Surrey was appointed Viceroy of Scotland after the defeat of the Scots at Dunbar in 1296 but their association was of long standing. He had been earl since 1240 and was married, during his wardship to the Crown, to Alice de Lusignan, the half sister of Henry III. She died in 1256 having given birth to John’s heir – William.

About four years older than Edward he was raised with the royal family at Guildford Castle and in 1254 accompanied Edward to Spain to claim his bride, Eleanor of Castile. He was still part of Edward’s household in Gascony in 1260-1261. His guardian was Peter of Savoy who was the queen, Eleanor of Province’s uncle.

During the Second Barons’ War he was largely supportive of Prince Edward, except during the year 1262-1263 when he supported Simon de Montfort. Effectively both the barons and the Royalist knew that war was coming after the Provisions of Oxford broke down. In London, the barons were commanded by Simon de Montfort and the Earl of Gloucester.

In 1264 Surrey defended Rochester Castle which was besieged by the barons until it was relieved by Edward who then marched on Tonbridge Castle. Their next stop was Lewes, which was Surrey’s ancestral home. Following the Battle of Lewis which saw de Montfort and the barons victorious- the earl escaped to France via Pevensey – recognising that he would not be treated sympathetically by de Montfort.

In 1265 he landed at Pembroke with Edward’s uncle William de Valence, and Surrey’s brother-in-law. He immediately petitioned the barons for the return of his estates which had been granted, for the main, to the Earl of Gloucester – who was a cousin both of them being part of the extended Marshal family. De Montfort refused to return them – and Surrey took part in the Battle of Evesham on 4 August, 1265. he was at the Battle of Chesterfield the following year with Henry of Almaine.

He was, it appears, a man with a very bad temper – certainly not someone you would wish to cross. In 1268 he fell out with Alan de la Zouche and his son over properties in Northamptonshire. Encountering them at Westminster, in 1270, there was a fight that left Alan seriously injured, dying from them. In the aftermath, he took himself off to Reigate Castle which he intended to defend against the Crown. It was Henry of Almaine, and the self-same Earl of Gloucester, who persuaded him to submit and pay a fine rather than rebelling against the king.

In 1278 he had a falling out with Edward I who held a Parliament in Gloucester to identify lords who had impinged on royal rights of justice and to reclaim them for the Crown. Surrey was served with a writ of quo warranto – or by what warrant he held some of his rights – it is said that Surrey drew a rusty old sword exclaiming that it was his warrant since he’d arrived on English shores with William the Conqueror.

He held Wakefield and Conisborough under royal grant, fought agains the Welsh, and the Scots but was defeated by William Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Surrey had been reluctant to return to Scotland after 1296 and he now fled all the way back to York. Surrey’s initial interest in Scotland, aside from his long service to Edward I, was the fact that his daughter Isabel, by his second wife, was married to one of the prospective king’s of Scotland – John Baliol. After the defeat Surrey did return to Scotland the following year.

By that time his only son, William, had been killed in a tournament held in 1285 at Croydon. In time Surrey was succeeded by his grandson, another John, who had been an infant when his father died in 1285. The 7th Earl was still a minor when the 6th Earl died in 1304 and was buried at the Cluniac priory in Lewes. He was raised alongside the future Edward II and married to Joan of Bar – who was Edward I’s granddaughter. It wasn’t a happy marriage. The descriptions of the 7th earl are not flattering and he claimed to be pre contracted to Maud of Nerford.