Early Life
By 1198 Burnell's family had bestowed its name on the village of Acton Burnell in Shropshire, where Burnell was born probably in about 1239, as he was close in age to King Edward. His father was probably Roger Burnell, who died in about 1259. He had three brothers, two of whom died fighting the Welsh at the Battle of Moel-y-don in 1282; the third, Hugh, died in 1286. Hugh's son Philip was Robert's eventual heir. Burnell worked as a clerk in the royal chancery, the office responsible for the writing of documents, before moving to the household of Prince Edward, later King Edward I of England. By 1257 Burnell was spending most of his time with the prince and the prince's household. After Simon de Montfort's victory at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Burnell continued to serve Edward, and was named the prince's clerk in December 1264. As a reward for his service, Burnell was given the prebend of Holme in the diocese of York some time before 1267, and was named Archdeacon of York in December 1270. He also held the office of chancellor to Edward from the time of the Battle of Evesham in 1265 until 1270, when Edward left on crusade.
Prince Edward tried to have Burnell elected to the Archbishopric of Canterbury in 1270, but was frustrated by the Canterbury cathedral chapter's members, who instead elected their prior, William Chillenden. Eventually Pope Gregory X set Chillenden aside and installed his own choice in the see, Robert Kilwardby. Burnell did not accompany the prince on crusade in late 1270, although he had originally planned to do so. Instead, he was appointed one of the four lieutenants who looked after Edward's interests while the prince was away. Thus he was still in England when Henry III died in November 1272. Burnell acted as one of the regents of the kingdom until August 1274, when the prince, now king, returned from Palestine. During the regency Burnell supervised a parliament, dealt with raids on the Welsh Marches and resolved a trade conflict with Flanders. After the king's return to England Burnell was made chancellor. The historian Richard Huscroft considers that Burnell gained valuable experience governing England during Edward's absence, ensuring Burnell's dominance in the English government after Edward's return.
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