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When William was about six years old, his father John Marshal had switched sides so often between King Stephen and Empress Maud that John had to give William to Stephen as a hostage for John's keeping his word that he would surrender Newbury Castle, which Maud had told John to hold for her. John broke his word, and when Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or watch as he hanged William in front of the castle, John replied that he could always make another son, and a better one, too. Stephen could not bring himself to hang William, of course, or his story would end here.

As a younger son of a baron without much to leave him, William learned to make his own way: He was knighted in 1167 and was making a good living out of winning tournaments (which at that time were bloody, hand-to-hand combat, not the jousting contests that would come later); he fought in 500 such bouts in his life and never lost once. In 1170 he was appointed captain of the guard for Henry the Young King and stood by the young king during the Revolt of 1173-1174; he continued to serve the king of England for forty-nine years: through the rest of Henry II's reign, all of Richard I's, all of JohnJohn ( French: Jean ( December 24, 1166/ 67 October 18/ 19, 1216) reigned as King of England from 1199 to 1216. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I (known as "Richard the Lionheart"). John acquired the nicknames of "Lacklan's, and three years into that of Henry IIIHenry III ( October 1, 1207 November 16, 1272) is one of the least-known British monarchs, considering the great length of his reign. He was born in 1207, the son of King John, and succeeded to the throne at the age of nine, with the result that the count. William once came face to face with Richard in battle and could have killed him but killed Richard's horse instead, to make that point clear. William it was whom Henry trusted to guard Queen EleanorEleanor of Aquitaine (about 1122 April 1, 1204) was one of the most powerful people of the Middle Ages and the richest and most powerful woman in Europe during her lifetime. She was married first to the French King Louis VII and then to the English King H when he would let her out of prison to make some public appearance. William it was whom King John trusted on his deathbed to make sure John's nine-year-old son Henry would get the throne. It was William on June 15June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. Events 763 BC Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 923 Battle of Soissons: King Rob 1215Events June 15 King John of England forced to put his seal to Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricts the king's power. August King John rejects Magna Carta leading to English civil war in the First Barons' W at RunnymedeRunnymede is a local government district with borough status of Surrey, England. Its council is based in Addlestone. It is named after a meadow on the South bank of the River Thames, in the parish of Egham. It is celebrated in connection with the signatur who dealt with the barons who made King John agree to the Magna Carta1215 placed certain checks on the absolute power of the monarchy. Magna Carta ( Latin: Great Charter , written in 1215, is an English charter which limited the power of English Kings, specifically King John, from absolute rule. In effect, Magna Carta requ, and it was William who dealt with the kings of FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ( Louis VII and Philip Augustus). When they would not take the English king's word, they would take William's.

On November 11 1216, upon the death of King John, William Marshal was named by the king's council (the chief barons who had remained loyal to King John in the First Barons' War) to serve as both regent of the 9 year old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom. William's first action after being named as regent was to reissue the Magna Carta, in which he is a signatory as one of the witnessing barons.

For his service to them, the Plantagenets gave him as his bride (in August 1189, when he was 43 and she 17) the second-richest heiress in England, Isabel de Clare , who had inherited large estates in England, Wales, and Ireland. She brought with her the title of Earl of Pembroke. They had five sons and five daughters, and every one of them survived into adulthood. Their eldest son William would marry (in April 1224) Eleanor, the nine-year-old sister of Henry III (and daughter of King John).

William Marshal's health failed him in February 1219. In March 1219 he realized that he was dying, so he summoned his eldest son, also William, and his household knights, then he left the Tower of London for his estate at Caversham in Oxfordshire, near Reading, where he called a meeting of the barons, Henry III, the papal legate, the royal justiciar (Hugh de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the young King's guardian). William rejected the Bishop's claim to the regency and entrusted the regency to the care of the papal legate; he apparently did not trust the Bishop or any of the other magnates that he had gathered to this meeting. He wanted to be buried as a Knight Templar, so he was invested into that order before he died on May 14 1219 at Caversham, and was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his effigy may still be seen.