Henry of Antioch

Who was Henry of Antioch?

Henry of Antioch, alternately known as Henri de Poitiers or Henry of Poitiers, was the son of Bohemond IV of Antioch, Prince of Antioch and his first wife Plaisance Embriaco de Giblet.

In 1233 Henry married Isabella of Antioch, the daughter of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne. In 1263, she was appointed regent of Jerusalem and in turn appointed Henry bailli of the kingdom.

Henry and Isabella had two children:

Hugh III of Cyprus, also Hugh I of Jerusalem.

Marguerite of Antioch, married in 1268 Jean de Montfort but had no children by him. She later became a nun in Cyprus, and was buried in Nicosia.

His children both adopted their mother's surname of "de Lusignan", founding the Second House of Lusignan.

Henry drowned at sea off Tyre in June, 1276 while sailing to Tripoli in a German ship. His body was recovered and, after the death of Hugh III, both were returned to Nicosia for burial.