Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster

English Royalty
House of Plantagenet

Henry II Children    William, Count of Poitiers    Henry the Young King    Richard I    Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany    King John    Matilda of England    Leonora of England    Joan of England Richard I John Children    Henry III    Richard, Earl of Cornwall    Joan of England    Isabella of England    Eleanor of England Henry III Children    Edward I    Margaret of England    Beatrice of England    Edmund, Earl of Lancaster Edward I Children    Joan of England, Countess of Gloucester    Alphonso, Earl of Chester    Edward II    Thomas, Earl of Norfolk    Edmund, Earl of Kent Edward II Children    Edward III    John, Earl of Cornwall    Eleanor of England    Joan of England Edward III Children    Edward, Prince of Wales    Lionel, Duke of Clarence    John, Duke of Lancaster    Edmund, Duke of York    Thomas, Duke of Gloucester    Joan of England    Isabella of England Grandchildren     Richard II     Philippa, Countess of Ulster     Philippa of Lancaster     Elizabeth of Lancaster     Henry IV     Catherine of Lancaster     Edward, Duke of York     Richard, Earl of Cambridge     Constance of York     Anne of Gloucester Richard II

Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (January 16, 1245 – June 5, 1296) was the second surviving son of Eleanor of Provence and King Henry III of England.

Edmund Crouchback and St. George,
each wearing their arms.

Edmund was born in London, England. He was a younger brother of Edward I of England and Eleanor 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 1271 he accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. It was because of this he received the nickname Crouchback (or cross back) indicating that he was entitled to wear a cross on his back.

He was married twice, first to Aveline de Forz, Countess of Albemarle, in 1269, and then in Paris, France on February 3, 1276, to Blanche of Artois. That same year he became the Count of Champagne and Brie in France. With Blanche he had four children:

• Thomas Plantagenet, Second Earl of Lancaster (b. 1278)
• Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (b. 1281)
• John Plantagenet, Lord of Beaufort, (b. BEF 1286)
• Mary Plantagenet

He died on June 5, 1296 in Bayonne, and was interred on July 15, 1296 at Westminster Abbey, London, England.

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Preceded by: Humphrey de Bohun	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1264	Succeeded by: Henry de Sandwich
Preceded by: The Earl of Leicester	Lord High Steward 1265–1296	Succeeded by: The Earl of Leicester and Lancaster

Preceded by: New Creation

Earl of Leicester and Lancaster

Succeeded by: Thomas