by Alison Weir
She was born in 1215. She married firstly William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c.1190–1231) (brother of Richard of Cornwall’s first wife Isabella) on 23 April, 1224. Notwithstanding a vow of perpetual chastity entered into during her widowhood, she married secondly Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester (1208–1265: killed at the Battle of Evesham), on 7 January or 19 February, 1238, at the King’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster, and had issue:
1 Henry (1238–1265: killed at the Battle of Evesham).
2 Simon (1240–1271).
3 Guy, Count of Nola (1243?–1288?); he married Margaret, daughter of Aldobrandino Aldobrandeschi, Count of Anguillara, and had issue.
4 Amaury (d. after 1301); he was a canon at York, but later became a knight.
5 Richard (d. after 1266).
6 Eleanor (1252–1282); she married Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales (killed 1282), and had issue.
After the death of her husband, Eleanor became a nun at Montargis
Abbey in France. She died on 13 April, 1275, at Montargis Abbey, and was buried there.
King John also had the following illegitimate issue:
By a woman called Suzanne, or by a sister of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey (Surrey’s sister undoubtedly bore the King a child, but its identity is uncertain):
1 Richard FitzJohn of Dover, Baron of Chilham, Kent (d 1242/53); he married Rohese (d. by 1232), daughter of Fulbert of Dover, and had issue.
By Clementina, wife of Henry Pinel:
2 Joan (d.1237); she married Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales (1173–1240), and had issue.
By Hawise, perhaps a member of the de Tracy family:
3 Oliver (d.1290); he was killed at the siege of Damietta, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
By unknown mothers:
4 Osbert Gifford (d. after 1216).
5 Geoffrey FitzRoy (d.1205).
6 John FitzJohn or Courcy (d.1242); a knight; perhaps a clerk at Lincoln.
7 Odo or Eudo FitzRoy (d.1242?).
8 Ivo (confused with Odo?).
9 Henry; he married a minor heiress.
10 Richard, Constable of Wallingford Castle.
11 Matilda (?), Abbess of Barking.
12 Isabella la Blanche (?).
KING JOHN
He died on 18/19 October, 1216, at Newark Castle, Lincs., and was buried in Worcester Cathedral.
He was succeeded by his son Henry.
Henry III
* * *
FATHER: King John ( see here).
MOTHER: Isabella of Angoulême (under King John see here).
SIBLINGS: (under King John, see here)
HENRY III
He was born on 1 October, 1207, at Winchester Castle, Hampshire. He succeeded his father as King of England and Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine on 28 October, 1216, being crowned on that day in Gloucester Cathedral with his mother’s circlet, the Crown Jewels having been lost in the River Wash. He was again crowned on 17 May, 1220, at Westminster Abbey. In December, 1259, he formally renounced the duchy of Normandy under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.
Henry III married, on 14 January, 1236, at Canterbury Cathedral, Kent:
Eleanor
She was the daughter of Raymond Berenger V, Count of Provence, by Beatrice, daughter of Thomas I, Count of Savoy; her sister Sanchia later married Henry’s brother Richard. Eleanor was born between 1217 and 1226, perhaps in c.1223, at Aix-en-Provence, France, and was crowned Queen Consort on 19/20 January, 1236, at Westminster Abbey. She became a nun on 7 July, 1284, at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. She died on 24/25 June, 1291, at Amesbury Abbey, and was buried there.
Issue of marriage:
1 Edward I ( see here).
2 Margaret (under Alexander III, King of Scotland, see here).
3 Beatrice
She was born on 25 June, 1242, at Bordeaux, Gascony. She married John de Montfort of Dreux, Earl of Richmond, afterwards John II, Duke of Brittany (1239–1305), on 22 January, 1260, at the Abbey of St Denis, Paris, and had issue:
1 Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1262–1312); he married firstly Beatrice (1260–1291), daughter of Guy VI, Viscount of Limoges, and had issue. He married secondly Yolande, daughter of Robert IV, Count of Dreux, and widow of Alexander III, King of Scotland, and had issue.
2 John, Earl of Richmond (1266?–1334).
3 Peter, Count of Léon (d.1312).
4 Mary (1268–1339); she married Guy de Châtillon, Count of St Pol, and had issue.
5 Eleanor or Alice (1274–1329?); she became a nun at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, and later Abbess of Fontevrault, France.
6 Blanche (d.1327); she married Philip, Count of Artois, Lord of Conches and Domfront (d.1298), and had issue.
7 Henry (d. young, 1284).
Beatrice died on 24 March, 1275, in London; she was perhaps buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire, and probably removed later to Greyfriars Church, Newgate, London. Her tomb was lost during the Reformation.
4 Edmund
Known as ‘Crouchback’, he was born on 16 January, 1245, in London. He was nominated King of Sicily by the Pope on 7 January, 1254, but deprived of that kingdom in 1263. He was created Earl of Leicester on 26 October, 1265, and Earl of Lancaster on 30 June, 1267. He became Count of Champagne and Brie in right of his second wife in 1276. Edmund died on 5 June, 1296, at Bayonne, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Edmund married firstly, on 8/9 April, 1269, in the newly-rebuilt Westminster Abbey:
Aveline
She was the daughter of William de Forz or Fortibus, 6th Earl of Aumale, by Isabella, daughter of Baldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devon. She was born on 20 January, 1259, at Burstwick, Yorkshire, and succeeded her brother as Countess of Aumale before 6 April, 1269. She died on 10 November, 1274, at Stockwell, Surrey, and was buried in Westminster Abbey; hers was the first tomb in the new church. There was no issue of her marriage to Edmund.
Edmund married secondly, in January (before 3 February), 1276, or between 27 July and 29 October, 1276 (although no evidence exists as to where):
Blanche
She was the daughter of Robert I, Count of Artois, by Matilda, daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and she was born around c.1245/50. She married firstly Henry I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne (d.1274), in 1269, and had issue:
1 Joan, Queen of Navarre (1273–1305); she married Philip IV, King of France (1268–1314), and had issue, including Isabella, wife of Edward II.
2 Theobald (d.young).
Blanche died on 2 May, 1302, in Paris, and was probably buried in the Minoresses Convent, Aldgate, London.
Issue of marriage:
(i) Thomas
He was born around 1277/80. He became Earl of Lincoln in right of his wife on or before 28 October, 1294. He succeeded his father as Earl of Lancaster and Leicester on 8 September, 1298. He was styled Earl Ferrers (Derby) from 1301. He renounced the earldom of Lincoln when he divorced his wife in c.1318. Thomas was executed on 22 March, 1322, at Pontefract, Yorkshire, by order of Edward II. He was buried in the Priory of St John at Pontefract.
Thomas married, on or before 28 October, 1294 (?), or perhaps as late as c.1310 (although no record exists as to where):
Alice
She was the daughter of Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln, by Margaret, daughter of Sir William Longespee of Amesbury, Wiltshire, a descendant of Henry II. Alice was born on 25 December, 1281, probably at Denbigh Castle, Denbighshire, and succeeded her father as Countess of Lincoln on 5 February, 1311; she succeeded her mother as Countess of Salisbury before 20 September, 1311. Lancaster divorced her in c.1318 on account of her adultery with the Earl of Surrey’s squire, Sir Eubulo Lestraunge, whom she married as her second husband before 10 November, 1324. Eubulo died in 1335. Alice married thirdly Hugh de Freyne, Baron Freyne (d.1336/7), before 23 March, 1336. She died on 2 October, 1348, and was buried in Barlings Abbey, Birling, Kent. She had no issue from any of her marriages.
(ii) Henry
He was born
in c.1281 at Grosmont Castle, Monmouthshire. He was restored to the earldom of Leicester on 29 March, 1324, two years after his brother’s execution for treason, and styled Earl of Lancaster from 26 October, 1326, being restored formally to that earldom on 3 February, 1327. He succeeded his brother John as Lord of Beaufort and Nogent in France in 1336 (?). Henry died on 22 September, 1345, at Leicester, and was buried in Newark Abbey, Leicester.
Henry married, before 2 March, 1297 (although no evidence exists as to where):
Matilda
She was the daughter of Sir Patrick de Chaworth of Kidwelly, by Isabella, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Warwick. She was born in 1282 or 1288, and died before 3 December, 1322, being buried at Mottisfont Priory.
Issue of marriage:
(a) Henry
He was born between 1299 and 1314 at Grosmont Castle, Monmouthshire. He was created Earl of Derby on 16 March, 1337, and succeeded his father as Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester and Lord of Beaufort and Nogent on 22 September, 1345. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1348, created Earl of Lincoln on 20 August, 1349, and created Duke of Lancaster on 6 March, 1351. He was created Earl of Moray on 5 April, 1359, but never so styled. Henry died on 23/24 March, 1361, at Leicester Castle of the Black Death (bubonic plague), and was buried in Newark Abbey, Leicester.
Henry married, in c.1334/7 (although no record exists as to where):
Isabella
She was the daughter of Henry, 1st Baron de Beaumont and Earl of Buchan, by Alice, daughter of Sir Alexander Comyn. She died in 1361 at Leicester of the Black Death (bubonic plague), and was buried in Newark Abbey, Leicester.
Issue of marriage:
(i) Matilda
She was born on 4 April, c.1339 or 1341. She married firstly Ralph de Stafford (d.1347/9) on 1 November, 1344. She married secondly William V, Duke of Bavaria, Count of Holland, Hainault and Zeeland (1327–1389), in 1352 at the King’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster. She succeeded her father as Countess of Leicester on 23 March, 1361, but died on 10 April, 1362, in England, of the Black Death (bubonic plague) (although some sources say she was poisoned).
(ii) Blanche
She married John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (under Edward III, see here).
(b) Blanche
She was born in c.1305, and married Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell (d.1349) before 9 October, 1316. She died on 10 July, 1380, and was buried in the Church of the Friars Minor, Stamford, Lines.
(c) Matilda
She was born in c.1310. She married firstly William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (1312–1333), after 1 May, 1327 (date of dispensation), and before 1330, and had issue:
1 Elizabeth; she married Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (under Edward III, see here).
Matilda married secondly Ralph de Ufford (d.1346) before 8 August, 1343, and had issue:
2 Matilda (d.1413); she married Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford (1336?–1371), and had issue.
Matilda became an Augustinian Canoness at Campsey Abbey, Suffolk (?), between 8 August, 1347, and 25 April, 1348; she transferred to the Poor Clares at Bruisyard Abbey, Suffolk (?), in 1364. She died before 5 May, 1377, at Campsey Abbey, Suffolk (?), and was buried in Bruisyard Abbey, Suffolk.
(d) Joan
She was born in c.1312. She married John, 3rd Baron Mowbray, Lord of Axholme, Bramber and Gower (1310–1361), after 28 February, 1327, and had issue:
1 John, 4th Baron Mowbray (1340–killed 1368); he married Elizabeth (1338–by 1368), daughter of John, 4th Baron de Segrave, by Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (under Edward I, see here), and had issue.
2 Blanche (d.1409); she either married John de Segrave of Folkestone (d.1349) and had issue, or married firstly Robert, Baron Bertram of Bothall (d.1363/4), secondly Thomas, Baron Poynings (d.1375), thirdly Sir John Worth (d.1391) and fourthly Sir John Wiltshire.
3 Eleanor (d.c.1387); she married firstly Roger, Baron de la Warre (1326–1370), and secondly Sir Lewis de Clifford (d.1404).
Joan died on 7 July, 1345 (?) or 1349 (?), and was buried in Byland Abbey, Yorkshire.
(e) Isabella
She was born in c.1317, and perhaps married Henry de la Dale in her youth. She became a nun at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, before 6 April, 1337, and was elected Prioress of Amesbury before 23 March, 1344. She died after 1 February, 1347.
(f) Eleanor
She was born in c.1318. She married firstly John, 2nd Baron de Beaumont (d.1342), before June, 1337, and had issue:
1 Henry, 3rd Baron de Beaumont (1340–1369); he married Margaret (d.1398), daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, and had issue.
2 Joan (d. after 1400).
Eleanor married secondly Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (1306/13–1376), on 5 February, 1345, at Ditton Church, Stoke Poges, Bucks., and had issue:
3 Edmund (c.1346–c.1366).
4 Joan (c.1347–1419); she married Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton (1342–1373), and had issue, including Mary, wife of Henry IV, and Eleanor, wife of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester (under Edward III, see here).
5 Richard, 11th Earl of Arundel (c.1348–executed 1397); he married firstly Elizabeth (d.1385), daughter of William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, and had issue, and secondly Philippa Mortimer (under Edward III, see here).
6 Alice (c.1350–1414/16); she married Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (c.1355–1397), son of Joan, Princess of Wales (under Edward III, see here), and had issue, including Eleanor, Countess of March (under Edward III, see here).
7 John, Baron of Arundel (c.1351–drowned 1379); he married Eleanor (1346?–1405), daughter of Sir John Maltravers, and had issue.
8 Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury (1353–1414).
9 Mary.
10 Eleanor (c.1354/6–before 1366).
Eleanor died on 11 January, 1372, at Arundel Castle, Sussex, and was buried in Lewes Priory, Sussex.
(g) Mary
She was born around 1320/21. She married firstly Henry Percy, 3rd Baron of Alnwick (1322?–1368), in c.September, 1334, at Tutbury Castle, and had issue:
1 Henry, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1341–1408); he married Matilda (d.1372), daughter of Ralph, Baron Neville of Raby, and had issue. He married secondly Matilda (d.1398), daughter of Thomas, Baron Lucy of Cockermouth.
2 Thomas, Earl of Worcester (1344?–executed 1403). Had illegitimate issue.
3 Mary (b.1360); she married John, Baron Ros of Helmsley.
Mary died on 1/2 September, 1362, and was buried at Alnwick, Northumberland.
Henry, Earl of Lancaster, married secondly, after 1322 (although no evidence exists as to where):
Alice
She was the daughter of John de Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne, by Alice, daughter of Gautier, Seigneur de Risnel. She married firstly John, Seigneur of Arcis-sur-Aube and Chacenay (d. by 1307). Nothing more is known of her.
(iii) John
He was born before May, 1286, and became Lord of Beaufort and Nogent-Lartauld on the death of his mother in May, 1302. He died unmarried in c.1327 (?) or 1336 (certainly by 1337) in France.
(iv) Mary
No dates are recorded. She died young, in France.
5 Richard
He was born in c.1247, and died before 1256. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
6 John
He was born in c.1250 at Windsor Castle, and died before 1256. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
7 William
He was born in c.1250/51, and died either at birth or in 1256. He was buried in the New Church of the Knights Templars, Fleet Street, London.
8 Katherine
She was born on 25 November, 1252/3, at the Palace of Westminster. A mute child, she died on 3 May, 1257, at Windsor Castle, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
9 Henry
No dates are recorded. He died young, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
HENRY III
He died on 16 November, 1272, at the Palace of Westminster, and was bur
ied in Westminster Abbey.
He was succeeded by his son Edward.
Edward I
* * *
FATHER: Henry III ( see here).
MOTHER: Eleanor of Provence (under Henry III, see here).
SIBLINGS: (under Henry III, see here).
EDWARD I
Known as ‘Longshanks’ and ‘the Lawgiver’, he was born on 17/18 June, 1239, at the Palace of Westminster. He was created Duke of Gascony in 1254, and Earl of Chester on 14 February, 1254. He resigned the earldom of Chester on 24 December, 1264, but was restored to it on 4 August, 1265. He succeeded his father as King of England on 20 November, 1272, and was crowned on 19 August, 1274, at Westminster Abbey.
Edward I married firstly, between 13 and 31 October, 1254, at the Abbey of Las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile:
Eleanor
She was the daughter of Ferdinand III, King of Castile, by Joan, daughter of Simon of Dammartin, Count of Ponthieu and Aumale. Eleanor was born around 1244/5 in Castile. She was crowned Queen Consort on 19 August, 1274, at Westminster Abbey. She succeeded her mother as Countess of Ponthieu and Montreuil in March, 1279. Eleanor died on 28 November, 1290, at the manor of Harby, Notts., of a fever, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Issue of marriage:
1 Eleanor
She was born c.17 June, 1264 (or possibly as late as 1269, although the Issue Rolls of 1302 describe her as Edward’s eldest daughter), at Windsor Castle. She married firstly Alfonso III, King of Aragon (d.1291), by proxy on 15 August, 1290, at Westminster Abbey. The marriage was not consummated because of the bridegroom’s early death. Eleanor married secondly Henry III, Count of Bar (d.1302), on 20 September, 1293, at Bristol, and had issue: