King John

John(24 December 1166 Beaumont Palace, Oxford - 18 October 1216 Newark Castle) acceded to the English throne 6 April 1199 when his older brother Richard I died and was crowned King of England 27 May 1199 at Westminster Abbey. He was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine thus continuing the line of Angevin kings. He was married twice. His first marriage to Isabella of Gloucester was annulled in 1199 when he married the daughter of the Count of Angouleme who was also called Isabella. He had two sons, one of them his later successor Henry III, three daughters and a number of illegitimate children. While his brother Richard III participated in the Third Crusade John had already acted for his brother since 1189.

The reign of King John was a difficult time, politically as well as religiously although he was a good administrator. In 1205 England lost all its possessions in France to the French king Philip

Nicknamed "John Lackland" ("Johann Ohneland"). Sealed Magna Carta in 1215.