Burgh, Hubert de [key], d. 1243, chief justiciar of England under kings John and Henry III. Having served as a royal minister and commander in France, he was appointed justiciar by John in 1215. He continued in this position after John's death (1216) and in 1217 took part in the defeat of the French fleet at Sandwich that led to the withdrawal of Prince Louis (later Louis VII of France) from England. Thereafter the justiciar rapidly became the most powerful man in the government of the young Henry III. His administration temporarily strengthened the position of the crown against the unruly barons, but his own territorial acquisitions made him many enemies. After 1227, when Henry was declared of age, relations between Hubert and the king deteriorated. Hubert tried to prevent the king's disastrous expedition to France (1230); he also apparently approved the widespread English movement to resist the drain of money to the papacy. In the meantime the justiciar's long-time rival Peter des Roches intrigued against him, and finally in 1232 Hubert was deprived of office on charges of disloyalty to the crown. He was imprisoned but eventually became reconciled with Henry and successfully withstood a revival of the old charges in 1239.
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