Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert was the eldest son of Roger de Beaumont , a major Norman baron and comrade-in-arms of William the Conqueror when he was Duke of Normandy, and Adeline, heiress of the county of Mélan in Ile de France . In 1066, young Robert participated in the Norman conquest of England and fought at the Battle of Hastings , during which he commanded an infantry detachment on the right flank of the Norman forces. After the coronation of William the Conqueror by the King of England, Robert de Beaumont was granted many ^[6] land estates and manors in different parts of the country. With the death of his mother in 1081, Robert inherited the small county of Mölan on the Franco-Norman border, as well as the Viscountry of Ivry and the lord Norton . For these possessions, Robert brought homage to King Philip I of France and later, as a French peer, participated in the sessions of the royal court ( parliament ). In 1094, Robert's father passed away, leaving his son vast lands in Normandy: Rumua , Brionne , Pont-Audemar , Watteville and Beaumont-le-Roger . Thus, Robert turned into one of the richest Anglo-Norman aristocrats, and for his lands he turned out to be a vassal of three sovereigns at once: the English king Wilhelm II Rufus , the French king Philip I and the Norman duke Robert III Kurtges .

The possessions of Robert de Beaumont in France      Domain of the king of France      County Mölan      The Duchy of Normandy Green shows the centers of possessions of Robert de Beaumont

Despite the need to remain faithful to the three monarchs, most of the time Robert de Beaumont spent in England, where, thanks to his eloquence and state talents, he took one of the leading places at the court of the king. In 1100, Robert participated in the famous royal hunt in New Forest , during which William II Rufus was killed under mysterious circumstances. Under his successor, Henry I, Robert reached the peak of his position, becoming the king's right hand and his chief adviser. Beaumont advocated the strengthening of the royal power, including in church matters, and actively supported the decisive position taken by Henry I in the struggle for investiture . In 1105, he was even excommunicated by Pope Paschal II for speaking in defense of royal prerogatives when appointing bishops. After the reconciliation of Henry and Archbishop Anselm, the excommunication was lifted. Robert de Beaumont retained leading roles in the royal administration almost until his death, although by the end of the 1110s, Roger , Bishop of Salisbury , began to force him out.

In 1106, Robert de Beaumont took part in the King’s Norman campaign and commanded one of the English regiments during the Battle of Tan Tan , as a result of which Normandy was conquered by Henry I. A year later, the king granted Robert the title of Earl of Leicester ^[7] . Robert de Beaumont died in 1118 , according to the testimony of Heinrich Huntingdon , from grief and humiliation when it became known that his wife Elizabeth de Vermandois had betrayed him with Wilhelm de Varenne . Shortly after the death of Robert, Elizabeth and Wilhelm de Varennes were married.

• Wife: Elizabeth de Vermandois (c. 1081–1131), daughter of Hugo the Great , Count of Vermandois , son of the French king Henry I :
• Children:

1. Emma de Beaumont (born in 1102);
2. Robert de Beaumont (1104–1168), 2nd Earl of Leicester ;
3. Galerand de Beaumont (1104–1166), Count of Mélan , 1st Earl of Worcester ;
4. Hugo de Beaumont (born in 1106), Earl of Bedford ;
5. Adeline de Beaumont (born c. 1100), married the first marriage to Hugo IV, seigneur de Montfort-sur-Riesl, the second marriage to Richard de Granville;
6. Aubrey de Beaumont , married to Hugo II, seigneur de Châteauneuf-en-Timerez;
7. Matilda de Beaumont (born c. 1114), married to Wilhelm Lovell, seigneur d'Ivry;
8. Isabella de Beaumont (c. 1102–1172?), Lover of King Henry I , married first marriage to Gilbert de Claire , 1st Earl of Pembroke , second marriage to Herve de Montmorency , Connectable of Ireland

• Genealogy of the House de Beaumont (English)
• Counts de Molan (fr.)
• Beaumont in the history of England
• Robert de Beaumont