Royal: Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, 1245-1296

Being a younger son of a king had its perks.  Kings sons, no matter where they stood in the royal birth order, had access to titles, lands, a good marriage and other lucrative side benefits.  The more useful they made themselves in the family, such as serving as military commanders, the more plums they could acquire.

Edmund, 1245-1296, was the second surviving son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, thus a younger brother of Edward I.  He was born in London, but isn't remembered as Edmund of London.  Sources differ as to where the name Crouchback came from.  Contrary to what it sounds like, there was probably nothing wrong with his back.  Crouchback is a corruption of an earlier nickname, cross-back, which referred to the cross Edmund wore on his clothing when he participated in the Ninth Crusade.  In 1255, when Edmund was 10, he was invested with the right to rule Sicily.  Long story short, some kingdoms in Europe chose to elect their rulers by selling out to the highest bidder.  To claim his kingdom in future, Edmund would need money, both to pay troops to fight off any other contenders and to bribe his future subjects into accepting him.  When the time came, England's barons were in no mood to finance or participate in yet another foreign war and Sicily went to someone else. 

There were spoils nearer to home and in 1265, with the forfeiture of Simon de Montfort's vast estates, Edmund became Earl of Leicester and a wealthy man.  Edmund was later made Earl of Lancaster and granted the Stewardship of England, along with the lands of another nobleman, Nicolas de Segrave.  And the perks and lands kept coming.  Edmund was named Earl of Derby and granted land in Wales, as well as becoming High Sheriff of Lancashire.  Edmund had to work for these honors and became known as a ruthless commander on the battlefield.  In 1271, he accompanied his brother Edward to Palestine on the Ninth Crusade, gaining the right to wear the coveted crusader's cross.  Upon return from Palestine, Edmund continued to prove his loyalty to Edward, who responded with more lands and titles.

Edmund married twice.  His first wife was Aveline de Forz, daughter of the Earl of Albemarle.  She died at the age of 13 and the couple had no children.  Edmund then married Blanche, Countess of Artois in her own right.  The couple had three sons.  Thomas and Henry would later succeed their father as Earl of Lancaster.  In 1296, Edmund would take an army to Aquitaine to suppress a revolt in Bayonne.  Part of any royal army back then included mercenaries.  When the English money ran out, the mercenaries sought work elsewhere, dooming Edmund's effort to failure.  He died in Bayonne and was buried in Westminster Abbey.