William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke

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Arms of de Valence Earls of Pembroke

William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. May 16, 1296) was a French nobleman, who became important in English politics due to his relationship to Henry III. He was heavily involved in the Second Barons' War, supporting the King and Prince Edward against the rebels lead by Simon de Montfort.

He was the fourth son of Isabella of Angoulême, widow of king John of England, and her second husband, Hugh X of Lusignan, count of La Marche, and was thus a half-brother to Henry III of England, and uncle to Edward I. William was born at Valence, near Lusignan, sometime in the mid-to-late 1220s (his elder sister, Alice was born 1224, and two elder brothers followed her).

[edit] Move to England

Coat of Arms of William de Valence before he became Earl of Pembroke

The French conquest of Poitou in 1246 created great difficulties for William's family, and so he and his brothers, Guy de Lusignan and Aymer, accepted Henry III's invitation to come to England in 1247. The king found important positions for all of them; William was soon married to a great heiress, Joan de Munchensi (d. 1307), the only surviving child of Warin de Munchensi and Joan, daughter and eventual co-heiress of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Her portion of the Marshal estates included the castle and lordship of Pembroke and the lordship of Wexford in Ireland. The custody of Joan's property was entrusted to her husband, along with, apparently, the title of Earl of Pembroke.

[edit] The Second Barons' War

This favouritism to royal relatives was unpopular with many of the English nobility, a discontent which would culminate in the Second Barons' War. It did not take long for William to make enemies in England. From his new lands in South Wales, he tried to regain the palatine rights which had been attached to the Earldom of Pembroke, but his energies were not confined to this. The King heaped lands and honours upon him, and he was soon thoroughly hated as one of the most prominent of the rapacious foreigners. Moreover, some trouble in Wales led to a quarrel between him and Simon de Montfort, who was to become the figurehead for the rebels. He refused to comply with the provisions imposed on the King at Oxford in 1258, and took refuge in Wolvesey Castle at Winchester, where he was besieged and compelled to surrender and leave the country.

However, in 1259 William and de Montfort were formally reconciled in Paris, and in 1261 Valence was again in England and once more enjoying the royal favour. He fought for Henry at the disastrous Battle of Lewes, and after the defeat again fled to France, while de Montfort ruled England. However, by 1265 he was back, landing in Pembrokeshire, and taking part in the Siege of Gloucester and the final royalist victory at Evesham. After the battle he was restored to his estates and accompanied Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I, to Palestine. From his base in Pembrokeshire he was a mainstay of the English fights against the Welsh princes, assisting in the conquest of North Wales. He also went several times to France on public business and he was one of Edward's representatives in the famous suit over the succession to the crown of Scotland in 1291 and 1292.

William de Valence died at Bayonne on the 13th June 1296; his body is buried in Westminster Abbey.

William and Joan de Munchensi (described above) had three children:

Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Isabel, who married John, 1st Lord Hastings. Their grandson Lawrence later became earl of Pembroke
Joan, who married John Comyn (the Red Comyn).