King Henry II’s illegitimate half-brother: Hamelin de Warenne, a man of unwavering loyalty

Hamelin of Anjou, or Hamelin de Warenne as he would become known years later, was the illegitimate son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine.  His mother seems to have been Adelaide of Angers; he also had two illegitimate half-sisters – Emma and Mary of Anjou.  Hamelin himself...

A fateful royal marriage only a few weeks after Eleanor’s annulment

Today marks another anniversary of a royal marriage that helped create the vast and once very powerful Angevin Empire.  On the 18th of May, 1152, Henry Plantagenet, also known as Henry Curtmantle and Henry FitzEmpress who would soon become King Henry II of England, married Eleanor (Aliénor) of Aquitaine in a private ceremony...