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Robert De Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester

Robert De Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester

Male 1121 - 1190  (69 years)

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  • Name Robert De Beaumont 
    Suffix 3rd Earl of Leicester 
    Birth 1121  Beaumont, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 31 Aug 1190  Durazzo Provence, West, Albania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I795  Our Family History
    Last Modified 1 Apr 2024 

    Father Robert De Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester,   b. 24 Nov 1104, Groby, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 5 Apr 1168, St Marys De Pre, Leicester, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years) 
    Mother Amice de Gael,   b. 1108, Norfolk, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 31 Aug 1168, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 60 years) 
    Marriage 25 Nov 1120  Brittany, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F8998142  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Petronella de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester,   b. 1134, Leicester, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Apr 1212, Leicester, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 78 years) 
    Marriage 1155  Leicester Abbey, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Margaret de Beaumont,   b. 2 Aug 1154, Groby, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Jan 1235, Brackley, Northamptonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years)
    Family ID F8998141  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Apr 2024 

  • Notes 
    • Robert was the only son of Robert, second earl of Leicester, and Amice (daughter of Ralph de Gael). He was born after a number of elder sisters. He inherited from his father large estates in England and Normandy.

      After 1154 he seems to have spent much of his time in charge of the Leicester lands in Normandy. By 1159 he had received from the king the marriage of Petronilla, daughter & heir of William de Grandmesnil.

      The seal he used before his father's death demonstrates that he had taken the surname de Breteuil. This has some significance in that it reveals him stressing his descent from William fitz Osbern.

      Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester (1168–1190) was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father Henry II. He is also called Robert Blanchemains (meaning "White Hands" in French) and Robert Harcourt. Lord High Steward 1168–1190 [1].

      When the revolt of the younger Henry broke out in April 1173, Robert went to his castle at Breteuil in Normandy. The rebels' aim was to take control of the duchy, but Henry II himself led an army to besiege the castle; Robert fled, and the Breteuil was taken on September 25 or 26.

      Robert apparently went to Flanders, where he raised a large force of mercenaries, and landed at Walton, Suffolk, on 29 September 1173. He joined forces with Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk, and the two marched west, aiming to cut England in two across the Midlands and to relieve the king's siege of Robert's castle at Leicester. However, they were intercepted by the king's supporters and defeated in battle at Fornham, near Bury St Edmunds, on 17 October. Robert, along with his wife and many others, was taken prisoner, according to legend, by Sir William Chamberlayne, Lord of North Riston and Petsoe. Henry II took away the earl's lands and titles as well.

      He remained in captivity until January 1177, well after most of the other prisoners had been released. The king was in a strong position and could afford to be merciful; not long after his release Robert's lands and titles were restored, but not his castles. All but two of his castles had been destroyed, and those two (Montsorrel in Leicestershire and Pacy in Normandy) remained in the king's hands.

      Robert had little influence in the remaining years of Henry II's reign, but was restored to favour by Richard I. He carried one of the swords of state at Richard's coronation in 1189.

      Robert took part in the third crusade and died at Durazzo (others say Dyrrachium), in 1190, probably at the end of August. He was buried in Leicester Abbey.

      Children
      He had three sons,
      - William de Breteuil (who predeceased him in 1189),
      - Robert, who succeeded him as earl,
      - Roger, who was elected bishop of St Andrews in 1189.

      He also had several daughters, among them:
      - Amice married first Simon de Montfort the younger, count of Évreux, and second William des Barres the elder;
      - Margaret married Saer de Quincy (d. 1219);
      - Hawise entered the priory of Nuneaton as a nun,
      - Petronilla, is mentioned in the obituary of Lyre Abbey.

      Sources
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Beaumont,_3rd_Earl_of_Leicester
      Royal Database, Camelot International, Good (Burke's old records) http://www.camelotintl.com/royal/list/index.html
      Ancestral File Number: 8HRJ-4K 91VK-GS
      Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
      The Phillips, Weber, Kirk, & Staggs families of the Pacific Northwest, by Jim Weber, Rootsweb.com
      Nichol's Lcstrs, vol 1 pt 1 p. 98 (GS #Q942.54 H2nic)
      Wurts' Magna Charta vol 1-2 p. 185 (GS #942 D22w)
      Clutterbuck's Hrtfrd, vol 3 p. 287 (GS #Q942.58 H2c)
      Complete Peerage vol 7 p. 520 (GS #942 D24c)
      Dict of Nat'l Biog vol 4 p. 67, 68, 113 (GS # Ref 920.042 D561n)
      Plantagenet Ancestry p. 100 (GS #Q940 D2t)
      The Battle Abbey Roll vol 3 p. 47, vol 2 p. 306-326, vol 1 p. 148
      Dugdale's Baronage of England, vol 1 p. 868 (GS #Q942 D22dw)
      Baker's Nrthmp, vol 1 p. 563, 241 (GS #Q942.55 H2ba)
      Adjusted for Leland J. Hendrix (21 gg son to #2) 931 S. 100 E., Orem, Utah 84057, 18 Apr 1968
      Proving Your Pedigree (GS #929.1 B439p)
      Americans of Royal Descent (GS #973 D2ba)
      https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13078823/person/607459379/facts
      https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/6835128/person/-970510580/facts
      https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/16746257/family

      Wikitree : https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Beaumont-82