. Increasingly she was associated with her father on official documents, including in the minting of money, granting of fiefdoms and other forms of patronage, and in diplomatic correspondence. Baldwin raised his daughter as a capable successor to himself and Melisende enjoyed the support of the "Haute Cour", a kind of royal council composed of the nobility and clergy of the realm.