Juliane of Fontevrault, Illegitimate Daughter of King Henry I of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Juliane’s father KIng Henry I had around 25 illegitimate children; Credit – WIkipedia

Known for trying to shoot her father King Henry I of England with a crossbow after he allowed her two young daughters to be blinded, Juliane of Fontevrault (also called Juliane FitzRoy) was born circa 1090 at the Old Palace of Westminster in London, England. Her mother was probably Ansfride (circa 1070 – 1164), who was sometimes called a mistress and sometimes called a concubine. Ansfride was the widow of Anskill of Abingdon, a knight and a tenant of Abingdon Abbey in Abingdon, England, who died following a few days of harsh treatment after being imprisoned by King William II Rufus, King Henry I’s brother and predecessor. Juliane’s paternal grandparents were King William I of England (the Conqueror) and Matilda of Flanders.

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children who were Juliane’s half-siblings.

Juliane’s probable full siblings:

Juliane had two royal half-siblings from her father’s marriage to Matilda of Scotland:

In 1103, Juliane married the Norman noble Eustace de Pacy, Lord of Pacy, Breteuil, and Pont-Saint-Pierre (circa 1090 – 1136). Eustace was the illegitimate son of an unknown mother and Guillaume de Breteuil, a Benedictine abbot at the Notre-Dame de Breteuil Abbey in Breteuil, then in the Duchy of Normandy and a possession of England, now in France. Upon his father’s death in 1071, Guillaume de Breteuil inherited his father’s titles and extensive estates in Normandy. King Henry I arranged the marriage between Juliane and Guillaume’s son Eustace to have allies in the English strongholds of the Duchy of Normandy.

Juliane and Eustace had four children:

  • Daughter #1 de Pacy
  • Daughter #2 de Pacy
  • Guillaume de Pacy (circa 1116 – 1153)
  • Roger de Pacy (circa 1118 – ?)

The ruins of the Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille; Credit – By I, Nitot, CC BY-SA 3.0,

In 1119, when the Norman nobles revolted against King Henry I, Juliane’s husband Eustace threatened to ally himself with the Norman nobles unless the Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille in Ivry-la-Bataille in the Duchy of Normandy, which had belonged to his predecessors, was returned to him. At that time, the castle was in the possession of Eustace’s maternal fist cousin Raoul II de Gaël. King Henry I took his time dealing with the issue but assured Eustace that the issue would be concluded. To ensure his daughter and son-in-law’s loyalty, King Henry I took their two daughters as hostages and traded them for the son of Ralph Harnec, Constable of Ivry. While the son of Ralph Harnec was in the custody of Eustace and Juliane, Eustace had the boy’s eyes gouged out. Ralph Harnec demanded his right to retaliation because he had not been guilty of any offense against Eustace and Juliane that could justify that treatment of his son. King Henry I approved Harnec’s right to retaliate and Harnec gouged out the eyes and cut off the noses of Eustace and Juliane’s two daughters, King Henry I’s own grandchildren.

Juliane and Eustace were outraged. Eustace fortified his castles in the Duchy of Normandy at Lire, Gls, Pont-Saint-Pierre, and Pacy-sur-Eure. Juliane went to the Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille with the troops needed to guard the castle. The citizens of Bretuil refused to support her against the powerful King Henry I and opened the castle doors to him. Julianne agreed to meet with her father. However, when she went to the meeting, she took a crossbow and attempted to shoot him. King Henry I destroyed the drawbridge, confining Juliane to the castle. Eventually, Juliane managed to escape by having herself lowered along the wall into the moat, full of half-frozen water. She made her way to Eustace who was at his castle in Pacy-sur-Eure in the Duchy of Normandy.

King Henry I confiscated Juliane and Eustace’s property except for the castle in Pacy-sur-Eure. The Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille was given back to the de Gaël family for their loyalty to Henry. Juliane and Eustace begged King Henry I for forgiveness. He did forgive them and gave them 300 silver marks a year for the loss of Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille.

Fontrevault Abbey; Credit – By Pierre Mairé, PixAile.com – www.pixAile.com, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1356886

In 1123, Juliane became a nun at Fontevrault Abbey, near Chinon in the Duchy of Anjou, now in France. Some sources say her two blinded daughters went with her. Juliane died in 1136 at Fontevrault Abbey.

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Works Cited

  • Ansfride Concubine #3 of Henry I King of England. geni_family_tree. (2022a, August 22). https://www.geni.com/people/Ansfride-Concubine-3-of-Henry-I-King-Of-England/6000000001563248849
  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter, & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Henry I of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-i-of-england/
  • Juliane Fitzroy. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/Juliane-FitzRoy/6000000003219799748
  • Lea. (2021). A King’s Daughter Who Attempted to Murder Her Father. https://worldroyals.medium.com/a-kings-daughter-who-attempted-to-murder-her-father-45a1a23de27f
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). Juliane de Fontevrault. Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_de_Fontevrault
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Juliane de Fontevrault. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_de_Fontevrault
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Julienne (Bâtarde). Wikipedia (French). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julienne_(b%C3%A2tarde)