Biography of Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex 1173-1217

In or before 1151 [her father] William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and [her mother] Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester were married. She by marriage Countess Gloucester. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Robert Beaumont 2nd Earl of Leicester [aged 46] and [her grandmother] Amice Gael Countess Leicester. He the son of Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester and Mabel Fitzhamon Countess Gloucester. They were fourth cousins. He a grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Around 1173 Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex was born to William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester. She a great granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

In 1183 [her father] William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester died. His daughter Isabella [aged 10] succeeded 3rd Countess Gloucester.

On 29th August 1189 King John of England [aged 22] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 16] were married at Marlborough Castle [Map]. He by marriage Earl Gloucester. See Gesta Regis Henrici and Gesta Regis Henrici by Benedict of Peterborough. She the daughter of William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester. He the son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 67]. They were half second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Gesta Regis Henrici by Benedict of Peterborough. 29th August 1189. With these things accomplished, [her husband] John [aged 22], the brother of the [her brother-in-law] Duke [aged 31], married the aforementioned daughter [Isabella of Gloucester [aged 16]] of the Earl of Gloucester, against the prohibition of Baldwin [aged 64], Archbishop of Canterbury, because they were related in the third degree. He thus married her at Marlborough on the fourth day before the Kalends of September, on the feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

His ita peractis, Johannes frater ducis desponsavit preedictam filiam comitis Gloucestriæ contra prohibitionem Baldewini Cantuariensis archiepiscopi, eo quod parentes erant in tertio gradu. Desponsavit itaque illam apud Merlebergam, quarto kalendas Septembris, festo Decollationis Sancti Johannis Baptistæ.

In 1191 [her illegitimate brother-in-law] Archbishop Geoffrey Plantagenet [aged 39] was appointed Archbishop of York.

In 1194 Raymond Count of Toulouse [aged 37] succeeded Marquess Provence. [her sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 28] by marriage Marchioness Provence.

In 1196 [her illegitimate brother-in-law] William Longespée Earl Salisbury [aged 20] and Ela of Salisbury 3rd Countess of Salisbury [aged 9] were married. He by marriage Earl Salisbury. She the daughter of William of Salisbury 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 46] and Eleanor Vitre Countess of Salisbury [aged 38]. He the illegitmate son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Ida Tosny Countess Norfolk [aged 40]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

In October 1196 Raymond Count of Toulouse [aged 39] and [her sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 31] were married at Rouen, France [Map]. She by marriage Countess Toulouse. She the daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [her mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 74]. He the son of Raymond Rouerge V Count Toulouse and Constance Capet Countess Boulogne and Toulouse. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1197 [her sister-in-law] Alix Capet Countess Blois [aged 46] died.

On 11th March 1198 [her sister-in-law] Marie Capet Countess Champagne [aged 53] died.

On 4th September 1199 [her sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 33] died at Rouen, France [Map]. She was buried at Fontevraud Abbey [Map].

Around April 1200 King John of England [aged 33] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 27] marriage annulled due to consanuinity but more likely because John's new status as heir to the English throne mean't he had better prospects. He may have already decided to marry Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England [aged 12] who he married on 24th August 1200.

On 24th August 1200 [her former husband] King John of England [aged 33] and Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England [aged 12] were married. She had been engaged to Hugh IX of Lusignan IV Count of La Marche [aged 37] who subsequently appealed to King Philip II of France [aged 35], their feudal overlord, who used the position to justify a war against John. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême [aged 40] and Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême. He the son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [her former mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 78]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

Before 1202 [her future husband] Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent [aged 31] was appointed Count Mortain Mortagne, and as Constable of Dover Castle, Constable of Windsor Castle, Constable of Chinon Castle.

In 1205 Llewellyn "The Great" Aberffraw [aged 33] and [her illegitimate step-daughter] Joan Plantagenet [aged 14] were married. She the illegitmate daughter of [her former husband] King John of England [aged 38] and Adela Plantagenet.

On 12th December 1212 [her illegitimate brother-in-law] Archbishop Geoffrey Plantagenet [aged 60] died at Normandy [Map]. He was buried at Notre Dame du Parc, Rouen.

In 1213 Geoffrey Fitzpeter 1st Earl Essex [aged 51] died. His son [her future husband] Geoffrey [aged 22] succeeded 2nd Earl Essex. Matilda Clare Countess Essex by marriage Countess Essex.

Before 1214 [her future husband] Geoffrey Mandeville 2nd Earl Essex [aged 22] and Matilda Clare Countess Essex were married. He the son of Geoffrey Fitzpeter 1st Earl Essex and Beatrice Saye.

On 20th January 1214 Geoffrey Mandeville 2nd Earl Essex [aged 23] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 41] were married. She by marriage Countess Essex, Countess Gloucester. She the daughter of William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester. He the son of Geoffrey Fitzpeter 1st Earl Essex and Beatrice Saye.

Before 11th May 1214 [her illegitimate step-son] Richard Fitzroy [aged 24] and Rohese de Dover [aged 28] were married. He the illegitmate son of [her former husband] King John of England [aged 47] and Adela Plantagenet.

On 31st October 1214 [her former sister-in-law] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 53] died at Burgos [Map]. She was buried at Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas [Map].

On 23rd February 1216 [her husband] Geoffrey Mandeville 2nd Earl Essex [aged 25] was killed in a tournament. His brother [her brother-in-law] William succeeded 3rd Earl Essex.

Before 1217 [her future husband] Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent [aged 46] and Beatrice Warenne were married.

In September 1217 Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent [aged 47] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 44] were married. She the daughter of William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester.

On 14th October 1217 Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 44] died.

In 1236 [her former husband] Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent [aged 66] and Margaret Dunkeld Countess Kent [aged 43] were married. She by marriage Countess Kent. The difference in their ages was 23 years. She the daughter of King William I of Scotland and Ermengarde Beaumont Sarthe Queen Consort Scotland.

Before 5th May 1243 [her former husband] Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent [aged 73] died at Banstead, Surrey. He was buried at Blackfriars Church Holborn. Earl Kent extinct.