William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester
| William FitzRobert | |
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William Earl of Gloucester gives his great charter to Tewkesbury Abbey. Tewkesbury Abbey Founders Book, Bodleian Library, Oxford, made in Tewkesbury c.1500-1525. His tabard displays his attributed arms quarterly 1st & 4th Gules three clarions or; 2nd & 3rd Azure, a lion rampant guardant or an inescutcheon Or, three chevrons gules. These are forms of the attributed arms of Robert FitzHamon and actual arms of de Clare, Earls of Gloucester
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| Earl of Gloucester | |
| Reign | 31 October 1147 – 23 November 1183 |
| Predecessor | Sir Robert de Caen |
| Successor | John de Mortain |
| Born | 23 November 1116 |
| Died | 23 November 1183 (aged 67) |
| Spouse | Hawise de Beaumont |
| Issue | Robert FitzWilliam Mabel FitzWilliam Amice FitzWilliam Isabel, Countess of Gloucester |
| Father | Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester |
| Mother | Mabel FitzHamon of Gloucester |
William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183) was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon.
William FitzRobert was the son of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England, during whose reign William was born. Thus William was a nephew of the Empress Maud and a cousin of King Stephen, the principal combatants of the English Anarchy period. It also meant that William is the great-grandson of the famed William the Conqueror.
In October 1141, William looked after the Baronial estates, when his father fell into the hands of partisans at Winchester. His father was exchanged for King Stephen, and during his father's absence in Normandy in 1144 he served as Governor of Wareham. In 1147, he overthrew Henry de Tracy at Castle Cary.
In 1154 he made an alliance with Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, by which they agreed to aid each other against all men except Henry II of England.
FitzRobert granted Neath, a town in Glamorgan, a charter. He was Lord of the manor of Glamorgan, as well as Caerleon, residing chiefly at Cardiff Castle. It was there that in 1158 he and his wife and son were captured by the Welsh Lord of Senghenydd, Ifor Bach ("Ivor the Little") and carried away into the woods, where they were held as prisoners until the Earl redressed Ivor's grievances.
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