by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan was born on August 7, 1282, at Rhuddlan Castle in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. The castle was built by her father King Edward I of England in 1277, following the First Welsh War. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so Elizabeth was called “of Rhuddlan”. Elizabeth was the tenth but the fifth surviving daughter and the thirteenth or fourteenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Elizabeth’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Elizabeth listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married Jean II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1278 – 1332), a nun at Amesbury Priory in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

In November 1290, when Elizabeth was eight-years-old, her mother Eleanor of Castile died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Elizabeth had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

In 1285, three-year-old Elizabeth was betrothed to an infant, the future John I, Count of Holland (1284 – 1299). Soon after this, the infant John was sent to England to be raised and educated at King Edward I’s court. In 1296, John’s father Floris V, Count of Holland was murdered, and John became Count of Holland.

On January 7, 1297, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth and twelve-year-old John were married at St. Peter’s Church in Ipswich, England. John I, Count of Holland was allowed to return to Holland at the end of January 1297, but Elizabeth remained in England and did not join her husband in Holland until November 1297. On November 10, 1299, childless and only fifteen years old, John I, Count of Holland died from dysentery although there were suspicions he was murdered. Now a widow, 17-year-old Elizabeth returned to England, stopping to visit her sister Margaret in the Duchy of Brabant on the way. When Elizabeth arrived in England, she first met her stepmother Margaret, who had married Elizabeth’s father King Edward I while Elizabeth was in Holland. Margaret and Elizabeth became close friends, and Elizabeth’s first child was named after her.

Elizabeth settled at her father’s court. She had probably met 24-year-old Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Constable of England in the late 1280s, but they became reacquainted at court. By 1302, plans were being arranged for Elizabeth and Humphrey to marry. On November 14, 1302, Elizabeth and Humphrey were married at Westminster Abbey in London, England. After her marriage, Elizabeth continued to live at the royal court. She did not move to her husband’s estates until the death of her father King Edward I and the accession of her brother King Edward II in 1307.

Elizabeth and Humphrey had ten children

• Margaret de Bohun (1302 – 1304), died in early childhood
• Humphrey de Bohun (1303 – 1304), died in infancy
• Eleanor de Bohun (1304 – 1363), married (1) James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond, had three children (2) Sir Thomas de Dagworth, had one daughter
• John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (1306 – 1336), married (1) Alice FitzAlan, no children (2) Margaret Basset, no children
• Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford (1309 – 1361), unmarried
• Margaret de Bohun (1311 – 1391), married Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, had seventeen children
• William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton (1312 – 1360), twin of Edward, married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, had two children
• Edward de Bohun (1312 – 1334), twin of William, married Margaret de Ros, no children; during a military campaign in Scotland, Edward tried to save a soldier who had fallen into a river, but drowned
• Eneas de Bohun, (1314 – after 1322), died in childhood
• Isabel de Bohun (born and died 1316), both Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella died shortly after birth

Humphrey was imprisoned after the English defeat by the Scots at the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn. Humphrey had fought Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots in single combat but was forced to concede. Humphrey was ransomed by his brother-in-law King Edward II. He was traded for Robert the Bruce’s second wife Elizabeth de Burgh, Queen of Scots and his daughter from his first marriage Marjorie Bruce, who had both been imprisoned by the English for eight years.

Elizabeth and especially her husband Humphrey had issues with King Edward II’s relationship with his favorite Piers Gaveston, bluntly called a traitor by Humphrey. This caused years of estrangement between Elizabeth and her brother King Edward II. They were finally reconciled in 1315, three years after Gaveston’s murder by English nobles who had had enough of him. Elizabeth spent Christmas of 1315 with her brother King Edward II and his wife Isabella of France.

After the 1315 Christmas celebrations, Elizabeth settled at her husband’s estate in Quendon, Essex, England to await the birth of her tenth child. She gave birth on May 5, 1316, to a daughter named Isabella in honor of the Queen. Sadly, 33-year-old Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella both died the same day. Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella were interred at Waltham Abbey Church in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England.

Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford survived Elizabeth by six years. He was brutally killed in battle, leading an attempt to storm a bridge, on March 16, 1322, aged 46, at the Battle of Boroughbridge during the Despenser War (1321 -1322), a revolt by nobles against King Edward II of England led by Humphrey and Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, 1st Earl of March. Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford was buried at the York Dominican Friary in North Yorkshire, 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

• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Rhuddlan (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Елизавета Рудланская (2021) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 November 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 November 2022].
• Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_de_Bohun,_4th_Earl_of_Hereford (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• John I, Count of Holland (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_I,_Count_of_Holland (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Destined to be a nun, Mary of Woodstock was born at Woodstock Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, on March 11, 1278. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so Mary was called “of Woodstock”. Mary was the ninth but the fourth surviving daughter and the twelfth or thirteenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Mary’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Mary listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married Jean II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

Mary’s paternal grandmother Eleanor of Provence, Queen of England, the widow of King Henry III, intended to retire to Amesbury Priory, a Benedictine monastery in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. Amesbury Priory was a religious community with a nunnery of more than seventy nuns, mostly from noble families, and a monastery with about twenty-five men, serving as priests or monks. Eleanor of Provence suggested that two of her granddaughters keep her company and devote their lives to God by becoming Benedictine nuns. Mary, the eldest daughter of King Edward I who was not yet betrothed in marriage, and her cousin Eleanor of Brittany, daughter of Eleanor of Provence’s daughter Beatrice of England and Jean II, Duke of Brittany were selected. Mary’s mother Eleanor of Castile was strongly against her young daughter being sent off to become a nun. However, King Edward I sided with his mother, and with great reluctance, Eleanor of Castile agreed.

Eleanor of Brittany, three years older than Mary, entered Amesbury Priory in 1281, and her cousin Mary entered in 1285. In August 1285, on the Feast of the Assumption, seven-year-old Mary and thirteen daughters of English nobles were consecrated as future nuns. Mary was formally veiled as a nun in December 1291 when she was thirteen years old. King Edward I and his wife Queen Eleanor visited their daughter Mary in 1286, 1289, and 1290. In 1291, King Edward I visited three times: in February 1291, for the burial of his mother Eleanor of Provence, in September 1291, and again in December 1291 when Mary took her vows as a nun.

Mary lived in comfort in private quarters at Amesbury Priory. In the early 1280s, Mary’s grandmother Eleanor of Provence built a suite of rooms at the priory where she would live with her two granddaughters in a style befitting royalty. Eleanor of Provence arrived at Amesbury Priory in 1286 and lived there until she died in 1291 when she was buried at the priory. By order of her father, during the rest of her life, Mary received an extremely generous allowance, double the amount needed to provide entire households for two knights. She also received a double quota of clothing and a special right to wine from the Southampton docks.

In November 1290, Eleanor of Castile, Mary’s mother died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Mary had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

Despite living in a style that befitted a princess, Mary followed the daily routine of a nun,  communal prayer throughout the day and night, private religious reflection, and silence during the day. Although nuns were not allowed to leave their convents except for necessary business, Mary, as the king’s daughter, was an exception. She was allowed to leave Amesbury Priory to visit her family and go on pilgrimages. On several occasions, Mary was enlisted by the priory’s abbess to represent the priory in negotiations with her father.

Mary died on May 29, 1332, aged 54, and was buried in Amesbury Priory church near her grandmother Eleanor of Provence but all the graves and tombs have been lost. Amesbury Priory was disbanded and the priory church was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 during the reign of King Henry VIII. The priory and its land were then granted to Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset, the brother of Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII’s third wife. Some priory buildings were destroyed and others were reused to form a house for the Seymours. The house was rebuilt in 1660 – and 1661 and became known as Amesbury Abbey.

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, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 22 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 22 October 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Mary of Woodstock (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Woodstock (Accessed: October 22, 2022).
• Мария Вудстокская (2021) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D1%83%D0%B4%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: October 22, 2022).
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Born on March 15, 1275, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Margaret of England was the sixth but the third surviving daughter and the tenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Margaret’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Margaret’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Margaret listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Margaret’s sister Joan was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade, and was called Joan of Acre.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

Margaret’s parents Edward and Eleanor had a loving marriage and were inseparable throughout their married life. King Edward I is one of the few English kings of this time period to apparently be faithful to his wife. Eleanor accompanied her husband on crusade and other military campaigns. Because her parents were often away, Margaret lived with her siblings in her own household at the royal court.

At an early age, Margaret’s father betrothed her to the future Jean II, Duke of Brabant, the son of Jean I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. The Duchy of Brabant consisted of much of present-day Belgium and part of present-day the Netherlands. Today, the title of Duke or Duchess of Brabant is the title of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. On July 8, 1290, at Westminster Abbey in London, England, Margaret and Jean, both fourteen years old, were married. For two years after their marriage, Margaret and Jean lived in England. In 1292, they settled in the Duchy of Brabant. Margaret was unhappy at the Brabant court and unhappy in her marriage. She was forced to accept her husband’s mistresses and their illegitimate children who were raised at court along with Margaret’s only child.

Margaret and Jean had one son:

• Jean III, Duke of Brabant (1300 – 1355), married Marie d’Évreux, had six children

Four months after her marriage, Margaret’s mother Eleanor of Castile died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Margaret had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

On May 3, 1294, Jean I, Duke of Brabant, Margaret’s father-in-law was seriously wounded in a jousting tournament and died. He was succeeded by his son as Jean II, Duke of Brabant and Margaret became Duchess of Brabant. In 1307, Margaret’s father King Edward I of England died and was succeeded by Margaret’s younger brother King Edward II. In January 1308, Margaret and her husband traveled to Boulogne, France where King Edward II married Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre in her own right. Margaret and Jean also attended King Edward II’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on February 25, 1308.

In 1311, Margaret’s husband Jean II, Duke of Brabant became ill. Because of his illness, Jean II wanted to ensure peace with France so that his son would have a peaceful transition of power. Jean II arranged a marriage for his eleven-year-old son to eight-year-old Marie of Évreux, the granddaughter of King Philippe III of France, and the niece of King Philippe IV, the current King of France. The young couple was married in 1311. Exactly one month after signing the Charter of Kortenberg, basically a constitution for the Duchy of Brabant that provided among other things, a representative council, Margaret’s husband Jean II, Duke of Brabant died, aged 37, on October 27, 1312, in Tervuren, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium. He was interred at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium.

Margaret saw the birth of all her grandchildren, including Jeanne, Duchess of Brabant, who succeeded her father Jean III, Duke of Brabant in 1355 due to the deaths of all her brothers. Margaret’s exact death date is unknown. She died most likely in the Duchy of Brabant, sometime after March 11, 1333. On that date, fifty-eight-year-old Margaret sent a letter to her nephew King Edward III of England. After March 11, 1333, her name disappears from the historical record. Margaret was interred with her husband at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium but where they were buried in the cathedral is now unknown.

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. John III, Duke of Brabant – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_III,_Duke_of_Brabant> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_England,_Duchess_of_Brabant> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Marguerite d’Angleterre (1275-1333) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_d%27Angleterre_(1275-1333)> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Jean II de Brabant — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_de_Brabant> [Accessed 15 October 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

If Alfonso had survived his father Edward I, King of England, England would have had a King Alfonso. Alfonso, Earl of Chester was born on November 24, 1273, in Bayonne, Duchy of Gascony, now in France. His parents were taking a break in the Duchy of Gascony before returning to England, which they had left in 1270 to participate in the 9th Crusade or Lord Edward’s Crusade in the Holy Land. Alfonso was named for his mother’s half-brother King Alfonso X of Castile and León. Queen Eleanor persuaded her half-brother to come to Gascony to serve as godfather at Alfonso’s baptism. Alfonso’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Alfonso was the third son and the ninth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. At the time of his birth, Alfonso was the second surviving son as his eldest brother John had died in 1271. In 1274, Alfonso’s elder brother Henry died, leaving Alfonso as the only son of King Edward I. He was the heir apparent to the English throne throughout his short life. There is no evidence that Alfonso was formally created Earl of Chester, although he was styled as Earl of Chester.

Alfonso’s parents had 14 – 16 children but only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Alfonso listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Alfonso’s sister Joan was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on crusade and was called Joan of Acre.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married John II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

Alfonso’s parents Edward and Eleanor had a loving marriage and were inseparable throughout their married life. King Edward I is one of the few English kings of this time period to apparently be faithful to his wife. Eleanor accompanied her husband on crusade and other military campaigns. Because his parents were often away, Alfonso had his own household. In 1281, Alfonso was betrothed to Margaret of Holland, the daughter of Floris V, Count of Holland and Beatrice of Flanders.

South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Alfonso is buried

On August 19, 1284, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Alfonso died at the age of ten. He was interred in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict, to the right of the main altar at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Alfonso’s fiancée Margaret died the following year. On April 25, 1284, four months before Alfonso’s death, Queen Eleanor gave birth to her last child, a son, the future King Edward II who succeeded his father King Edward in 1307.

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Alphonso, Earl of Chester – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso,_Earl_of_Chester> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Alphonse d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Альфонсо, граф Честер — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BE,_%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84_%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Joan of Acre (also called Joanna) was born in April 1272, in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem, now in Israel, while her parents were on the 9th Crusade or Lord Edward’s Crusade in the Holy Land. She was the fifth but the second surviving daughter and the seventh but the second surviving of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Joan’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Joan listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Joan was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade, and was called Joan of Acre.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married John II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

When Joan was born, her paternal grandfather King Henry III was still alive. In September 1272, Edward, Eleanor, and their five-month-old daughter Joan left Acre. Arriving in Sicily, Edward received the news that his father had died on November 16, 1272, and that he was King of England. Joan was left in the County of Ponthieu (now in France) to be raised by Eleanor’s mother Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right. In 1279, Joan was sent to England after the death of her grandmother who had treated Joan so indulgently that her parents found that she was completely spoiled.

When Joan arrived in England, her father King Edward I was already planning her marriage to Hartmann of Habsburg, a son of Rudolf I, King of Germany. Through the marriage, Edward and Rudolf wanted to resume the traditional alliance of their two kingdoms against the Kingdom of France. However, the marriage of Joan and Hartmann never took place. Hartmann drowned when his ship crashed into a rock while sailing on the Rhine River in 1281.

King Edward I arranged another marriage for Joan with Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, and probably the most powerful English baron. Gilbert was twenty-nine years older than Joan and had been previously married to Alice de Lusignan, the half-niece of King Henry III, but the marriage was annulled in 1285, although the couple had lived apart for years. Gilbert had supported King Edward I in the Second Barons War and had been the Regent of England between the death of King Henry III and King Edward I’s return from the Holy Land. Because Gilbert was a powerful baron, King Edward I sought to bind Gilbert and his assets to the Crown. According to the marriage contract, their joint possessions and Gilbert’s extensive lands could only be inherited by a direct descendant. If the marriage was childless, the lands would pass to any children Joan may have from another marriage. On April 30, 1290, 18-year-old Joan of Acre married 47-year-old Gilbert de Clare.

Joan and Gilbert had four children:

• Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford (1291 – 1314), married Maud de Burgh, no children, died at the Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland
• Eleanor de Clare (1292 – 1337), married (1) Hugh Despenser the Younger, a favorite of her uncle King Edward II, had nine children, Hugh was executed in 1326 (2) William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche of Mortimer, had one son
• Margaret de Clare (1293 – 1342) married (1) Piers Gaveston, a favorite of her uncle King Edward II, had one daughter, Piers was executed in 1312 (2) Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester, 1st Baron Audley, had one daughter
• Elizabeth de Clare (1295 – 1360) married (1) John de Burgh, had one son (2) Theobald of Verdun, 2nd Baron Verdun, had one daughter (3) Roger d’Amory, Lord d’Amory, Baron d’Amory, had one daughter

When Joan’s mother Eleanor of Castile died in 1290, only six of her children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and only six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Joan had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

Joan and Gilbert lived mostly away from the royal court which displeased Joan’s father King Edward I. The couple’s marriage lasted only five years. Gilbert died on December 7, 1295, aged 52, at Monmouth Castle in Wales and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, England. After the death of Gilbert, the de Clare lands came to Joan who took the vassal oath to her father for the lands.

Joan was only twenty-three when Gilbert died and she fell in love with Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in the service of the de Clare family. After Joan persuaded her father to knight Ralph, they secretly married in 1297. King Edward I had arranged a third marriage for Joan to Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, and had even set a wedding date. After Joan confessed to her father that she was secretly married, King Edward I had Ralph arrested and imprisoned at Bristol Castle. Because of the intervention of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, King Edward I relented and released Ralph from prison. On August 2, 1297, Ralph took the vassal oath to King Edward I as Earl of Gloucester and Earl Hertford by right of wife (jure uxoris). He managed to win the favor of his father-in-law and keep it until the end of King Edward I’s reign.

Joan and Ralph had four children:

• Mary de Monthermer (1297 – circa 1371), married Duncan Macduff, 8th Earl of Fife, had one daughter
• Joan de Monthermer (1299 – ?), became a nun at Amesbury Priory
• Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron Monthermer (1301 – 1340), married Margaret de Brewes, had one daughter, died at the Battle of Sluys
• Edward de Monthermer (1304 – 1339)

Ralph took an active part in King Edward I’s Scottish Wars. He fought at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298 when the English defeated William Wallace and also took part in the campaigns of 1301, 1303, 1304, and 1306. For his service, King Edward I awarded Ralph with the Scottish title of Earl of Atholl, confiscated from John Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Atholl.

Joan died on April 23, 1307, at Clare Castle in Clare, Suffolk, England at the age of 35. She was buried at Clare Priory in Clare, Suffolk, England, established in 1248 by Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, the father of Joan’s first husband. The cause of Joan’s death is unknown, but possibly she died during childbirth, a common cause of death at the time.

Joan’s widower Ralph de Monthermer married for a second time to Isabella le Despenser, daughter of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester and Isabella de Beauchamp. This was another secret marriage, made without the permission of King Edward II, Joan’s brother, but a year later Edward II forgave his former brother-in-law. Ralph and his second wife had no children. Ralph de Monthermer survived his first wife Joan by eighteen years, dying on April 5, 1325, at the age of fifty-five.

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Alphonso, Earl of Chester – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso,_Earl_of_Chester> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Монтермар, Ральф де, 1-й барон Монтермар — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80,_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84_%D0%B4%D0%B5,_1-%D0%B9_%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Джоанна Акрская — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar was born on June 18, 1269, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, Berkshire, England. She was the third but the eldest surviving daughter and the fifth but the eldest surviving of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Eleanor’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Eleanor below were named and the ones who died in infancy survived for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Edward I’s daughter Joan of Acre was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne who never became king
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married John II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

When Eleanor’s mother died in 1290, only six of her children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and only six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Eleanor had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

In 1270, due to the departure of her parents for the Ninth Crusade, Eleanor, her brother Henry, and her first cousin John of Brittany (the son of Eleanor’s paternal aunt Beatrice) were cared for at Windsor Castle by their grandmother Eleanor of Provence. During the absence of her parents, Eleanor’s grandfather King Henry III of England died on November 16, 1272, and her father succeeded to the English throne as King Edward I. Eleanor remained very close to her brother Henry until his premature death in October 1274. Because Eleanor’s parents had left England when she was only a year old, she was much closer to her grandmother Eleanor of Provence. Eleanor did not see her parents again until their return from the crusade in August 1274.

In 1273, when Eleanor was only four years old, her father King Edward I betrothed her to the future Alfonso III, King of Aragon who was eight years old, hoping to form an anti-France alliance. In 1281, Alfonso’s father King Pedro III of Aragon asked King Edward I to send him Eleanor so that she could be raised in Aragon but Edward wanted to wait another year before sending his daughter to Aragon. However, in 1282, a war broke out between Aragon and Naples over Sicily, and King Philippe III of France and Pope Martin IV were on the side of Naples. King Edward I decided it would be a bad foreign policy move to send his daughter to Aragon at that time. In 1285, Alfonso became King of Aragon, and five years later, when King Edward I felt that it was a reasonable time, Eleanor and Alfonso III, King of Aragon were married by proxy at Westminster Abbey on August 15, 1290. However, the marriage was never consummated. On June 18, 1291, before Eleanor left for her in-person wedding in Aragon, Alfonso died from an infection.

Deprived of the alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon, Edward I immediately began a search for a new groom for his eldest daughter. He chose Henri III, Count of Bar. Henri was ten years older than Eleanor and the son of Thiébaut II, Count of Bar and Jeanne de Toucy. The Duchy of Bar was a sovereign state located in what is now northeast France. An alliance with Henri against King Philippe IV of France could provide a significant military advantage. Eleanor married Henri III, Count of Bar on September 20, 1293, in Bristol, England.

Eleanor and Henri III, Count of Bar had one son and one daughter:

• Edward I, Count of Bar (circa 1295 – 1336), married Marie of Burgundy, had three children; Edward and other rulers from the Holy Roman Empire, intending to make a crusade, landed on the island of Cyprus. They either died in a shipwreck or something went wrong, and the people of Famagusta, Cyprus killed them.
• Joan of Bar, Countess of Surrey (circa 1296 – 1361), married John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, no children

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Eleanor is buried

Eleanor and Henri’s marriage lasted a little less than five years. On August 29, 1298, 29-year-old Eleanor died in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, of unknown causes. Possibly, she died in childbirth (along with the baby), which at the end of the 13th century was a frequent cause of the premature death of women. Her father King Edward I had Eleanor’s remains returned to England, where she was buried on October 12, 1289, in Westminster Abbey in London, England in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict.

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Countess_of_Bar> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Aliénor d’Angleterre (1269-1298) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali%C3%A9nor_d%27Angleterre_(1269-1298)> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Henri III de Bar — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_III_de_Bar> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Born on November 25, 1253, at the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England, Katherine was the youngest of the five children and the third of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. She was given the name Katherine because she was born on the feast day of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. Her paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy were Katherine’s maternal grandparents.

Katherine had four elder siblings:

• King Edward I of England (1239 – 1307), married (1) Eleanor of Castile, had fourteen children  (2) Margaret of France, had three children
• Margaret of England (1240 – 1275), married Alexander III, King of Scots, had three children
• Beatrice of England (1242 – 1275), married John II, Duke of Brittany, had six children
• Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (1245–1296), married (1) Aveline de Forz, no children (2) Blanche of Artois, had three children

On January 5, 1254, a large banquet was held to celebrate Katherine’s birth. Katherine was baptized by her mother’s maternal uncle Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury who was also her godfather. Within months of her birth, Katherine’s mother Eleanor of Provence had to leave England to join her husband King Henry III for a short while in the Duchy of Gascony, then a possession of the King of England, now in France. Katherine was left at Windsor Castle in the care of her governess Lady Emma le Despencer, the wife of Geoffrey le Despencer, Lord of Martley from one of the great noble families of England, and two wet nurses Agnes and Avisa. There was always a circle of trusted men and women to care for young Katherine when her parents could not be in her company.

The description by 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris that Katherine was “‘mute and useless
though with a most beautiful face” has often been interpreted that she had an intellectual disability or degenerative disease. However, it may indicate that Katherine merely had a stammer or some other speech impediment. There is much disagreement on what disease or disability Katherine may have had, or if she had one at all. Contemporary evidence suggests that the reaction of Katherine’s parents to her illnesses followed a similar reaction to the illnesses of her siblings and that Katherine was treated no differently than her siblings, suggesting that there were no serious or long-term health concerns.

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Katherine is buried

Katherine did have some kind of illness during the spring of 1257, that resulted in her death on May 3, 1257, when she was three and a half years old. Her parents King Henry III and Queen Eleanor deeply mourned her death and were emotionally distraught. Katherine was buried in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict, to the right of the main altar at Westminster Abbey in London, England. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter’s Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church, the first Westminster Abbey. Construction of the second and present church began in 1245 by Katherine’s father King Henry III who selected the site for his burial.

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

• Armstrong, Abigail Sophie, 2018. The Daughters of Henry III. Ph.D. dissertation. Canterbury Christ Church University.
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Katherine of England – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_of_England> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Catherine d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Henry III of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Born on June 25, 1242, in Bordeaux, Duchy of Aquitaine, now in France, Beatrice of England was the third of the five children and the second of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. At the time of Beatrice’s birth, the Duke of Aquitaine was one of the titles and the Duchy of Aquitaine was one of the possessions of the King of England. Beatrice’s paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and her namesake Beatrice of Savoy.

Beatrice had four siblings:

• King Edward I of England (1239 – 1307), married (1) Eleanor of Castile, had fourteen children including his heir King Edward II (2) Margaret of France, had three children
• Margaret of England (1240 – 1275), married Alexander III, King of Scots, had three children
• Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (1245–1296), married (1) Aveline de Forz, no issue (2) Blanche of Artois, had three children
• Katherine of England  (1253 – 1257), died in childhood

King Henry III and Queen Eleanor had a happy marriage, and Beatrice grew up in a loving family and was close to her siblings. There were concerns about the health of Beatrice’s elder brother and heir to the throne the future King Edward I.  As a child, Edward was very seriously ill in 1246, 1247, and 1251 but recovered. The death of Beatrice’s youngest sibling Katherine caused her parents overwhelming grief. Many of Queen Eleanor’s maternal Savoy relatives had come to the English court causing the English to be unhappy with King Henry III due to the influence that Eleanor and her Savoy relatives exercised on the monarchy, and the barons demanded more power. This situation created many problems for Henry III and his family.

On June 22, 1260, at the Basilica of Saint Denis in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Kingdom of France, Beatrice married John of Dreux. John was the eldest son of John I, Duke of Brittany and Infanta Blanche of Navarre, daughter of King Theobald I of Navarre. The marriage helped to forge an alliance with France. In 1268, King Henry III granted the title Earl of Richmond to John I, Duke of Brittany as an enticement when tensions rose with France. However, John I soon transferred the title of Earl of Richmond to his son and heir John of Dreux, who also became John II, Duke of Brittany upon his father’s death in 1286. John of Dreux became Duke of Brittany after the death of Beatrice so she never became the Duchess of Brittany.

Beatrice and John had six children:

• Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1261 – 1312), married (1) Marie, Viscountess of Limoges, had three children (2) Yolande of Dreux, Countess of Montfort, had six children
• John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (1266 – 1334), unmarried
• Marie of Brittany (1268 – 1339), married Guy IV of Châtillon, Count of Saint-Pol, had eight children
• Peter, Viscount of Leon (1269 – 1312), marriage status unknown, because of his debt, Peter was forced to sell the Viscountcy of Leon to his brother Arthur
• Blanche of Brittany (1271 – 1327), married Philip of Artois, had seven children
• Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault (1275 – 1342), a nun

Beatrice died on March 24, 1275, aged 32, in London, England while visiting her brother King Edward I of England. Possibly she died due to childbirth complications as her youngest child Eleanor was born in London in 1275. Beatrice was buried at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich, London which was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Her heart was interred at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon, in the Duchy of Anjou, now in France.

Beatrice’s husband John II, Duke of Brittany never remarried. He survived Beatrice by thirty years. In November 1305, John traveled to Lyon, now in France, then under the rule of the Archbishop of Lyon, to attend the coronation of Pope Clement V, a native of the Duchy of Aquitaine. During Pope Clement V’s coronation celebrations, John II, Duke of Brittany was leading the Pope’s horse through the crowd. So many spectators had piled on top of the city walls that one of the walls crumbled and collapsed on top of John. He died four days later, on November 18, 1305, aged 66. John II, Duke of Brittany was buried in the Carmelite convent he had founded in Ploërmel, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. After the convent was destroyed during the French Wars of Religion (1562 – 1598), the tomb of John II, Duke of Brittany was moved in 1591 to the Priory of Saint-Nicolas, the new convent of the Carmelites. During the French Revolution (1789 – 1799), the tomb was destroyed and the recumbent effigy was removed. The effigy was later found and in 1820, the recumbent effigy of John III, Duke of Brittany was placed in the Church of Saint-Armel (link in French) in Ploërmel, France.

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Beatrice of England – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_of_England> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. John II, Duke of Brittany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II,_Duke_of_Brittany> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. Isabella of Angoulême, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-angouleme-queen-of-england/> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Henry III of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Béatrice d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9atrice_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Jean II de Bretagne — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_de_Bretagne> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

William IX, Count of Poitiers was the firstborn child of the future Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers in her own right. He would have been King of England had he survived his father. William was born on August 17, 1153, in the County of Poitiers, now part of France, and was styled Count of Poitiers. At the time of William’s birth, his father was known as Henry FitzEmpress and was the Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Nantes, all in present-day France. William’s paternal grandparents were Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, and Matilda of England, known as Empress Matilda, the widow of Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I, King of England. William’s maternal grandparents were his namesake William X, Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Châtellerault.

William had two elder half-sisters from his mother’s annulled first marriage to Louis VII, King of France:

• Marie of France (1145 – 1198), married Henri I, Count of Champagne, had four children
• Alix of France (1151 – 1197/1198), married Theobald V, Count of Blois, had seven children

William had seven younger siblings although he was alive for the birth of only two:

• 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

At the time of William’s birth, his father Henry was involved in a long civil war for the throne of England known as The Anarchy (1135 – 1153) between Empress Matilda (Henry FitzEmpress’ mother and the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I, King of England) and her first cousin Stephen of Blois, King of England since 1135. Stephen unsuccessfully attempted to have his son Eustace, recognized by the Church as the next King of England. By the early 1150s, most of the barons and the Church wanted long-term peace.

Finally, the armies of Henry FitzEmpress and King Stephen of England met at Wallingford in Oxfordshire, England. Pressured by the barons, Stephen called a ceasefire and agreed to a truce, over the objections of his son Eustace. Eustace flew into a rage and plundered church lands of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. On August 17, 1153, Eustace, aged about twenty-three, died suddenly. Various chroniclers of the time attribute Eustace’s death to the wrath of God for plundering church lands, a fever, a fit of madness, or poisoning. Ironically, the death of Eustace, King Stephen’s heir, and the birth of William, Henry FitzEmpress’ firstborn child occurred on the same day.

Shortly after Eustace’s death, King Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress reached a formal agreement known as the Treaty of Wallingford. The treaty allowed Stephen to keep the throne until his death but forced him to recognize Empress Matilda’s son Henry FitzEmpress, as his heir. Henry and Eleanor were finally reunited in Rouen, Duchy of Normandy at Easter in 1154, where Henry met his eight-month-old son William for the first time.

King Stephen survived for a little more than a year after the death of Eustace, dying on October 25, 1154, and a line of fourteen Plantagenet kings who ruled England until 1485 started, with Henry FitzEmpress, now King Henry II of England. In December 1154, Henry and Eleanor, now King and Queen of England, sailed to England from Normandy with their son William, where their coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on December 19, 1154.

On February 28, 1155, Eleanor gave birth to a second son named Henry after his father. In April 1155, Henry II and Eleanor brought their two young sons to Wallingford in Oxfordshire, England to present them to the English barons and clergy, and to command them to swear allegiance to William as his father’s heir and then to Henry as successor in the event of William’s early death.

For centuries, the Dukes of Aquitaine held the Count of Poitiers as a minor title, and so it had passed to Eleanor from her father. However, Eleanor separated the County of Poitiers from the Duchy of Aquitaine and gave the title of Count of Poitiers to her son William, making him the reigning Count of Poitiers as William IX.

In 1156 (date uncertain), William died at Wallingford Castle in Oxfordshire, England, aged two or three. The circumstances of his death are uncertain but some sources say he died from convulsions. William was buried at the feet of his great-grandfather Henry I, King of England at Reading Abbey in Reading, England, which was mostly destroyed during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.

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

• Barber, Richard, 1964. Henry Plantagenet. New York: Barnes and Noble.
• De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Wilhelm von Poitiers (Prinz) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Poitiers_(Prinz)> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. William IX, Count of Poitiers – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IX,_Count_of_Poitiers> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eleanor-of-aquitaine-queen-of-england/> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Henry II of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-ii-of-england/> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Guillaume IX de Poitiers — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_IX_de_Poitiers> [Accessed 14 August 2022].
• Weir, Alison, 1999. Eleanor of Aquitaine: By Wrath of God, Queen of England. London: Jonathan Cape.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom took place on Monday, September 19, 2022, at 11:00 AM British Time at Westminster Abbey in London, England. In the United Kingdom, a state funeral is usually reserved for the monarch or a very distinguished person with the approval of the monarch and Parliament such as Sir Winston Churchill‘s funeral in 1965. The arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral were planned over many years, with The Queen’s involvement. After The Queen’s death, King Charles III may have made some changes and then signed off on the funeral plans.

Note: All article links for family members who participated in events and services are in the Guests section at the end of this article.

********************

The last photo of Queen Elizabeth II – Taken at Balmoral Castle two days before her death when she had a meeting with the new Prime Minister Liz Truss

Before the Funeral

• YouTube: BBC announces the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, at 3:10 PM British time, at Balmoral Castle, her home in Scotland. Her death was announced three hours later at 6:30 PM British time by Huw Edwards, the BBC’s chief presenter.  The death certificate which was made public on September 29, 2022, stated the cause of death as “old age”.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was made over thirty years before the funeral. It was made of English oak and lined with lead, a long-time royal tradition, to protect from moisture damage. Due to the weight, eight pallbearers were required for carrying rather than the usual six. The Queen’s coffin, draped with the Scottish version of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom, rested in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle until September 11, 2022. On that day, the coffin traveled by hearse to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Upon arrival at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the coffin rested in the palace’s Throne Room.

On September 12, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin traveled by hearse from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, up the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral accompanied by King Charles III and members of the Royal Family on foot. The coffin lay in rest at St. Giles Cathedral and the people of Scotland visited the cathedral to pay their respects. In the evening of September 12, 2022, King Charles III and his three siblings stood vigil at their mother’s coffin at St. Giles Cathedral.

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrives at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland

The coffin was taken from St. Giles Cathedral to Edinburgh Airport on September 13, 2022, at 5:00 PM British time. Accompanied by The Queen’s only daughter Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, the coffin traveled by plane to RAF Northolt, a Royal Air Force base near London. The coffin then traveled by hearse to Buckingham Palace in London where it was met by King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, and other members of the Royal Family. The coffin rested in the Bow Room, which overlooks the gardens. A rotating group of chaplains watched over the coffin.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin made its way along The Mall from Buckingham Palace, as it traveled to Westminster Hall. Members of the Royal Family followed on foot.

On September 14, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, at the Palace of Westminster, also called the Houses of Parliament, where the Queen lay in state for four days. King Charles III, his sons The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex, and The King’s siblings The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, and the Earl of Wessex walked behind the coffin. Also walking behind the coffin were Princess Anne’s husband Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips, The Queen’s nephew David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, and The Queen’s first cousin Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The Queen Consort, The Princess of Wales, The Duchess of Sussex, and the Countess of Wessex traveled by car. Members of the public were able to pay their respects to The Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall, 24 hours a day until 6:30 AM British Time on Monday, September 19, 2022, the day of the funeral.

The four children of Queen ELizabeth II stand vigil around her coffin

On the evening of September 16, 2022, The Queen’s four children, King Charles III, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, and The Earl of Wessex, held a vigil around the coffin of The Queen. On the evening of September 17, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II’s eight grandchildren, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor, and Viscount Severn, held a vigil around the coffin of their grandmother.

Queen Elizabeth II’s eight grandchildren stand vigil around her coffin

********************

The Funeral Service

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried down the aisle of Westminster Abbey 

At 10:44 AM British Time, on Monday, September 19, 2022, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II traveled in procession on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy pulled by 142 Royal Navy sailors the short distance from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the State Funeral. King Charles III, members of the Royal Family, and members of The King’s Household followed the coffin.

The State Funeral Service was conducted by David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster. The Sermon was given by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, who also gave the Commendation.
Music: The Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, (Joseph McHardy, Director of Music) under the direction of James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey. The organ was played by Peter Holder, Sub-Organist, Westminster Abbey

For more detailed information including texts of prayers and hymns, see Westminster Abbey: Order of Service The State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Members of the Royal Family follow the coffin down the aisle of Westminster Abbey

The coffin was carried down the aisle of Westminster Abbey followed by a procession that included King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, The Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, The Prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, The Duchess of Sussex, Peter Phillips, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent.

During the Procession of the Coffin, the choir sang The Sentences – five lines of scripture set to music by William Croft (1678 – 1727) and Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695).

David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, gave The Bidding, giving thanks for The Queen’s “life-long sense of duty and dedication.”

The choir and the congregation sang the hymn The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended written by Reverend John Ellerton (1826 – 1893).

Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations read The First Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15: 20–26, 53–end

The choir sang Psalm 42: 1–7 Like as the Hart, with music composed specially for this service by Judith Weir (born 1954) who holds the title of Master of the King’s Music, a role within the royal household in which she composes music at the monarch’s request.

Prime Minister Liz Truss read the Second Lesson: John 14: 1–9a

The choir and the congregation sang the hymn The Lord’s My Shepherd by Jessie Seymour Irvine (1836- 1887), the daughter of a Church of Scotland parish minister. This hymn was sung at The Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the pulpit on the left, gave the sermon.

The choir sang The Anthem My soul, there is a country from Songs of Farewell by Hubert Parry (1848 – 1918).

The Prayers were said by Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Shermara Fletcher, Principal Officer for Pentecostal and Charismatic Relations, Churches Together in England; Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London and Dean of His Majesty’s Chapels Royal; Helen Cameron, Moderator of the Free Churches Group; Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; and Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York.

The choir sang Psalm 34: 8 – Taste and see how gracious the Lord is composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The congregations said The Lord’s Prayer.

The choir and the congregation sang the hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, words by Charles Wesley (1707 – 1788), melody Blaenwern by William Penfro Rowlands (1860 – 1937). This hymn was sung at the 2005 Service of Prayer and Dedication following the marriage of King Charles III and Camilla Parker-Bowles and the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said The Commendation, in which the deceased person is commended to God.

The Choir sang The Anthem Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? composed specially for this service by Sir James MacMillan (born 1959).

David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster pronounced The Blessing.

Four trumpeters from the British Army’s Household Cavalry sounded The Last Post, a short military fanfare, traditionally played in the United Kingdom at military funerals, on Remembrance Day, and at ceremonies commemorating those who have lost their lives in war.

Two Minutes of Silence was observed at Westminster Abbey and throughout the United Kingdom.

The trumpeters sounded The Reveille to signal the end of the Two Minutes of Silence.

The choir and the congregation sang God Save The King, the National Anthem.

The Queen’s Piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, played a traditional bagpipe lament, Sleep, Dearie, Sleep. Paul Burns was the personal piper of Queen Elizabeth II. He woke The Queen every morning with the sound of his bagpipes outside her window.

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was carried up the aisle of Westminster Abbey in a procession that included King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, The Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, The Prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, The Duchess of Sussex, Mr. Peter Phillips, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent.

The Duchess of Sussex, The Queen Consort, Prince George of Wales, The Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and the Countess of Wessex watch as the coffin is put on the gun carriage after the funeral

********************

Procession to Wellington Arch and then to Windsor

Royal Navy sailors pull the gun carriage bearing the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II through Wellington Arch

After the funeral service, Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was placed on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy and pulled by 142 Royal Navy sailors in a procession led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch near Hyde Park. Walking behind the coffin were King Charles II, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duke of Gloucester, and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. Following behind in cars were Queen Consort Camilla, The Princess of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Countess of Wessex, The Duchess of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and The Duchess of Gloucester. At Wellington Arch, the coffin was transferred to a hearse for the trip to Windsor where the Committal Service would take place at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

The hearse leaves Wellington Arch on its way to Windsor

********************

The Committal Service

The Committal Service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

A committal service commits the deceased person to their final resting place. The Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England on Monday, September 19, 2022, at 4:00 PM British Time. 800 guests attended the committal service. Among those who attended were members of the British Royal Family, foreign royalty, past and present members of The Queen’s Household, including from the private estates and Governors-General and Realm Prime Ministers. Some people only attended the committal service as noted on the guest list at the end of this article.

For more detailed information including texts of prayers and hymns, see St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle: The Committal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Committal Service was led by David Conner, Dean of Windsor. The Blessing was pronounced by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. Music was provided by the Choir of St George’s Chapel conducted by James Vivian, Director of Music. The organ was played by Luke Bond, Assistant Director of Music.

At 4:00 PM British Time, the coffin was carried into St. George’s Chapel in a procession that included King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, The Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, The Prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, The Duchess of Sussex, Mr. Peter Phillips, The Earl of Snowdon, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent. As the coffin proceeded down the aisle, the choir sang Psalm 121 – I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills: from whence cometh my help with music by Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869 – 1941).

The choir sang The Russian Kontakion of the Departed, music from a Kyiv melody, words translated by William J. Birkbeck (1869 – 1916). This was also sung at the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as an homage to his Eastern Orthodox religious background. His paternal grandfather was King George I of Greece and his paternal grandmother Queen Olga of Greece  was born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.

David Conner, Dean of Windsor gave The Bidding.

The choir and congregation sang the hymn All My Hope on God Is Founded, originally a German Hymn “Meine Hoffnung stehet feste” written around 1680 by Joachim Neander , words translated into English by Robert Bridges (1844 – 1930), music by Herbert Howells (1892 – 1983)

The Reading, Revelation 21.1–7, was read by David Conner, Dean of Windsor.

The Prayers were read by Paul Williams, Rector of St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, Kenneth Mackenzie, Minister of Crathie Kirk, and Martin Poll, Chaplain of the Royal Chapel, Windsor Great Park

The Congregation said The Lord’s Prayer.

The Choir sang The Motet, Bring Us, O Lord God, At Our Last Awakening, music composed by Sir William Henry Harris (1883 – 1973), words by the poet John Donne (1572 – 1631).

The Imperial State Crown, The Orb and The Sceptre being carried to The Dean of Windsor

The congregation stood in silence while the Imperial State Crown, The Orb, and The Sceptre were removed from The Queen’s coffin by the Crown Jeweler Mark Appleby (on the left in above photo). He then gave the regalia to Chris Livett, The Queen’s Bargemaster, (in the middle i and a Serjeant of Arms. They were then given to David Conner, Dean of Windsor who placed them on the High Altar.

David Conner, Dean of Windsor places the Imperial State Crown on the High Altar

The choir and congregation sang the hymn Christ is Made the Sure Foundation, adapted from the final section of Henry Purcell‘s anthem O God, thou art my God; words from a 6th or 7th-century Latin monastic hymn Urbs beata Jerusalem, translated by John M. Neale (1818 – 1866). This hymn was sung during the weddings of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, and Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and was the opening hymn of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service in St. Paul’s Cathedral on June 3, 2022

King Charles III places The Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin

At the end of the hymn, The Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards was placed on the coffin by King Charles III having received it from the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Grenadier Guards. The monarch’s Company Colour is crimson. Queen Elizabeth II held the position of Company Commander of the Grenadier Guards’ Queen’s Company. Only one flag is presented across a monarch’s reign. That crimson flag was retired following the funeral and went with The Queen’s coffin when she was interred.

Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, The Lord Chamberlain breaks his wand of service

Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in Queen Elizabeth III’s Royal Household, stood in front of the coffin, broke his wand of office, and laid the two pieces on the coffin. This was a symbolic gesture marking the death of the sovereign he served.

As the coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault under St. George’s Chapel, David Conner, Dean of Windsor said Psalm 103. 13–17, Like as a father pitieth his own children: even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him.

David Conner, Dean of Windsor then said the prayer:

Go forth upon thy journey from this world,
O Christian soul;
In the name of God the Father Almighty who created thee;
In the name of Jesus Christ who suffered for thee;
In the name of the Holy Spirit who strengtheneth thee.
In communion with the blessèd saints,
and aided by Angels and Archangels,
and all the armies of the heavenly host,
may thy portion this day be in peace,
and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Amen.

David Vines White, The Garter King of Arms proclaimed The Styles and Titles of Queen Elizabeth II:

Thus it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto His Divine Mercy the late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent Monarch, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The Queen’s Piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns played a lament, A Salute to the Royal Fendersmith, from the North Quire Aisle.

David Vines White, The Garter King of Arms said:

Let us humbly beseech Almighty God to bless with long life, health and honour, and all worldly happiness the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch, our Sovereign Lord, now, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. GOD SAVE THE KING.

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury pronounced The Blessing.

The choir and the congregation sang God Save The King, the National Anthem.

********************

The Burial

In a private, family service conducted by David Conner, Dean of Windsor at 7:30 PM British Time, on the day of the funeral, Queen Elizabeth II was interred in the crypt of the King George VI Memorial Chapel which is located on a side aisle of St. George’s Chapel. At the same time, the coffin of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021, was moved from its temporary place in the Royal Vault beneath St. George’s Chapel and interred in the crypt of the King George VI Memorial Chapel. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II now rests with the coffins of her husband, her father King George VI, her mother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret.

After the interment of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, a replacement ledger stone with a metal star of the Order of the Garter between the couples’ names was put into the floor of the King George Memorial Chapel. A memorial headstone with a slanted top for Princess Margaret, which had been placed by her children, leans against the wall.

********************

Guests

Around 2,000 invited guests attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to foreign dignitaries and The Queen’s family and friends, guests included United Kingdom former prime ministers, cabinet ministers, government leaders, and political party leaders. In addition, there were religious representatives, courtiers and employees, recipients of orders and decorations, and volunteers who supported charities important to The Queen. All 2,000 guests are not listed below. A more inclusive, but not complete list can be seen at Wikipedia: List of dignitaries at the state funeral of Elizabeth II.

Below is a list of members of the British Royal Family, members of reigning royal houses, members of non-reigning royal houses, and close non-royal family members who attended the funeral. For many, the relationship with Queen Elizabeth II is noted.

British Royal Family

Some members of the British Royal Family (Front Row) King Charles III; Queen Consort Camilla; The Princess Royal; Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence; The Duke of York; The Earl of Wessex; The Countess of Wessex; The Prince of Wales; Prince George of Wales; The Princess of Wales; Princess Charlotte of Wales; Peter Phillips; Zara Tindall; Mike Tindall; (Second Row) The Duke of Sussex; The Duchess of Sussex; Princess Beatrice; Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi; Lady Louise Windsor; Viscount Severn; Jack Brooksbank; Princess Eugenie; Sarah, Duchess of York; The Earl of Snowdon; Viscount Linley; Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones (Third Row) Samuel Chatto; Arthur Chatto; Lady Sarah Chatto; Daniel Chatto; The Duke of Gloucester; The Duke of Kent; Earl and Countess of St Andrews; Edward Windsor Lord Downpatrick; Lady Amelia Windsor; Lady Marina Windsor

Descendants of Queen Elizabeth II

• King Charles III, The Queen’s son, and his wife Queen Consort Camilla
• Prince William, The Prince of Wales, The Queen’s grandson, son of King Charles III, and his wife Catherine, The Princess of Wales
• Prince George of Wales, The Queen’s great-grandson, son of The Prince of Wales
• Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Queen’s great-granddaughter, daughter of The Prince of Wales
• Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, The Queen’s grandson, son of King Charles III, and his wife Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex
• Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, The Queen’s daughter, and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence
• Peter Phillips, The Queen’s grandson, son of The Princess Royal
• Savannah Phillips, The Queen’s great-granddaughter, daughter of Peter Phillips (present only at the committal service)
• Isla Phillips, The Queen’s great-granddaughter, daughter of Peter Phillips (present only at the committal service)
• Zara Tindall, The Queen’s granddaughter, daughter of The Princess Royal, and her husband Mike Tindall
• Mia Tindall, The Queen’s great-granddaughter, daughter of Zara Tindall (present only at the committal service)
• Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, The Queen’s son, and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York
• Princess Beatrice, The Queen’s granddaughter, daughter of The Duke of York, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
• Princess Eugenie, The Queen’s granddaughter, daughter of The Duke of York, and her husband Jack Brooksbank
• Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, The Queen’s son, and his wife Sophie, The Countess of Wessex
• Lady Louise Windsor, The Queen’s granddaughter, daughter of The Earl of Wessex
• James Windsor, Viscount Severn, The Queen’s grandson, son of The Earl of Wessex

Descendants of King George VI

• David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, The Queen’s nephew, son of the late Princess Margaret
• Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, The Queen’s great-nephew, son of The Earl of Snowdon
• Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, The Queen’s great-niece, daughter of The Earl of Snowdon
• Lady Sarah Chatto, The Queen’s niece, daughter of the late Princess Margaret, and her husband Daniel Chatto
• Samuel Chatto, The Queen’s great-nephew, son of Lady Sarah Chatto
• Arthur Chatto, The Queen’s great-nephew, son of Lady Sarah Chatto

Descendants of King George V – Extended British Royal Family

• Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester, The Queen’s first cousin, and his wife Birgitte, The Duchess of Gloucester
• Alexander Earl of Ulster, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, son of The Duke of Gloucester
• Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Earl of Ulster
• Lady Cosima Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Earl of Ulster
• Lady Davina Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, daughter of The Duke of Gloucester
• Senna Lewis, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Lady Davina Windsor
• Lady Rose Gilman, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, daughter of The Duke of Gloucester, and her husband George Gilman
• Lyla Gilman, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Lady Rose Gilman
• Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent, The Queen’s first cousin
• George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, son of The
• Duke of Kent, and his wife Countess of St Andrews
• Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Earl of St. Andrews
• Lady Marina Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Earl of St. Andrews
• Lady Amelia Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Earl of St. Andrews
• Lady Helen Taylor, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, daughter of The Duke of Kent, and her husband Timothy Taylor
• Columbus Taylor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Lady Helen Taylor
• Cassius Taylor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Lady Helen Taylor
• Eloise Taylor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Lady Helen Taylor
• Estella Taylor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Lady Helen Taylor
• Lord Nicholas Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, son of The Duke of Kent
• Albert Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Lord Nicholas Windsor
• Leopold Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of Lord Nicholas Windsor
• Princess Alexandra, The Honorable Lady Ogilvy, The Queen’s first cousin
• James Ogilvy, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, son of Princess Alexandra, and his wife Julia Ogilvy,
• Flora Vesterberg, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of James Ogilvy, and her husband Timothy Vesterberg
• Alexander Ogilvy, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, son of James Ogilvy
• Marina Ogilvy, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, daughter of Princess Alexandra
• Zenouska Mowatt, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Marina Ogilvy
• Christian Mowatt, The Queen’s first cousin twice removed, daughter of Marina Ogilvy
• Prince Michael of Kent, The Queen’s first cousin, and his wife Princess Michael of Kent
• Lord Frederick Windsor, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, son of Prince Michael of Kent, and his wife Lady Frederick Windsor
• Lady Gabriella Kingston, The Queen’s first cousin once removed, daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, and her husband Thomas Kingston

*******************

Non-Royal Family Members

Descendants of King Edward VII

The Fife family are descendants of Princess Louise, The Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and her husband Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife.

• David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife, The Queen’s second cousin once removed, son of James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife, and his wife Caroline Carnegie, Duchess of Fife (present only at the committal service)
• Lady Alexandra Etherington, The Queen’s second cousin once removed, daughter of James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife, and her husband Mark Etherington

Descendants of Queen Victoria

While the following people are related to The Queen, they are members of the Mountbatten family and are more closely related to the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Mountbatten family and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh are descendants of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through their daughter Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and her husband Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

• Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, wife of Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma who is The Queen’s third cousin once removed and the grandson of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
• Lady Alexandra Hooper, The Queen’s third cousin twice removed, daughter of Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and her husband Thomas Hooper
• Lady Pamela Hicks, The Queen’s third cousin, daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
• Edwina Brudenell, The Queen’s third cousin once removed, daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks (present only at the committal service)
• Maddison Modupe-Ojo, The Queen’s third cousin twice removed, daughter of Edwina Brudenell (present only at the committal service)
• India Flint Wood, The Queen’s third cousin once removed, daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks

The Spencer Family

• Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, godson of The Queen, brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, maternal uncle of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex, and his wife Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer (present only at the committal service)
• Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes, sister of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, maternal aunt of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex, and her husband Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, a former private secretary to The Queen

The Parker Bowles and Shand Family

• Tom Parker Bowles, son of Queen Consort Camilla, godson of King Charles III
• Lola Parker Bowles, granddaughter of Queen Consort Camilla, daughter of Tom Parker Bowles
• Frederick Parker Bowles, grandson of Queen Consort Camilla, son of Tom Parker Bowles
• Laura Lopes, daughter of Queen Consort Camilla, and her husband Harry Lopes
• Eliza Lopes, granddaughter of Queen Consort Camilla, daughter of Laura Lopes
• Gus Lopes, grandson of Queen Consort Camilla, son of Laura Lopes
• Louis Lopes, grandson of Queen Consort Camilla, son of Laura Lopes
• Annabel Elliot, sister of Queen Consort Camilla, and her husband Simon Elliot

The Middleton Family

• Michael Middleton and Carole Middleton, parents of The Princess of Wales

*******************

Members of Reigning Royal Houses

Some foreign royalty: (Front Row) Princess Beatrix, Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands; Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; Crown Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (Second Row) King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway; Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos of Spain; Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI of Spain (Third Row) Prince Albert II of Monaco, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (Fourth Row) Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, Crown Prince Pavlos and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Queen Elizabeth II is related to all the current reigning European sovereigns. She is most closely related to King Harald V of Norway. They are both great-grandchildren of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Most European royals are related via their descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and/or King Christian IX of Denmark and his wife Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.

• Bahrain: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
• Bahrain: Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
• Belgium: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde – King Philippe and The Queen are third cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
• Bhutan: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema
• Brunei: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
• Brunei: Prince Abdul Mateen
• Denmark: Queen Margrethe II – Queen Margrethe II and The Queen are third cousins through both King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Denmark: Crown Prince Frederik
• Japan: Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako
• Jordan: King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
• Jordan: Princess Haya bint Hussein (present only at the committal service)
• Jordan: Prince Hassan bin Talal and Princess Sarvath al-Hassan (present only at the committal service)
• Kuwait: Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
• Lesotho: King Letsie III
• Liechtenstein: Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie – Hereditary Prince Alois’ father Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and The Queen are seventh cousins, once removed through Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange and Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel.
• Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa – Grand Duke Henri and The Queen are third cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.
• Malaysia: Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his wife Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, The Raja Permaisuri Agong
• Monaco: Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene – Prince Albert II and The Queen are seventh cousins twice removed through Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange and Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel.
• Morocco: Prince Moulay Rachid
• Netherlands: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima  – King Willem-Alexander and The Queen are fifth cousins twice removed through Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and Princess Frederica of Brandenburg-Schwedt
• Netherlands: Princess Beatrix (formerly Queen Beatrix, abdicated in favor of her son)
• Norway: King Harald V and Queen Sonja – King Harald V and The Queen are second cousins through King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
• Oman: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said
• Qatar: Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad
• Qatar: Sheikha Amna bint Mohammed (present only at the committal service)
• Qatar: Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah (present only at the committal service)
• Saudi Arabia: Prince Faisal bin Turki
• Spain: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia – King Felipe VI and The Queen are two times third cousins once removed through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and also third cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.
• Spain: King Juan Carlos I (abdicated in favor of his son) and Queen Sofía – King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia (born a Princess of Greece) are both third cousins of The Queen through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Queen and Queen Sofia are also third cousins through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.
• Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia – King Carl XVI Gustaf and The Queen are third cousins through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
• Tonga: King Tupou VI
• United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai

Note: The Kingdoms of Cambodia, Eswatini, and Thailand did not send royal representatives. Instead, those kingdoms were represented by:

• Themba Masuku, Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini
• Kan Pharidh, Cambodian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
• Pisanu Suvanajata, Thai Ambassador to the United Kingdom

*******************

Members of Non-Reigning Royal Houses

Queen Elizabeth II is also related to many members of non-reigning royal houses.

• Baden: Valerie, Margravine of Baden, wife of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, Head of the House of Baden, nephew of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• Baden: Hereditary Prince Bernhard, great-nephew of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Hereditary Princess Stephanie
• Bulgaria: Tsar Simeon II – Simeon and The Queen are fourth cousins once removed through Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Augusta Reuss of Erbesdorf
• Greece: Queen Anne-Marie, wife of King Constantine II who was unable to travel – Queen Anne-Marie (born a Princess of Denmark) and The Queen are third cousins through both King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. King Constantine II and The Queen are also third cousins through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• Greece: Crown Prince Pavlos, son of King Constantine II, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal
• Greece: Princess Theodora, daughter of King Constantine II and a goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II (present only at the committal service)
• Hesse: Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, Head of the House of Hesse and his wife Landgravine Floria-Franziska – Donatus and The Queen are third cousins once removed through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• Hohenlohe-Langenburg: Prince Philipp, Head of the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, great-nephew of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Princess Saskia
• Hohenlohe-Langenburg: Princess Xenia, great-niece of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and sister of Prince Philipp
• Romania: Princess Margareta, The Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and her husband Prince Radu of Romania – Margareta and The Queen are third cousins once removed through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and third cousins through King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
• Romania: Princess Elena, sister of Princess Margareta, The Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and her husband Alexander Nixon (present only at the committal service)
• Serbia: Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine – Alexander and The Queen are third cousins through both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
• Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII, Māori King

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

• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Elizabeth_II> [Accessed 28 September 2022].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2022. List of dignitaries at the state funeral of Elizabeth II – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dignitaries_at_the_state_funeral_of_Elizabeth_II> [Accessed 28 September 2022].
• McQuillan, Laura, 2022. All the music from Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey | CBC News. [online] CBC. Available at: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/music-queen-elizabeth-funeral-1.6587717> [Accessed 28 September 2022].
• The Royal Family. 2022. St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle: The Committal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. [online] Available at: <https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/committal_of_her_majesty_queen_elizabeth_ii_-_order_of_service.pdf> [Accessed 28 September 2022].
• Westminster-abbey.org. 2022. Order of Service The State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. [online] Available at: <https://www.westminster-abbey.org/media/15467/order-of-service-the-state-funeral-of-her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii.pdf> [Accessed 28 September 2022].