by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

John of Gloucester’s father, King Richard III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born circa 1468, John of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Richard III of England (reigned 1483 – 1485) and an unknown mother. He was called “of Gloucester” because his father was the Duke of Gloucester at the time of his birth. John was also called “of Pontefract” which may indicate that he was born at Pontefract Castle in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. John’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, a claimant to the English throne and the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle in 1460, and Cecily Neville. Both Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville were great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. John’s paternal uncle was King Edward IV of England.

John had one royal half-brother from his father’s marriage to Anne Neville:

• Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (1473 – 1484), died in childhood

There is little information about John’s childhood. He was one of two knighted on September 8, 1483, during the celebrations in York when his half-brother Edward of Middleham was invested as Prince of Wales. In 1485, King Richard III appointed his teenage son John to the position of Captain of Calais. Calais, now part of France, was an English possession from 1347 to 1558.

The corpse of Richard III, King of England, found on the battlefield of Bosworth; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of John’s father King Richard III was only two years. On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, 32-year-old King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader 28-year-old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became King Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Soon after the Battle of Bosworth Field, King Henry VII removed John from the position of Captain of Calais. On March 1, 1486, King Henry VII granted John an annual income of twenty pounds. There are no further mentions of John of Gloucester in contemporary records after 1486.

As the son of a king of the House of York, even though he was illegitimate, John would have been a threat to the House of Tudor. Sir George Buck (circa 1560 – 1622), an English antiquarian, historian, scholar, and author, alleges in his 1619 book The History of King Richard III that John was imprisoned for some years before his supposed death in 1499. Buck wrote that in 1499, the year of the executions of Perkin Warbeck (a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the second son of King Edward IV and one of the “Princes in the Tower”) and Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (a potential claimant to the English throne, the only son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, the younger brother of King Edward IV), “there was a base son of King Richard III made away, and secretly, having been kept long before in prison.” Buck did not name the “base son of King Richard III” but he claimed that he was executed because an unspecified Irishman wanted to make him their ruler. John of Gloucester may have been held in prison for years and executed in 1499 but there are no other sources except Buck.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Richard III of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-richard-iii-of-england/
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). John of Gloucester. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Gloucester
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Richard III of England. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England#Issue
• Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Arthur Plantagenet (on the right with red hat), detail from the procession of Garter Knights in the Black Book of the Garter, circa 1535, Royal Collection, Windsor Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

At the risk of being beheaded during the reign of his nephew King Henry VIII of England, Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle was born sometime between 1461 and 1475 in Calais, then an English possession in France. He was the illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England and probably Elizabeth Lucy, also known as Elizabeth Wayte. She may have been the daughter of Thomas Wayte of Hampshire but it is unclear if Elizabeth Wayte and Elizabeth Lucy are the same person.

It is probable that an illegitimate daughter of King Edward IV was Arthur’s full sister:

• Elizabeth Plantagenet (circa 1464 – ?), married Sir Thomas Lumley, had six children

Arthur had ten royal half-siblings from his father’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville:

• Elizabeth of York (1466 – 1503), married King Henry VII of England, had seven children including Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, King Henry VIII of England, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France
• Mary of York (1467 – 1482), unmarried
• Cecily of York (1469 – 1507); married (1) Ralph Scrope of Upsall, no issue, marriage annulled; (2) John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, had two daughters who died young; (3) Sir Thomas Kyme, possible issue
• King Edward V of England (1470 – c. 1483); briefly succeeded his father, as King Edward V of England, was the elder of the Princes in the Tower
• Margaret of York (born and died 1472)
• Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – c. 1483), was the younger of the Princes in the Tower
• Anne of York (1475 – 1511); married Thomas Howard (later 3rd Duke of Norfolk and uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII’s beheaded wives), had four children who died in childhood
• George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford (1477 – 1479)
• Catherine of York (1479 – 1527); married William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, had three children
• Bridget of York (1480 – 1517); became a nun

Arthur’s father King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Arthur grew up at the court of his father King Edward IV who died in 1483, but there is no information about his childhood. In 1501, Arthur was first mentioned in records as a member of the household of his half-sister Elizabeth of York, the wife of King Henry VII and the mother of King Henry VIII. After Elizabeth of York’s death in 1503, Arthur became a member of King Henry VII’s household. When Arthur’s nephew King Henry VIII succeeded his father as King Henry VIII in 1509, Arthur officially became an Esquire of the Body, the personal attendant to the King.

On November 12, 1511, Arthur married Elizabeth Grey, 6th Baroness Lisle, daughter of Sir Edward Grey and Elizabeth Talbot, 3rd Baroness Lisle. Elizabeth had been first married to Edmund Dudley, treasurer to King Henry VII, who was executed in 1510 by King Henry VIII. Elizabeth’s son from her first marriage was John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland who led the government of King Henry VIII’s young son King Edward VI from 1550 – 1553 and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey, the wife of his son Lord Guildford Dudley, on the English throne after the death of Lady Jane’s first cousin King Edward VI. John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Lord Guildford Dudley, and Lady Jane Grey were all executed.

Arthur and Elizabeth had three daughters:

• Lady Bridget Plantagenet (1513 – 1558), married William Carden, no children
• Lady Elizabeth Plantagenet (1516 – 1558), married Sir Francis Jobson, Member of Parliament for Colchester, had three sons and one daughter
• Lady Frances Plantagenet (1519 – 1558), married (1) Sir John Basset of Umberleigh, had three sons (2) Thomas Monke of Potheridge, had three sons and three daughters

Arthur’s first wife Elizabeth died in 1529 and in the same year, he married Honor Grenville, the daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stowe and Isabella Gilbert. Honor was the widow of Sir John Bassett of Umberleigh. Arthur and Honor had no children but together they raised Arthur’s three children from his first marriage and Honor’s seven children from her first marriage including Sir John Basset of Umberleigh who became the husband of Arthur’s daughter Frances.

Arthur continued to receive royal favor during the reign of his nephew King Henry VIII:

• 1513: Knighted
• 1513: Appointed High Sheriff of Hampshire
• 1520: Attended his nephew King Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold
• 1523: Created Viscount Lisle
• 1524: Invested as a Knight of the Garter
• 1525: Appointed Vice-Admiral of England
• 1533: Appointed Lord Deputy of Calais and Privy Councilor
• 1536: Appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
• 1540: Appointed a Privy Councillor

After the birth in 1537 of his only son, the future King Edward VI, King Henry VIII focused on obtaining for his son a clear path to the succession to the throne in any way he could. One way was eliminating Plantagenet relatives who could claim the throne. Among those executed were:

• Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter (Henry VIII’s first cousin, the son of Princess Catherine of York, the sixth daughter of King Edward IV) – beheaded in 1538
• Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu (Henry VIII’s second cousin, the son of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (see link below) and the grandson of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence who was the brother of King Edward IV) – beheaded in 1539
• Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (Henry VIII’s first cousin once removed, the daughter of George Plantangenet, Duke of Clarence who was the brother of King Edward IV) – beheaded in 1541

King Henry VIII also saw his illegitimate uncle Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle as a possible claimant to the throne. On May 19, 1540, Arthur was suddenly arrested for his alleged part in the Botolph Plot. Sir Gregory Botolph was one of Arthur’s three chaplains. It was suspected that Botolph was involved in a conspiracy to hand over Calais, a territory in northern France ruled by England from 1347 to 1558, to France or at least to Cardinal Reginald Pole, the son of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury. Some historians think this conspiracy was a ruse concocted by Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s chief minister.

Arthur was recalled from Calais to London, and the reason given was that he was to be created an earl. All seemed well. He attended the House of Lords and Garter Day. Then, on May 19, 1540, Arthur was “accused of secret intelligence with Cardinal Reginald Pole” and “certain practices to deliver the town of Calais to Pole,” and imprisoned in the Tower of London. His wife Honor and the two children who were still at home were placed under house arrest in Calais, the household was dissolved, and Arthur’s correspondence was taken to London for investigation. Eventually, Arthur’s son-in-law John Basset was able to bring Honor and the children to live with him in London.

The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London where Arthur is buried; Credit – Von Samuel Taylor Geer – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36712795,

Arthur was confined in the Tower of England for two years until his innocence was proven, or perhaps until King Henry VIII had second thoughts about the so-called conspiracy. As a sign of Arthur’s restored favor, King Henry VIII had his trusted courtier Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton deliver to Arthur a diamond ring along with a message that he would be released. Sadly, Arthur Plantagenet died of a heart attack the following night, March 3, 1542, in the Tower of London, supposedly out of joy at the news of his release. He was buried in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London in London, England.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle. geni_family_tree. (2022a, April 26). https://www.geni.com/people/Arthur-Plantagenet-1st-Viscount-Lisle/6000000001544505919
• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. Cassell.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, June 20). Arthur Plantagenet, 1. Viscount Lisle. Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Plantagenet,_1._Viscount_Lisle
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Plantagenet,_1st_Viscount_Lisle

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

King Edward III of England, father of Sir John de Southeray; Credit – Wikipedia

Sir John de Southeray (circa 1364 – 1383) was the eldest of the three illegitimate children of King Edward III of England and his mistress Alice Perrers. Alice’s family surname was Salisbury and they worked as goldsmiths. Janyn Perrers, who would become Alice’s first husband, became an apprentice to the Salisbury family in 1342. It appears that around 1359, Janyn Perrers did some work for the royal court because in a royal writ he is described as “our beloved Janyn Perrers, our jeweler”. There is a possibility that he met King Edward III in his capacity as a goldsmith and jeweler and that Alice may have accompanied him.

Shortly after her husband died in 1361 or 1362, Alice became a lady-in-waiting to Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. Even if Alice had not previously met King Edward III, they certainly became acquainted while she served as a lady-in-waiting. Alice, who was about 24 years old, gave birth to the first of her three children by Edward III in 1364, when the king was 56 years old.

King Edward III and Alice’s eldest child John had two younger sisters:

• Jane (circa 1365 – ?), married Richard Northland
• Joan (circa 1366 – circa 1431), married Robert Skerne, a lawyer and Member of Parliament

John had fourteen royal half-siblings from the marriage of his father King Edward III to Philippa of Hainault:

• Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince (1330 – 1376), married Joan, 4th Countess of Kent, had two sons, only the future King Richard II survived childhood
• Isabella of England (1332 – 1379) married Enguerrand VII de Coucy, 1st Earl of Bedford, had two daughters
• Joan of England (circa1334 – 1348), died of the plague on the way to marry Pedro of Castile
• William of Hatfield (born and died 1337)
• Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338 – 1368), married (1) Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, had one daughter (2) Violante Visconti, no children
• John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340 – 1399), married (1) Blanche of Lancaster, had seven children including King Henry IV of England (2) Infanta Constance of Castile, had one daughter and one son (3) Katherine Swynford (formerly his mistress), had three sons and one daughter (Note: All monarchs of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom since King Henry IV are descended from John of Gaunt, and most European monarchies are also descended from John. The Houses of Lancaster, York, and Tudor were all descended from John of Gaunt’s children.)
• Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (1341 – 1402), married (1) Infanta Isabella of Castile, had two sons and one daughter (2) Joan Holland, no children
• Blanche of the Tower (born and died March 1342)
• Mary of Waltham (1344 – 1362), married John V, Duke of Brittany, no children
• Margaret of Windsor, Countess of Pembroke (1346 – 1361), married John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, no children
• Thomas of Windsor (1347 – 1348), died of the plague
• William of Windsor (born and died 1348), died of the plague
• Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355 – 1397), married Eleanor de Bohun, had one son and four daughters

In January 1377, the nearly thirteen-year-old John married seventeen-year-old Maud de Percy, the daughter of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy. The marriage was childless and in 1380, Maud obtained an annulment, claiming to have been married to John without her consent. Later in 1377, on April 23, St. George’s Day, John was knighted by his father King Edward III at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, along with John’s ten-year-old nephews, the future King Richard II, and the future King Henry IV, who would usurp the throne from his cousin King Richard II in 1399. On June 17, 1377, four days before his death, King Edward III gave his illegitimate son John his own coat of arms. Upon the death of King Edward III, John’s nephew Richard, the son of the deceased Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.

From 1381 to 1382, Sir John de Southeray took part in the Fernandine Wars, a series of three wars between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile. He accompanied the English military expedition in support of Castile, commanded by his half-brother Edmund of Langley, 1St Duke of York. During the unsuccessful Castilian campaign, John led a contingent of English soldiers. After his troops went unpaid, John incited them to mutiny. Unlike his troops, John was never punished for his actions. John’s death date is uncertain. It is assumed he died in 1383, aged about nineteen. The last mention of Sir John de Southeray in contemporary chronicles is in 1383, when he asked a man named Ralph Basing to pay him a debt.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2022). Alice Perrers, Mistress of Edward III, King of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alice-perrers-mistress-of-edward-iii-king-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Edward III of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iii-of-england/
• John de Southeray. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/John-de-Southeray/6000000003650779410
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). John de Southeray. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Southeray
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). John de Southeray. Wikipedia (French). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Southeray

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Adam FitzRoy’s father King Edward II of England (in red) in a contemporary illustration; Credit – Wikipedia

Born circa 1307, possibly at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Adam FitzRoy was the illegitimate son of King Edward II of England and an unknown mother. His mother could have been one of the ladies or maids of his father’s second wife Margaret of France who was younger than her stepson Edward. Adam was probably born before his father succeeded to the throne in 1307 and certainly before his father married Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV of France, in 1308. Adam’s surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Adam’s paternal grandparents were King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile.

Adam had four royal half-siblings from his father’s marriage with Isabella of France:

• King Edward III of England (1312 – 1377), married Philippa of Hainault, had fourteen children
• John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1316 – 1336), unmarried
• Eleanor of Woodstock (1318 – 1355), married Reinoud II of Guelders, had two children
• Joan of The Tower (1321 – 1362), married King David II of Scotland, no children

Adam is first mentioned in King Edward II’s wardrobe account of 1322: Ade filio domini Regis bastardo (Adam, bastard son of the lord king). Between June 6, 1322 and September 18, 1322, Adam was given a total of thirteen pounds and twenty-two pence to buy himself armatura et alia necessaria (armor and other necessaries) to participate in King Edward II’s campaign in Scotland planned for the autumn of 1322, in the First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328) against the formidable Robert Bruce, King of Scots. Edward II had taken up arms against Robert the Bruce before. In 1314, he attempted to complete his father’s campaign in Scotland. This resulted in a decisive Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn by a smaller army led by Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent by a group of Scottish nobles to the Pope affirming Scottish independence from England.

Statue of Robert the Bruce in Stirling, Scotland; Credit – By Ally Crockford – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28842870

King Edward II assembled an army of about 23,000 men including his illegitimate son Adam who was probably about 15 -17 years old. Edward II and his army reached Edinburgh, Scotland, and plundered Holyrood Abbey. However, Robert the Bruce purposefully avoided battle with Edward II and lured his army inland. With the English army inland, the plans to supply the English army by sea failed and the English ran out of supplies and had to retreat to Newcastle, England. Many English soldiers became ill with dysentery and died. On September 18, 1322, the teenage Adam FitzRoy died, probably from dysentery. On September 30, 1322, Adam was buried at Tynemouth Priory in Tynemouth, England. His father King Edward II was unable to attend the funeral due to the continuation of his Scottish campaign. However, he paid for a silk coverlet with gold thread to cover the body of his son.

The ruins of Tynemouth Priory; Credit – By Agnete – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62804912

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Edward II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-ii-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2017). Robert I, King of Scots (Robert the Bruce). Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/robert-i-king-of-scots-robert-the-bruce/
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2021). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia (French). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). Фицрой, Адам. Wikipedia (Russian). https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9,_%D0%90%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BC
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Tynemouth Castle and Priory. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tynemouth_Castle_and_Priory

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Richard FitzRoy’s father King John of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Richard FitzRoy, born circa 1185/1186, was the illegitimate son of King John of England and Ela de Warenne. His surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Richard was also called Richard de Chilham and Richard de Dover. His paternal grandparents were King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard’s maternal grandparents were Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey, one of the wealthiest heiresses in England.

Richard’s maternal grandfather Hamelin de Warenne, originally Hamelin of Anjou, was the illegitimate son of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou who was married to Empress Matilda, Lady of the English, the only surviving child of King Henry I of England. Geoffrey and Matilda were the parents of King Henry II of England so therefore Hamelin was the elder half-brother of King Henry II, and the uncle to Henry II’s children including King Richard I and King John.

Richard’s royal half-siblings (l to r) Henry, Richard, Isabella, Eleanor, and Joan; Credit – Wikipedia

King John had several long-term mistresses and around twelve illegitimate children, Richard’s half-siblings. Richard had five royal half-siblings from his father’s marriage to Isabella of Angoulême, Countess of Angoulême in her own right:

• King Henry III of England (1207 – 1272), married Eleanor of Provence, had five children including King Edward I of England
• Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans (1209 – 1272), married (1) Isabel Marshal, had three sons and a daughter, only one son survived childhood, Isabel died in childbirth (2) Sanchia of Provence, had two sons, only one son survived childhood (3) Beatrice of Falkenburg, no children
• Joan of England (1210 – 1238), married Alexander II, King of Scots, no children
• Isabella of England (1214 – 1241), married Friedrich II, Holy Roman Emperor, had at least four children
• Eleanor of England (1215 – 1275), married (1) William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, no children (2) Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, had seven children

Before May 11, 1214, Richard married Rohese de Dover, the only child and heiress of Fulbert II de Dover and Isabel de Briwere of Devon. Through his marriage, Richard received Chilham Castle in Chilham, Kent, England and about a dozen fiefs in Kent and Essex, and became 1st Baron of Chilham.

Richard and Rohese had three children:

• Richard de Dover, Baron of Chilham (circa 1220 – 1270) married Matilda, 6th Countess of Angus, had two children
• Isabella de Dover (circa 1225 – 1276), married Sir Maurice de Berkeley, had eight children
• Lorette de Dover (circa 1228 – 1275), married (first wife) Sir William Marmion, 2nd Baron Marmion, had one son

Battle of Sandwich, showing the capture of the French flagship & the killing of Eustace the Monk; Credit – Wikipedia

During the First Barons’ War (1215 – 1217), when a group of barons, with the support of King Philippe II of France, rebelled against Richard’s father King John of England, Richard supported his father as one of the commanders of the royal army. On August 24, 1217, during the naval Battle of Sandwich, Richard, in command of a ship, attacked and captured the French flagship and personally killed Eustace the Monk, the commander of the French fleet. Richard’s father King John died on October 19, 1216, and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son King Henry III of England. The First Barons’ War continued after King John’s death, but the great William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who served four English kings – Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III – managed to get most barons to switch sides from working with France to the new King Henry III and attacking the French.

Richard was the constable of several castles including the important Wallingford Castle in Berkshire, England, and served as Sheriff of Berkshire. He took part in the Fifth Crusade during the successful Siege of Damietta (1218 – 1219) in Egypt and then returned to England. In 1223, Richard accompanied his half-brother King Henry III on a campaign in Wales, and in 1225 he accompanied Alexander II, King of Scots, who was married to his half-sister Joan of England, on his pilgrimage to Canterbury.

In May 1230, King Henry III organized a campaign attempting to regain some of the Norman and Angevin French ancestral territories that his father had lost, and Richard accompanied his half-brother. The campaign did not go well. Henry III made a truce with King Louis X of France and returned to England having achieved nothing but a costly fiasco. After that, Richard had a career in royal service, mostly in command of castles on the Welsh border.

St. Mary’s Church and Churchyard in Chilham, Kent, England; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Richard FitzRoy, died before June 24, 1246, aged around sixty, at Chilham Castle in Chilham, Kent, England. All that is left of the Norman castle is the keep. A manor house, also called Chilham Castle, was built on the property in 1616 and still exists. It is thought that Richard was buried at St. Mary’s Churchyard in Chilham, Kent, England.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King John of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-john-of-england/
• Richard Fitzroy (1186-1246) – Find a Grave… Find a Grave. (n.d.). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157307212/richard-fitzroy
• Richard Fitzroy, Baron of Chilham. geni_family_tree. (2023, August 13). https://www.geni.com/people/Richard-fitzRoy-Baron-of-Chilham/6000000013116383679
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Richard Fitzroy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_FitzRoy
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Ричард Фицрой, 1-й барон Чилхем. Wikipedia (Russian). https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%A4%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9,_1-%D0%B9_%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A7%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BC

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Drawing of William Longespée from his effigy in Salisbury Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Born circa 1176, William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury was the illegitimate son of King Henry II of England and his former royal ward and then mistress Ida de Tosny. His surname Longespée probably refers to William’s height and the oversized weapons he used. William’s paternal grandparents were Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine and Empress Matilda, Lady of the English, the only surviving legitimate child of King Henry I of England. His maternal grandparents were Ralph de Tosny, V, Lord of Flamstead (in Hertfordshire, England) and Margaret de Beaumont. Henry II had several long-term mistresses and around twelve illegitimate children, William’s half-siblings.

13th-century depiction of William’s royal half-siblings, (l to r) William, Young Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John; Credit – Wikipedia

William had eight royal half-siblings from his father’s marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine:

• William IX, Count of Poitiers (1153 – 1156), died in childhood
• Henry the Young King (1155 – 1183), married Marguerite of France, no children
• Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria (1156 – 1189), married Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had five children, including Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
• King Richard I of England (1157 – 1199), married Berengaria of Navarre, no children
• Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1158 – 1186), married Constance, Duchess of Brittany, had three children
• Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile (1162 – 1214), married King Alfonso VIII of Castile, had twelve children including King Enrique I of Castile; Berengaria, Queen Regnant of Castile and Queen of León; Urraca, Queen of Portugal; Blanche, Queen of France, and Eleanor, Queen of Aragon
• Joan of England, Queen of Sicily (1165 – 1199), married (1) King William II of Sicily, no surviving children (2) Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, had two children, Joan died in childbirth with her third child who also died
• King John of England (1166 – 1216), married 1) Isabella, 3rd Countess of Gloucester, marriage annulled, no children (2) Isabella, Countess of Angoulême; had five children, including King Henry III of England; Joan of England, Queen of Scots, and Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

William’s mother Ida de Tosny married Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and the couple had at least eight children, William’s half-siblings:

• Margery Bigod (1174 – 1237), married William de Hastings, Steward to King Henry II, had at least two children
• Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk (circa 1182 – 1225), married Maud Marshal, had four children
• Mary Bigod (1188 – 1237), married Ranulf FitzRobert, 4th Lord Middleham and Spennithorne, had at least one son
• William Bigod (circa 1188 – ?), married Margaret de Sutton
• Roger Bigod (1198 – 1230)
• Ralph Bigod (circa 1201 – circa 1214), died in childhood
• John Bigod
• Ida Bigod

William’s father King Henry II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King Henry II acknowledged William as his son but little is known about William’s childhood. According to William’s own statements, he grew up at times with Hubert de Burgh, later Earl of Kent and Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John and his son and successor King Henry III. In 1188, when William came of age, his father gave him the town of Appleby in Lincolnshire, England.

In 1196, William married a great heiress Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury, the only child of William FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, and Eléonore de Vitré. Earlier in 1196, Ela’s father had died and she succeeded to the title of her father as 3rd Countess of Salisbury in her own right. After the marriage, William became the 3rd Earl of Salisbury by Jure uxoris, by right of his wife. Because Ela was only eleven years old, the couple did not have children for several years.

William and Ela had at least nine children:

• Ida Longespée (circa 1205 – 1269), married (1) Ralph de Somery of Dudley, no children (2) William de Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford, had seven children
• Isabella Longespée (circa 1208 – 1268), married William de Vesci, no children
• William Longespée the Younger (circa 1209 – 1250), married Idoine de Camville, had four children, killed during the 7th Crusade
• Mary Longespée (1209 – 1262), married Sir Robert de Ros, 1st Baron Warke, had five children
• Petronella Longespée (1209 – ?), a nun
• Richard Longespée (circa 1214 – ?), Clerk and Canon at Salisbury Cathedral
• Stephen Longespée, Seneschal of Gascony and Justiciar of Ireland (circa 1216 – 1260), married Emmeline de Riddlesford, had two daughters
• Ela Longespée (circa 1217 – 1298), married (1) Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick, no children; married (2) Philip Basset, no children
• Nicholas Longespée, Bishop of Salisbury (circa 1218 – 1297)

Effigy of William’s half-brother King Richard I; By Adam Bishop – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17048652

William participated in the campaigns (1193 – 1198) of his half-brother King Richard I of England in the Duchy of Normandy (now in France) to recover the land seized by King Philippe II of France while Richard was participating in the Third Crusade. William was closest in age to King John, the youngest of his father’s legitimate children, who succeeded to the English throne in 1199. During King John’s reign, William was at court on important ceremonial occasions and held several positions: High Sheriff of Wiltshire, Lieutenant of Gascony, Constable of Dover, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Warden of the Welsh Marches, and Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.

Effigy of William’s half-brother King John; Credit – Wikipedia

William was a commander during the 1210 – 1212 Welsh and Irish campaigns of his half-brother King John of England and participated in the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. In 1213, he led the English fleet in the Battle of Damme in which the English seized or destroyed a good portion of the French fleet. On July 27, 1214, William commanded the right flank of an English coalition army against France at the Battle of Bouvines, the last battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. The battle ended in defeat for the English coalition and capture for William when the priest-soldier Philippe de Dreux, Bishop of Beauvais threw a mace at his head. William was unhorsed and taken prisoner and the English soldiers fled. Because of the resounding French victory, all the Norman and Angevin French ancestral territories, Normandy, Maine, Touraine, Anjou, and Poitou, were lost forever to the English crown.

While King John was trying to save his French territories, his discontented English barons led by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, were protesting John’s continued misgovernment of England. The result of this discontent was the best-known event of John’s reign, the Magna Carta, the “great charter” of English liberties, forced from King John by the English barons and sealed at Runnymede near Windsor Castle on June 15, 1215. Among the liberties were the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown.

William had returned to England during King John’s troubles with the English barons and was one of the few barons who was loyal to John. Infuriated by being forced to agree to the Magna Carta, John turned to Pope Innocent III, who declared the Magna Carta null and void and the rebel barons excommunicated. The conflict between John and the barons was transformed into an open civil war, the First Barons’ War (1215 – 1217). William was one of the leaders of King John’s army in the south of England. However, the rebel barons appealed to King Philippe II of France, and offered his son, the future King Louis VIII of France, the English crown. After Louis of France landed in England as an ally of the rebel barons, William went over to the rebel side because he thought John’s cause was lost.

William’s half-brother King John died of dysentery on October 19, 1216. He was succeeded by his nine-year-old son King Henry III of England. The First Barons’ War continued after King John’s death, but the great William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who served four English kings – Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III – managed to get most barons to switch sides from Louis of France to the new King Henry III and attack Louis. The Magna Carta was reissued in King Henry III’s name with some of the clauses omitted and was sealed by the nine-year-old king’s regent William Marshal. William Longespée supported his nephew King Henry III and held an influential place in the government during the young king’s minority.

William’s tomb in Salisbury Cathedral; Credit – By Bernard Gagnon – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7140363

In 1225, returning to England from Gascony (now in France), William was shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany (now in France). He spent several months in a monastery on the French island of Île de Ré.  Shortly after returning to England, William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, aged about fifty, died on March 7, 1226, at his home, Salisbury Castle in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England which was part of Old Sarum and no longer exists. He was buried at Salisbury Cathedral where he had laid the foundation stones in 1220.

William’s wife Ela never remarried. Three years after William’s death, Ela founded Lacock Abbey in Lacock, Wiltshire, England. In 1238, she entered Lacock Abbey as a nun and was Abbess from 1240 – 1257. Ela survived her husband William by thirty-five years, dying on August 24, 1261, aged about seventy-three, and was buried in Lacock Abbey.

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Works Cited

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