Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – c. 1176), often called "The Fair Rosamund" or the "Rose of the World", was famed for her beauty and was a mistress of King Henry II of England, famous in English folklore.
Rosamund was the daughter of the marcher lord Walter de Clifford and his wife Margaret Isobel de Tosny (referred to as "de Toeni" on the Page of her husband, Walter de Clifford). Walter was originally known as Walter Fitz Richard, but his name was gradually changed to that of his major holding, first as steward, then as lord. This was Clifford Castle on the River Wye.
Rosamund had two sisters, Amice and Lucy. Amice married Osbern fitz Hugh of Richard's Castle and Lucy Hugh de Say of Stokesay. She also had three brothers, Walter II de Clifford, Richard and Gilbert.
Rosamund probably first met the King when he passed by Clifford Castle in 1163 during one of his campaigns in Wales against Rhys ap Gruffydd.
Her name, Rosamund, may have been influenced by the Latin phrase rosa mundi, which means "rose of the world."
Read more about Rosamund Clifford: Possible Children, Other Stories, Death and Thereafter, Fiction
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“Time engraves our faces with all the tears we have not shed.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)