Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster

Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 1245 – 5 June 1296) was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Edmund was born in London. He was a younger brother of Edward I of England, Margaret of England, and Beatrice of England, and an older brother of Katherine of England. In 1253 he was invested by Pope Innocent IV in the Kingdom of Sicily and Apulia. At about this time he was also made Earl of C... more

Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 1245 – 5 June 1296) was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Edmund was born in London. He was a younger brother of Edward I of England, Margaret of England, and Beatrice of England, and an older brother of Katherine of England. In 1253 he was invested by Pope Innocent IV in the Kingdom of Sicily and Apulia. At about this time he was also made Earl of Chester. These were of little value as Conrad IV of Germany, the real King of Sicily, was still living and the Earldom of Chester was transferred to his elder brother Edward. Edmund soon obtained, however, important possessions and dignities, for soon after the forfeiture of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester in 1265, Edmund received the Earldom of Leicester and of Lancaster and also the honour of the Stewardship of England and the lands of Nicolas de Segrave. In 1267 he was granted the lordship of Builth Wells in opposition to the then... less