Peter de Preaux, known in his time in the Old French language as Pierre de Préaux, (died 1212) was a Norman knight in the service of the Angevin kings of England. Osbert, Peter's father, was a minor Norman baron in the Roumois (the neighborhood of Rouen, the capital of Normandy). He held the tower and ville of Preaux as well as land at Darnétal. Osbert also owned a scattering of manors in England. Peter, as the second son of the sire de Preaux, had few prospects for a landed estate. He, along with his brothers John, William, and Enguerrand were part of the royal household from a very early age. Peter would serve in succession, Henry II, Richard I, and John of England. Peter and William were known throughout the tournament circuit of the day as fierce warriors and competent knights. Sometime prior to 1189 CE, Osbert had died. John, the eldest son succeeded him to the family barony. Crusade Peter and William accompanied King Richard on crusade in 1190. Peter was assigned the dignity of royal standard-bearer over the hereditary standard-bearer of England, Robert Trussebut. Peter and William were known to be with the King at Vezelay, Marseille, Sicily, the conquest of Cyprus, the Siege of Acre, the Battle of Arsuf, the march to Jaffa, the advance on Jerusalem, Darum, and last but not least, the Battle of Jaffa. After the truce had been established between Richard and Saladin, Peter was assigned an important mission with other household knights, including William des Roches and Gerard de Fournival. The crusading host had been permitted by the Muslims to complete the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Peter, and his band, had been sent ahead of the first battalion to obtain safe conducts. According to the chronicle of the crusade attributed to Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Peter had fallen asleep at one of the villages where he was to meet a Saracen embassy. The crusaders charged ahead without receiving their safe conducts. When Peter and company had awaken, they realized that they were already behind the Christian host. Peter made all haste to catch up. He was then reprimanded by the column's commander, the king's cousin, Andrew of Chauvigny. King Richard's last act prior to departing the Holy Land for Europe was to ransom Peter's brother, William. He had been captured by Saladin's forces a year prior while personally keeping the King from being captured.