Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford

Aubrey de Vere III (c. 1115-Dec. 1194) was created Earl of Oxford by the empress Matilda in July 1141. He had inherited the barony of Hedingham on the death of his father Aubrey de Vere II in May 1141, when he was already Count of Guînes by right of his wife Beatrice. In July 1141 he was granted an earldom by the Empress Matilda, and was confirmed as the first earl of Oxford by her son King Henry II of England. On the annulment of his first marriage, between 1144-46, he lost Guînes. Earl Aubrey was little involved in national political affairs after this period. His attempt to divorce his third wife, Agnes of Essex, was a celebrated marriage case that Agnes appealed successfully to Pope Alexander III. In 1153 he was present with King Stephen's army at the siege of Wallingford and attested at the Treaty of Wallingford, finally signed at Westminster. Two of his sons by Agnes, Aubrey IV and Robert, became earls of Oxford. Robert, the third earl, was one of the 25 rebel barons who were to hold King John to the terms of Magna Carta.