Richard of Cornwall

When King John of England died in 1216, his eldest child, Henry, was barely nine years old. He would become Henry III. There were several other children, even younger, one of whom was Richard of Cornwall.

Richard was born on 5 January, 1209, at Winchester. Royal children are often named for their place of birth, but Richard was given Cornwall as a 16th birthday present by his brother Henry in 1225, making him High Sheriff. (The illustration shows his seal.) Cornwall rents and taxes were significant, and Richard became extremely wealthy. In 1225 he was also named Count of Poitou, giving him an important property in France.

Sibling rivalry exists, and when the siblings are wealthy and royal, their rivalries can be more drastic. Richard upon occasion rebelled against Henry, perhaps feeling that Richard should have his chance at the throne. Henry always suppressed the rebellions, however, and paid Richard large sums to satisfy him.

One of Richard's actions in Cornwall was to acquire Tintagel. Richard possessed Merthen Manor, and offered it to Gervase of Tintagel for Tintagel. Richard built a castle on the site in 1233. It is thought that he did so to ingratiate himself to the Cornish by honoring the site linked to Cornwall's Arthurian legends.

When Richard was 22 he married Isabel Marshal, widow of the wealthy 5th Earl of Gloucester. This bothered Henry, because it made Richard potentially more powerful and might lead to another attempt at rebellion. Richard and Isabel had four children, of whom only one survived to adulthood. Isabel died in 1240.

In 1240 Richard went on Crusade where he did not see battle but was involved in negotiations of release of prisoners and the refortification of Ascalon after its destruction by Saladin. On his return trip, he visited the court of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who was married to Richard's sister, Isabella of England.

Richard was, of course, the heir apparent if anything happened to Henry, but in 1239 Edward and his queen, Eleanor of Provence, had a son, Edward. Edward was established as Henry's heir, cutting Richard out of there line of succession. When Richard returned from his rails, the king and queen offered him Eleanor's sister, Sanchia of Provence.

Sanchia was born about 1225, and so was in her late teens when they married in 1243. Sanchia and Eleanor's sister Margaret was the wife of Louis IX of France; their sister Beatrice was married to Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily. This marriage put Richard into very good company, related to kings through his brother and his wife. How sad for Sanchia that her sisters married kings and she did not have a crown.

Or did she? Was there a chance that Richard could become king, if not of England, then maybe somewhere else? We'll take a look at his chances tomorrow.