William d'Aubigny, Lord of Belvoir

William d'Aubigny or William D'Aubeney, Lord of Belvoir (died May 1 1236) was prominent during the baronial rebellions against King John of England. He was the son of William d'Aubigny (Brito). He stayed neutral at first, only joining the rebels after the early success in taking London in 1215. He was one of the 25 sureties or guarantors of the Magna Carta. In the war that followed the signing of the charter, he held Rochester for the barons, and was imprisoned (and nearly hanged) after John captured the castle. He became a loyalist on the accession of Henry III, and was a commander at the Second Battle of Lincoln in 1217.

He was succeeded by his son, another William D'Aubigny, who died in 1247 and left only daughters. One of them was Isabel, a co-heiress, who married Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros (c. 1212-1301), thus adding the Aubigny co-guarantor of the Magna Carta to the pedigree of George Washington, 1st president of the USA.

According to the book by John S Wurts, Magna Charta, Hedgefield, Germantown, PA; Brookfield Publishing Company 1942, pages 42, 440 through 447 which outlines his descendency in detail. His ancestry goes back to William the Conqueror's time when his ancestor Robert d'Albini de Todeni who came into England in 1066 with William the Conqueror(John S Wurts, Magna Charta, Hedgefield, Germantown, PA; Brookfield Publishing Company 1942, page p. 39). After the Battle of Hastings, he(Robert) was given many properties, possibly as many as 80, among them was one near Leicestershire, where he built Belvoir Castle. This was his families home for many generations, William d'Aubigny(d'Albini) is just among the many descendants who called Belvoir Castle home. He died on May 1 1236, at Offington, England and was buried at Newstead and "his heart under the wall, opposite the alter at Belvoir Castle" (John S Wurts, Magna Charta, Hedgefield, Germantown, PA;Brookfield Publishing Company, 1942 p. 42)