Alice de Lusignan, Countess of Surrey
Alice de Lusignan, Countess of Surrey was a half-sister of King Henry III of England and the wife of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey. Shortly after her arrival in England from France in 1247, her half-brother arranged her marriage to the Earl, which incurred some resentment from the English nobility.
Lineage
Alice was the second-eldest daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche, and Isabella of Angoulême, queen dowager of England. She was born in Lusignan, Poitou, France in 1224, and was a member of the House of Lusignan.She had five full brothers and three full sisters, besides her royal half-siblings from her mother's first marriage.
[Image:Village of Lusignan.JPG|thumb|right|Lusignan, Vienne, France, the birthplace of Alice le Brun de Lusignan]
Marriage
In 1247, a year after her mother's death, Alice accompanied the new papal legate William of Modena, the Cardinal-bishop of Sabina, to England, which she had decided to make her home, and live at the expense of the Crown. In August of that year, her half-brother, King Henry married her to John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey. The marriage caused some resentment amongst the English nobility, as they considered the king's Lusignan siblings to be parasites and a liability to the kingdom. Many prestigious honours and titles were granted to the Lusignans. Alice was also said to have been disdainful of all things English.John was the son of William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey and Maud Marshal. Together they had three children.
Issue
- Eleanor de Warenne, married Sir Henry de Percy, by whom she had issue, including Henry [Percy, 1st Baron Percy] of Alnwick.
- Isabella de Warenne, married John Balliol, King of Scotland, and was the mother of Edward Balliol.
- William de Warenne. He was killed in a tournament. He married Joan de Vere, by whom he had two children, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, and Alice de Warenne, who in turn married Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel.