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

William was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was an older brother of Henry the Young King, Matilda, Duchess of Saxony, Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine, Joan Plantagenet and John of England.

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

At the time of his death, he had already been given the title of Count of Poitiers. 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 dukedom. Some authorities say he also held the title of "Archbishop of York", but this is probably an error. His half-brother Geoffrey Plantagenet (died 1212), who was born within months of William, did later hold that office, causing the confusion.

v • d • e Counts of Poitiers Guerin · Hatton · Renaud · Bernard I · Emenon · Ranulph I · Ranulph II · Gauzbert · Robert I · Ebalus · Aymar · Ebalus · William I · William II · William III · William IV · Eudes · William V · William VI · William VII · William VIII · Eleanor · Louis* · Henry* · William IX · Otto · Richard · Alphonse · Philip · John I · John II · John III · Charles · François · Deylan * Count through marriage

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] Sources

• Robert of Torigny
• Annals of Waverly