Ela Longespee
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About
Ela Longespee was a great-granddaughter of Henry II by the king's natural son William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury, and a granddaughter of the crusader who died in the vanguard at Mansurah. She married James de Audley, the marcher justiciar, and through their son the Plantagenet blood of the Longespees ran into the Audleys and so, in two more generations, back toward the de Clares. Her rung was the last ring closed in the great September wiring of 2026, and one of the most satisfying.
Research notes
✓ CP: ELA, dau. of WILLIAM II LONGESPEE. ||RESEARCH-FLAG|| OPEN - two rungs up sits WILLIAM LONGESPEE Earl of Salisbury, natural son of HENRY II: a ROYAL RING candidate - CHECK FOR EXISTING Longespee/Henry II records (slash-proof name grep!) before wiring. Wife of James de Audley; mother of Hugh sr (our line). Added 14 Sep 2026. || PARENTS WIRED 14 Sep 2026 - THE RING CLOSED: father WILLIAM II LONGESPEE (d.1250 at Mansurah on crusade), mother IDOINE DE CAMVILLE (CP 'Salisbury'); grandfather WILLIAM I LONGESPEE Earl of Salisbury, NATURAL SON OF HENRY II by IDA DE TOSNY - who was ALREADY IN THE TREE as Countess of Norfolk. A fourth Plantagenet road, by the honest bastard rung, stated plainly.