She was the second
daughter of Walter, Lord de Clifford, who built his castle on a cliff
overlooking a ford on the River Wye at Clifford in Herefordshire, and
his daughter Rosa-mundi (the rose of the world) was born there. She had
a local lover whom she discarded when Prince Henry appeared on the
scene, and finally Henry took her away to Woodstock, where he built
magnificent apartments for her and her children, the entrance to which
was through an intricate maze in the castle grounds. The rear of the
buildings adjoined the park, so that Rosamond and her children could
pass out at the back into the park and woods without being perceived
from the castle. Queen Eleanor was naturally jealous when she heard that
she had been superseded in the king's affections, and it was said she
tried all available means to discover the whereabouts of the Fair
Rosamond, but without success, until she contrived to fasten a thread of
silk to one of the king's spurs, which she afterwards followed in the
maze in the castle grounds to the point where it had broken off at the
secret entrance. She waited for her opportunity, and when the king was
away she had the trap-door forced open, and, taking a large bowl of
poison in one hand and a sharp dagger in the other, found Rosamond near
a well in the park and commanded her to end her life either with one or
the other.
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