Isabel de Clare of Pembroke ¹

  General Notes:

Isabel was described as having been "the good, the fair, the wise, the courteous lady of high degree". She allegedly spoke French, Irish and Latin. After her brother Gilbert's death, Isabel became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom, owning besides the titles of Pembroke and Striguil, much land in Wales and Ireland. She inherited the numerous castles on the inlet of Milford Haven , guarding the South Channel , including Pembroke Castle . She was a legal ward of King Henry II , who carefully watched over her inheritance
The new King Richard I arranged her marriage in August 1189 to William Marshal, regarded by many as the greatest knight and soldier in the realm. Henry II had promised Marshal he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son and successor Richard upheld the promise one month after his accession to the throne. At the time of her marriage, Isabel was residing in the Tower of London in the protective custody of the Justiciar of England , Ranulf de Glanville . Following the wedding, which was celebrated in London "with due pomp and ceremony", they spent their honeymoon at Stoke d'Abernon in Surrey which belonged to Enguerrand d'Abernon.
Marriage to Isabel elevated William Marshal from the status as a landless knight into one of the richest men in the kingdom. He would serve as Lord Marshal of England , four kings in all: Henry II , Richard I, John, and Henry III . Although Marshal did not become the jure uxoris 1st Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Striguil until 1199, he nevertheless assumed overlordship of Leinster in Ireland, Pembroke Castle , Chepstow Castle , as well as Isabel's other castles in Wales such as the keep of Haverford , Tenby, Lewhaden, Narberth, Stackpole.
Shortly after their marriage, Marshal and Isabel arrived in Ireland, at Old Ross, a settlement located in the territory which belonged to her grandfather, Dermot MacMurrough. A motte was hastily constructed, a medieval borough quickly grew around it, and afterwards the Marshals founded the port town by the river which subsequently became known as New Ross . The Chronicles of Ross, which are housed in the British Museum , described Isabel and Marshal's arrival in Ireland and records that Isabella set about building a lovely city on the banks of the Barrow.
In 1192, Isabel and her husband assumed the task of managing their vast lands; starting with the rebuilding of Kilkenny Castle and the town, both of which had been damaged by the O'Brien clan in 1173. Later they commissioned the construction of several abbeys in the vicinity.
The marriage was happy, despite the vast difference in age between them.

Isabel married Earl William Marshal of Pembroke, son of Earl William Marshal of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare of Pembroke. (Earl William Marshal of Pembroke was born in 1190 and died on 24 Apr 1231.)

Isabel next married Earl William Marshal of Pembroke, son of John FitzGilbert Marshal of England and Sibyl of Salisbury. (Earl William Marshal of Pembroke was born in 1146 and died on 14 May 1219.)

  Marriage Notes:

Although her daughters had many children, Isabel's five sons, curiously, died childless. This is supposedly attributed to a curse placed upon William Marshal by the Irish Bishop of Ferns , Ailbe Ua Maíl Mhuaidh . The title of marshal subsequently passed to Hugh de Bigod, husband of Isabel's eldest daughter Maud, while the title of Earl of Pembroke went to William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke , the husband of Joan de Munchensi, daughter of Joan Marshal. He was the first of the de Valence line of the earls of Pembroke .
Within a few generations their descendants included much of the nobility of Europe , including all the monarchs of Scotland since Robert I (1274-1329) and all those of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom since Henry IV (1367-1413); and, apart from Anne of Cleves , all the queen consorts of Henry VIII .

Isabel next married Earl William Marshal of Pembroke, son of John FitzGilbert Marshal of England and Sibyl of Salisbury. (Earl William Marshal of Pembroke was born in 1146 and died on 14 May 1219.)