Countess Alice Luisignan Angouleme SURREY

   Another name for Alice was SURREY Countess.

   General Notes:

Countess of SURREY.

BOOKS
A History of The Plantagenets, Vol II, The Magnificent Century, Thomas B Costain, 1951, Doubleday & Co
p242: "...In 1253 [Richard De Clare's] ten-year-old son Gilbert, called the Red because of the color of his hair, was married to Alice of Angouleme, daughter of Guy de Lusignan and therefore a stepniece of the King. The Earl of Gloucester took this alliance with royalty seriously, but as he was intensely proud and most tenacious of his rights as a leading peer, Henry had never been able to count on his support..."
p275: "...[William of Valence] marched south with his weary but triumphant followers and captured the twon of Winchelsea. Tonbridge Castle, which belonged to Gilbert of Gloucester, fell soon after.
"One of the prisoners taken at Tonbridge was Gilbert's wife, Alice of Angouleme, who was Edward's half cousin and a special favorite with both the prince and the King. Gossip had it, in fact, that the dark-eyed and vivacious Alice was a very special favorite; that as the young wife of the prince was still in France and would be cept there until things settled down in England, Edward had been solacing himself with the company of this fair Poitevin relative. There was probably some truth in the story because Edward had not seen his child wife for some time. The countess was released with great courtesy and, perhaps, inner regret..."
p303: "Aliceof Angouleme was also to have a part, a not particularly creditable one, it must be confessed. In the few glimpses of her which the records supply she appears in the role of troublemaker, flirting with Prince Edward while he waited for his young wife in France to grow up, even casting an eye on the aging Henry, who responded in kind for perhaps the first time in his long married life. In support of the latter assertion there is only one bit of evidence, a letter from Queen Margueriteof France warning her sister that Henry was too fond of the company of his capricious niece. Marguerite seems to have developed into a prim and proper woman, the result, perhaps, of being married so long to a perfect man. The part Alice playedin the drama indicates that she placed royal allegiance ahead of wifely obligations. She does not appear, however, until after the main issue had been decided..."
p333: "Toward the end of March 1267, Alice of Angouleme sent word secretly to the King that her husband, the Earl of Gloucester, was planning to seize London. No serious attention was paid to this warning at first...His visit there, it was believed, could have no more serious purpose than a discussion with the papal legate.
"The unfaithful wife had been correct, nevertheless. Earl Gilbert had been an unhappy man since the battle of Evesham..."
"Gilbert the Red camped at Southward but was unable to hold his men in hand. Terror gripped London... "It is doubtful if the young earl intended to lead a second rebellion. His occupation of London was intended more likely as a warning to the King that the will to oppose him was not dead...
"The violent gesture of Gilbert the Red seems to have had the desired effect. The air cleared. The turmoil throughout the country died down. The civil war had come to a final end.
"One effect of Goucester's drastic move was a widening of the rift with his wife, leading shortly thereafter to a divorce."

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975, p1094, Gloucester Gilbert De Clare 8th Earl of: "1243-1295, English nobleman, son of the 7th Earl. He married (1253) Alice de Lusignan, niece of Henry III, and succeeded to the Earldom in1262... His first marriage was annulled, and in 1290 he married Edward's daughter Joan..."

   Marriage Information:

Alice married Earl Gilbert De Clare GLOUCESTER, son of Earl Richard De Clare GLOUCESTER and Countess Maud De Lacy GLOUCESTER, on 2 Feb 1252-1253 in , , England. The marriage ended in divorce. (Earl Gilbert De Clare GLOUCESTER was born on 2 Sep 1243 in Church, Christ, Hampshire, England, died on 7 Dec 1295 in Castle, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, England and was buried on 22 Dec 1295 in Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.)