Political Career
Edmund soon obtained, however, important possessions and dignities, for soon after the forfeiture of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester in 1265, Edmund received the Earldom of Leicester and of Lancaster and also the honour of the Stewardship of England and the lands of Nicolas de Segrave. In 1267 he was granted the lordship of Builth Wells in opposition to the then holder, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (the last prince of an independent Wales). To help him conquer the land he was also granted his elder brother's lordships of the Trilateral of Skenfrith, Grosmont and White Castle together with Monmouth. In 1267 he was High Sheriff of Lancashire
In 1271 he accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. Some historians, including the authors of the Encyclopædia Britannica article on him, state that it was because of this that he received the nickname Crouchback (which means "cross back") indicating that he was entitled to wear a cross stitched into the back of his garments.
On his return from the Crusade he seems to have made Grosmont Castle his favoured home and undertook much rebuilding there. His son Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster was apparently born there in 1281. He died while besieging Bordeaux for his brother on 5 June 1296 in Bayonne, and was interred on 15 July 1296 at Westminster Abbey, London.
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