# William Marshal

william marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: Williame li Mareschal, French: Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings – Henry II, his sons the "Young King" Henry, Richard I, John, and John's son Henry III. Knighted in 1166, he spent his younger years as a knight errant and a successful tournament competitor; Stephen Langton eulogised him as the "best knight that ever lived." In 1189, he became the de facto Earl of Pembroke through his marriage to Isabel de Clare, though the title of earl would not be officially granted until 1199 during the second creation of the Pembroke Earldom. In 1216, he was appointed protector for the nine-year-old Henry III, and regent of the kingdom.