On this day of 14 May in 1264 King Henry III marched out of Lewes to confront the army of […]
Translation of Henry III
On this day 730 years ago the body of Henry III was removed from its resting place under the Cosmati […]
Marriage and Fateful Widowhood
This day of 24 April in 1224 should have seen the start of the honeymoon for Eleanor, the youngest daughter […]
The countess and her children
Eleanor de Montfort, the youngest and once beloved sister of Henry III, died on this day of 13 April in […]
The dower millstone
On this day of 6 April in 1231, William Marshal II, the 40-year-old earl of Pembroke, died suddenly, less than […]
Sneaky Brother Matthew
In his 1958 study of Matthew Paris, Richard Vaughan comes to this conclusion about the prolific chronicler’s portrait of Henry […]
The murder of Evesham continues
In the medieval calendar, 14 March 1271 is a day-after, when the horrific events of the previous day have sunk […]
Henry’s three sisters
Henry III had three younger sisters. They had exceptionally close relationships, and the two sisters that had children, Isabella and […]
Be my elected Valentine
Henry III and Eleanor of Provence are among the most romantic of royal couples, but thanks to them Valentine’s Day […]
Banking too much on the royal goodwill
On this date of 2 February in 1239, Henry III invested Simon de Montfort with the title of earl of […]
Attempting to avert war
The date 23 January 1264 is remembered in medieval history for the Mise of Amiens, the judgment issued by King […]
The queen’s coronation
Eleanor of Provence saw London for the first time on this day of 20 January in 1236. She arrived with […]
Last call for the crusade
This is the ‘round’ inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Northampton, built in imitation of the church in […]
A Royal Row
Henry III and Eleanor of Provence were married for 36 years until his death in 1272. There’s no evidence of […]
King John’s youngest
Like her husband Simon, the birth date and place of Eleanor de Montfort cannot be determined with accuracy but there […]
The Plantagenets by a thread
On this day of 28 October in 1216, Henry III was crowned king of England in Gloucester. His claim to […]
In the year 1207
Henry III was born in Winchester on this day, 1 October. Says the Dunstable annalist, “In the year 1207 a […]
They didn’t all speak French
Eleanor of Provence would have grown up speaking Provençal, a dialect of Occitan. Coming from a noble family, doubtless she […]
Rumours of the birth
Further to the previous post about Richard de Montfort, Simon and Eleanor’s fifth and youngest son, he was born in […]
Final days in England
Eleanor de Montfort, based at Dover, had learned of the massacre at Evesham by 11 August 1265. On that day […]
Four more Eleanors
In addition to his wife and sister, there were four other Eleanors in the life of Henry III, his grandmother […]
The Two Eleanors of Henry III
My dual biography of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort is set to be released at the end of […]
Our new home, Windsor
On 11 August 1239, two days after the fiasco of the churching, the bailiffs of Windsor were ordered to have […]
The day it all started
On 9 August 1239, the cream of society was gathered for the queen’s churching. It was going to be a […]