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Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 1245 – 5 June 1296), also known as Edmund Crouchback, was a member of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty and the founder of the first House of Lancaster. He was Earl of Leicester (1265–1296), Lancaster (1267–1296) and Derby (1269–1296) in England and Count Palatine of Champagne (1276–1284) in France. Named after the 9th-century saint, Edmund was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence and the younger brother of King Edward I of England, to whom he was loyal as a diplomat and warrior. In 1254, the 9-year-old Edmund became involved in the "Sicilian business", in which his father accepted a papal offer granting the Kingdom of Sicily to Edmund, who made preparations to become king. However, Henry III could not provide funds for the operation, prompting the Papacy to withdraw the grant and give it to Edmund's uncle, Charles I of Anjou. The "Sicilian business" outraged the barons led by the Earl of Leicester and Edmund's uncle, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and was cited as one of the reasons for limiting Henry's power. Deterioration of relations between the barons and the king resulted in the Second Barons' War, in which the royal government, supported by Edmund, triumphed over the baronage following the death of Montfort in the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Edmund received the lands and titles of Montfort and the defeated barons Nicholas Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave and Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, and became Earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Derby. Primarily known as the earl of the first county, he eventually became the most powerful baron of England. Later, Edmund accompanied his elder brother Edward on his crusade in the Holy Land, where his epithet "Crouchback" originated from a corruption of 'cross back', referring to him wearing a stitched cross on his garments. Following the death of his first wife, Aveline de Forz, Edmund's aunt and Dowager Queen of France Margaret of Provence arranged his second marriage to Blanche of Artois, the recently widowed Queen Dowager of Navarre and the Countess of Champagne. With his second wife Blanche, Edmund governed Champagne as count palatine in the name of his stepdaughter Joan until she came of age. Edmund was active in supporting his family members, such as assisting Edward in conquering Wales, advocating for the claims of his aunt Margaret against his uncle Charles I of Anjou in his mother and aunt's homeland of Provence and managing Ponthieu on behalf of his sister-in-law, Eleanor of Castile. When Edmund's stepson-in-law, King Philip IV of France, demanded Edward, who was also his vassal through Gascony, to come to Paris to answer charges of damages caused by English mariners in 1293, Edward sent Edmund to mediate the crisis to avert war. Edmund negotiated an agreement with Philip where France would occupy Gascony for 40 days, and Edward would marry Philip's half-sister, Margaret. When the 40 days were over, Philip tricked Edward and Edmund by refusing to relinquish control over Gascony, calling Edward to again answer for his charges. Edmund and Edward then renounced their homages to Philip and prepared for war against France. Edmund sailed for Gascony with his army and besieged the city of Bordeaux. Unable to pay his troops, Edmund was deserted by his army and retreated to Bayonne, where he died from illness in 1296. Edmund's body was brought back to England, where he was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1301. Early years, 1245–1265 Birth and childhood Edmund was born in London to King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence on 16 January 1245. Henry named him after the martyred and canonised 9th-century East Anglian king, whom Henry prayed to for a second son. He was a younger brother of Edward (later King Edward I of England), Margaret and Beatrice, and an elder brother of Catherine. Edmund spent most of his childhood at Windsor Castle alongside his siblings. He grew emotionally attached to his father Henry, who rarely spent extended periods apart from his family. Sicilian business In 1254, Henry accepted a papal offer from Pope Innocent IV to make Edmund the next king of Sicily. Sicily had been ruled by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was a rival to Innocent for many years; the papacy hoped for a friendlier ruler to succeed Frederick following his death in 1250. For Henry, Sicily was a valuable prize for his son and would also provide a base to launch his planned crusades in the east. Innocent tasked Henry with sending Edmund and an army to reclaim Sicily from Frederick's son, Manfred, King of Sicily, and to cover expenses and debts up to a total of £135,000, for which the papacy would provide assistance in funding. The nine-year-old Edmund made preparations to become king, sailing to Gascony with his mother, Eleanor, in May 1254. In Bordeaux, on 3 October, Edmund granted his granduncle Count Thomas of Flanders the Principality of Capua before returning home in December of that year. On 18 October 1255, Edmund received a ceremonial investiture in Sicily, where his father Henry styled him as king and presented him with a ring. In April 1256, Edmund proposed marriage to Plaisance of Antioch, the queen of Cyprus and Lady of Beirut. In April 1257, Henry paraded Edmund in Parliament dressed in Italian clothing to appeal for funds. He also suggested marrying Edmund to a daughter of Manfred to resolve the 'Sicilian business' in the summer of that year. Prospects turned grim when Pope Alexander IV succeeded Innocent and faced military pressure from the Holy Roman Empire. Alexander could no longer finance Henry's expenses and instead demanded that Henry pay £90,000 in debts to the Papacy as compensation for the war. This was an enormous sum, and Henry found himself desperate for funds. He sought assistance from Parliament, but his request was denied. Despite further attempts, Parliament only granted partial funding to Henry. Growing impatient, Alexander sent an envoy to Henry in 1258, threatening him with excommunication unless he paid his debts and sent an army to Sicily. Failing to convince Parliament further, Henry resorted to extorting money from the senior clergy, raising approximately £40,000. Subsequently, at some point between 1258 and 1263—either under Alexander or Pope Urban IV—the papacy revoked the grant of the Kingdom of Sicily to Edmund and instead bestowed the title upon Edmund's uncle, Charles I of Anjou. Second Barons' War The barons, led by Edmund's uncle, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, cited the 'Sicilian business' as one of their grievances against Edmund's father, King Henry III of England. This led to Henry's signing of the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, which curtailed his power as well as that of the major barons. However, Edmund collaborated with Henry and his brother Edward to overturn the Provisions in midsummer of 1262. Power in England swung back and forth between Henry and the bar.... Discover the Jennifer Macaire popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jennifer Macaire books.