 His older brothers, Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola and Simon de Montfort the Younger were seeking their fortunes in Italy.A tragic turn of events lead to the bloody 1271 confrontation between Guy and Simon and their cousin Henry of Almain (also Edward's cousin, by virtue of his father, Henry III being the elder brother of both Eleanor of England and Henry of Almain's father, Richard, Earl of Cornwall).Henry, whom the de Montfort sons considered a traitor to their father's ideals, was attacked during mass at Viterbo, and murdered on the altar steps, resulting in the excommunication of both de Montfort sons.