William IX, Count of Poitiers

William IX
Count of Poitiers
Reign	17 August 1153 – April 1156
Born	17 August 1153 Normandy, France
Died	April 1156 (aged 2) Wallingford Castle, Berkshire
Burial	Reading Abbey, Berkshire
House	Plantagenet / Angevin[nb 1]
Father	Henry II of England
Mother	Eleanor of Aquitaine

William (17 August 1153 – April 1156) was the first son of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.^[1] He was born in Normandy on the same day that his father's rival, Eustace IV of Boulogne, died.

He died in April 1156, aged three. This was due to a seizure at Wallingford Castle, and he was buried in Reading Abbey at the feet of his great-grandfather Henry I.

At the time of his death, he was reigning as Count of Poitiers, as his mother had ceded the county to him. For centuries, the dukes of Aquitaine had held this as one of their minor titles, so it had passed to Eleanor from her father; giving it to her son was effectively a revival of the title, separating it from the duchy. Some authorities say he also held the title of "Archbishop of York", but this is probably an error. His half-brother Geoffrey (died 1212), who was born a year before William, did later hold that office, causing the confusion.

Ancestry

Ancestors of William IX, Count of Poitiers

16. Fulk IV of Anjou               8. Fulk V of Anjou                       17. Bertrade de Montfort               4. Geoffrey V of Anjou                             18. Elias I of Maine               9. Ermengarde of Maine                       19. Matilda of Château-du-Loir               2. Henry II of England                                   20. William I of England               10. Henry I of England                       21. Matilda of Flanders               5. Empress Matilda                             22. Malcolm III of Scotland               11. Matilda of Scotland                       23. Margaret of Scotland               1. William IX, Count of Poitiers                                         24. William VIII of Aquitaine               12. William IX of Aquitaine                       25. Hildegarde of Burgundy               6. William X of Aquitaine                             26. William IV of Toulouse               13. Philippa of Toulouse                       27. Emma of Mortain               3. Eleanor of Aquitaine                                   28. Boson II de Châtellerault               14. Aimery I of Châttellerault                       29. Alienor de Thouars               7. Aenor de Châtellerault                             30. Barthelemy de L'Isle Bouchard               15. Dangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard                       31. Gerberge de Blaison

Notes

1. Historians are divided in their use of the terms "Plantagenet" and "Angevin" in regards to Henry II and his sons. Some class Henry II to be the first Plantagenet King of England; others refer to Henry, Richard and John as the Angevin dynasty, and consider Henry III to be the first Plantagenet ruler.

Sources

1. Ymagines Historiarum, Chronicæ Sancti Albini

• Annals of Waverly