Alice de Lusignan, Countess of Surrey

Alice de Lusignan, Countess of Surrey (1224 – 9 February 1256) was a uterine half-sister of King Henry III of England and the wife of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey. Shortly after her arrival in England from France in 1247, her half-brother arranged her marriage to the Earl, which incurred some resentment from the English nobility.[1]

For other people named Alice de Lusignan, see Alice de Lusignan (disambiguation).

Alice de Lusignan
Countess of Surrey
Born1224
Lusignan, France
Died9 February 1256 (aged 32)
Warren, Sussex, England
Noble familyLusignan
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1247)​
IssueEleanor de Warenne
Isabella de Warenne
William de Warenne
FatherHugh X de Lusignan, "le Brun", Seigneur de Lusignan, Count of La Marche
MotherIsabella of Angoulême

Lineage

Alice was the second-eldest daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan ("le Brun"), Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche, and Isabella of Angoulême, queen dowager of England.[2] She was born in Lusignan, Poitou, France in 1224, and was a member of the House of Lusignan.

She had five full brothers and three full sisters, besides her royal half-siblings from her mother's first marriage.

Lusignan, Vienne, France, the birthplace of Alice le Brun de Lusignan

Marriage

In 1247, a year after her mother's death, Alice accompanied the new papal legate William of Modena, the Cardinal-bishop of Sabina, to England, which she had decided to make her home, and live at the expense of the Crown.[3] In August of that year, her half-brother, King Henry married her to John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey (August 1231 – 29 September 1304).[4] The marriage caused some resentment amongst the English nobility, as they considered the king's Lusignan siblings to be parasites and a liability to the kingdom. Many prestigious honours and titles were granted to the Lusignans.[5] Alice was also said to have been disdainful of all things English.[6]

John was the son of William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey and Maud Marshal. Together they had three children.

Issue

Death

Alice died in Warren, Sussex, England, on 9 February 1256 after giving birth to her only son, William. She was about thirty-two years of age.

Ancestry

References
  1. Costain, Thomas B. (1959). The Magnificent Century. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc. p.151
  2. Vincent 2003, p. 181.
  3. Costain p.151.
  4. Carpenter 2020, p. xxv.
  5. Costain, p.151
  6. Costain,page 151.

Sources
  • Carpenter, David (2020). Henry III: The Rise to Power and Personal Rule, 1207-1258. Yale University Press.
  • Vincent, Nicholas (2003). "Isabella of Angouleme: John's Jezebel". In Church, S.D. (ed.). King John: New Interpretations. The Boydell Press.
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