Royal: Richard of Cornwall, 1209-1272

Being the younger son of a king in Medieval times had its perks.  Titles, land, money, beautiful women, and if one were lucky, maybe a crown courtesy of family connections.  Richard of Cornwall, 1209-1272, the son of John of England and Isabella of Angouleme would experience all of these and more.

It was never meant for Richard to inherit the crown of England.  That would go to his older brother, Henry III.  He had other titles, though, High Sheriff of Berkshire at only 8 years old and, when he was 16, Henry III gave him the rights to the title of Earl of Cornwall and made him High Sheriff of Cornwall.  Cornwall has always been a lucrative title for anyone who holds it.  It forms the bulk of Prince Charles' fortune today.  Richard was just as lucky, becoming one of the wealthiest men in England while still in his teens.  He was able to acquire Tintagel Castle in Wales, and made significant improvements to it, though some attribute the earliest building at Tintagel to Richard of Cornwall and not King Arthur, whoever he might have been.  It helped that Richard married a woman who was an heiress of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (yes, that William Marshal), and who was the widow of another wealthy nobleman, the Earl of Gloucester.  Isabel would bring her husband Wallingford Castle, another lucrative property, and Henry would confirm Richard as Earl of Cornwall.  Life was grand.

Richard decided to join the Barons' Crusade, leading the second wave of the army to the Holy Land.  He also bankrolled much of the enterprise from his enormous fortune.  He didn't see much action, but showed skill as a diplomat in arranging prisoner exchanges, and also sponsored the rebuilding of the fortress at Ascalon.  Isabel had died and Richard wanted to marry again, hopefully someone with connections and money.  Henry III's queen, Eleanor of Provence had a beautiful sister Sanchia.  Richard had seen Sanchia on his way to the Holy Land and the two fell in love.  He married Sanchia in Westminster Abbey in 1243.  The Provence girls were well connected.  Older sister Margaret was the wife of Louis IX of France.  Eleanor was married to Henry III, and another sister was married to Charles I of Naples.  Three queens in the family wasn't bad and it did help with matters of state and diplomacy.  Well, not so fast.

Henry III had appointed Richard Count of Poitou, a traditional portion of the Plantagenet inheritance from Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Louis IX begged to differ and appointed his younger brother Alphonse Count of Poitou.  Hugh of Lusignan, the second husband of Richard and Henry's mother Isabel encouraged Richard to take Poitou by force of arms.  Then Lusignan threw his support behind Louis and the resulting military expedition was a disaster.  Side note, the Lusignans had a history of double-dealing and back-biting worthy of another family who claimed descent from a supernatural being, but more on them later.  The Pope offered Richard the Kingdom of Sicily, but Richard saw through this.  "You may as well make me a present of the moon, then tell me to step up to the sky and take it down!" he said.  He was soon offered something more substantial, election as King of Germany. 

This was a tricky proposition.  The King of Germany could also be one of those in line for consideration as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor.  These positions went to the highest bidder, or person willing to lay out the most bribes, regardless of whether they were ethnically German or not.  Richard was able to persuade three of the seven electors, and bribe the fourth, so he got the job.  Then, there was the matter of taking and keeping the throne by force of arms.  Not willing to waste more than a minimal amount of effort, Richard decided to make his presence scarce in Germany, and keep the title.  Sanchia had meanwhile died and it was time to take a new wife, sixteen-year-old Beatrice of Falconberg, who was described as one of the most beautiful women of her time. 

Richard backed Henry III in his struggles with Simon de Montfort, known as the Barons War of 1265.  At the Battle of Lewes, Richard was ignominiously discovered hiding in a windmill and captured.  He was held prisoner for several months until freed in 1265.  He remained in England, and in 1271, had a stroke that impaired his right side.  He was unable to speak and barely able to walk.  He died in Berkhamsted Castle in 1272.  Germany would sort itself out and end up under its first of many Habsburg rulers, Rudolph I.  Richard's son Edmund, by Sanchia, would succeed as Earl of Cornwall.  But Richard had another liaison on the side.  His children by Joan de Valletort were also amply provided for.