King John

Biography

John was the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He came to the English throne in 1199 on the death of his brother Richard the Lionheart. His reign saw the loss of Normandy and much of the Angevin lands in France, heavy taxation, and a quarrel with the Church that brought a papal interdict on England.

In 1215 his barons, in open revolt, forced him to seal Magna Carta at Runnymede — a charter limiting royal authority and guaranteeing certain legal protections. Though John repudiated it almost at once and civil war followed, Magna Carta endured as a foundation stone of constitutional law in England and, later, the United States.

King John enters this archive through the maternal Plantagenet descent. His FamilySearch record (LBYQ-Z26) carries 19 source descriptions, and the line continues through him to Charlemagne by way of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The full chain is on the Plantagenet Descent page.

Key Accomplishments

• King of England, 1199–1216
• Sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215 — the charter binding the crown to the rule of law
• A direct link in the descent both upward to Charlemagne (via Eleanor of Aquitaine) and downward to the House of York

Descent to the Brothers

The milestone anchors of the maternal descent — named anchors, not every generation. The complete generation-by-generation chain is on the Plantagenet Descent page. Click any PID to open the FamilySearch record.

Generation Count

Confidence

VERIFIED on King John’s record (LBYQ-Z26, 19 FamilySearch sources) and the Plantagenet anchors above and below him, all enumerated on the Plantagenet Descent page. The 22nd-great-grandfather depth follows the Phase-7 walk count.

External Links & Sources

1. John, King of England — Wikipedia
2. FamilySearch: King John (LBYQ-Z26, 19 sources)
3. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry (2nd ed., 2011)
4. Internal: the full chain on the Plantagenet Descent page