Philip of Cognac

Philip of Cognac, born in the early 1180s and known to have lived past 1211, was an illegitimate son of King Richard I of England, with his mother’s identity remaining unknown. By the end of the 1190s, Philip had reached adulthood. His father arranged his marriage to Amelia, the heiress of Cognac, France, in Charente. Following Amelia’s death without children, King Richard retained control of the castle and later transferred it to his seneschal, Robert of Thornham.

King Richard I was fatally injured in 1199 while quelling a rebellion led by Viscount Aimar V of Limoges and died without legitimate heirs. Financial records from 1201 show that Philip’s uncle, King John of England, granted him fifty marks. Philip’s later life remains largely undocumented. He was portrayed in fiction by William Shakespeare and in the film ‘Princess of Thieves,’ though these accounts are not historically accurate.