Lady Eleanor Beaufort (1431 – 16 August 1501) was the daughter of

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, KG (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His riva ...

(1406-1455), KG, and was a sister of the 3rd and 4th Dukes of Somerset.

Origins

She was the daughter of

, KG (1406–1455), by his wife, Lady

Eleanor Beauchamp Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, Baroness de Ros and Duchess of Somerset (September 1408 – 6 March 1467) was the second daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, Elizabeth de Berkeley, daughter ...

. Eleanor Beauchamp was the daughter of

Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Early life Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe CourtRichard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoin ...

, by his first wife, Elizabeth de Berkeley (herself daughter and heiress of

Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), ''The Magnificent'', of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and s ...

, by his wife,

Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

); she was also an elder half-sister of

Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick Henry Beauchamp, 14th Earl and Duke of Warwick (22 March 142511 June 1446) was an English nobleman. Life Henry was the son of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and Isabel le Despenser. In 1434, he married Cecily Neville, the eldest daug ...

, and Anne Neville, 16th Countess of Warwick.

Marriages and children

Eleanor Beaufort married twice. Her first marriage was in circa April 1458 to James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1461). Butler was Lieutenant of Ireland in 1453; when civil conflict broke out, the lieutenant fought on the Lancastrian side. He was present at the

First Battle of St. Albans The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisb ...

in 1455, Mortimer's Cross in 1461, and at the

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...

. Butler also held the post of councilor to the Lancastrian

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. After Towton, he was a proscribed as a traitor and was captured in the same year at Cockermouth and executed there in 1461. Her second marriage was to Sir Robert Spencer of Spencer Combe in the parish of

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

, Devon, by whom she had two daughters and co-heiresses: *

Margaret Spencer Margaret (or Eleanor) Spencer (1472–1536) was the daughter of Sir Robert Spencer, of Spencer Combe in the parish of Crediton, Devon, by his wife Lady Eleanor Beaufort, the daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beau ...

(or Eleanor Spencer; 1472–1536); wife of Thomas Carey of Chilton Foliot, Wiltshire, second son of Sir William Carey (1437-1471) of

Cockington Cockington is a village near Torquay in the English county of Devon. It has old cottages within its boundaries, and is about a half a mile away from Torquay. Bus service 62 (Torquay circular) calls at the village five times per day (Mon-Fri) an ...

, Devon. She had two sons: ** Sir John Carey (1491–1552) of Plashey, eldest son, ancestor to the Carey

Viscounts Falkland A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. ** William Carey, her second son, the first husband of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

's sister

Mary Boleyn Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary, (c. 1499 – 19 July 1543) was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII. Mary was one of the mistresses of Henry VII ...

and ancestor to the Carey

Barons Hunsdon Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, Barons Carey of Leppington,

Earls of Monmouth Earl of Monmouth was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created for English courtier Robert Carey, 1st Baron Carey in 1626. He had already been created Baron Carey, of Leppington, in 1622, also in the P ...

Viscounts Rochford Viscount Rochford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation was made in favour of Sir Thomas Boleyn in 1525 by King Henry VIII. The title was taken from Boleyn's Rochford country estate in Essex. In ...

and

Earls of Dover Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Old Norse, Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "Germanic ch ...

.Vivian, pp.150, 154-6, pedigree of Cary * Catherine Spencer (1477–1542); wife of

Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, KG (13 January 1477 – 19 May 1527) was an English nobleman and a member of the courts of both Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. Origins Percy was son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberlan ...

, and mother to

Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG (c. 1502 – 1537) was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became ...

, an early love interest of

Ancestry

References

Sources

* ''The royal descent of Nelson and Wellington, from Edward the first'', George Russell French, 1853, p. 28 * ''The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII'',

Retha Marvine Warnicke Retha Marvine Warnicke (born 1939) is an American historian and Professor of History at Arizona State University. Career Warnicke graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, BA from Indiana University, magna cum laude, in 1961. She then moved on to Harvard ...

, 1984, p. 36 * ''The Baronetage of England: containing a genealogical and historical account of all the English'',

Edward Kimber Edward Kimber (1719–1769) was an English novelist, journalist and compiler of reference works. Life He was son of Isaac Kimber; and in early life apprentice to a bookseller, John Noon of Cheapside. He made a living by compilation and editorial ...

, 1771, p. 221 {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaufort, Eleanor 1431 births 1501 deaths People from Crediton People from Wiltshire 15th-century English women 16th-century English women 15th-century English people Daughters of English dukes Wives of knights

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...