Peter II (c. 120315 May 1268), called the Little Charlemagne, was Count of Savoy from 1263 until his death in 1268. He was also holder of the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire in England, and the English lands of the Honour of the Eagle also known as the Honour of Pevensey and the Honour of Eu also known as the Honour of Hastings. His significant land holdings in the English County of Sussex were also marked by his holding of the wardship of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey which brought with it lands centred upon Lewes castle. Briefly, from 1241 until 1242, castellan of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast (later called Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports). In 1243 he was granted land by the River Thames on the Strand near the City of London, where he built the Savoy Palace.
Biography
Early career in Savoy
Peter was born around 1203, possibly at Susa, Piedmont. He was likely the seventh child of Thomas I, Count of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. It was through his sister Beatrice of Savoy and her daughters: Margaret of Provence, Queen of France, Eleanor of Provence, Queen of England, Sanchia of Provence, Queen of the Romans and Beatrice of Provence, Queen of Sicily and Naples, that the House of Savoy and Peter in particular would derive much of their career and influence. On 25 September 1241 he was granted the Honour of the Eagle and wardship of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey bringing much land in Sussex and the south coast of England. His position on the south coast was further strengthened in 1249 by the Honour of Eu, also known as the Honour of Hastings. In February 1246 he was granted land between the Strand and the Thames, where Peter built the Savoy Palace in 1263, on the site of the present Savoy Hotel. It was destroyed during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. By his will, the Honour of Richmond was left to his niece Queen Eleanor, who transferred it to the crown.
In 1241, Henry sent Peter to gather support for a pending invasion of Poitou. He travelled to Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy; Theobald I of Navarre; his brother Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy; and his brother-in-law Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. In February 1242, Peter was sent into Poitou to see what support existed there for Henry. He was nearly captured there, but managed to escape. He then travelled to Provence to negotiate the marriage of his niece Sanchia of Provence to Henry's brother Richard.
In 1246, Peter went back to Savoy, in part to seal a marriage deal with Amadeus. In February 1247, he returned to England with Alice of Saluzzo, Amadeus's granddaughter by Beatrice. She was married to Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract that May.
Boston (a borough by 1279), on the River Witham, had over many years become an important port for Lincoln. The town was held by the Dukes of Brittany until about 1200. In 1241, Peter obtained the manor of Boston at the same time as he had Richmond. It was restored to John I, Duke of Brittany, on Peter's death. Donington manor is also thought to have been passed from John de la Rye to Peter of Savoy about 1255, when a charter was granted for a market to be held at the manor on Saturdays. In the same year, a similar grant was made for the holding of a fair on 15 August, also to be held at the manor. A separate charter was granted to Peter on 8 April 1255 by the king to hold a market on Mondays.
thumb|The walls of the inner ward at [[Pevensey Castle are typically attributed to Peter of Savoy's tenure]]
In 1246, the king granted Peter the castle of Pevensey. Peter originally, in 1258, sided with Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, in the Second Barons' War; but sided with Eleanor of Provence, his niece and his son-in-law King Henry III of England from 1261 against Montfort.