Edmund Crouchback
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 was born in London. 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.
Familiy
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.