Elizabeth de Burgh, Duchess of Clarence, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' 4th Countess of Ulster and 5th Baroness of Connaught ( ; 6 July 1332 – 10 December 1363) was a Norman-Irish noblewoman who married

Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368), was an English prince, Earl of Ulster ''jure uxoris'' from 1347, Duke of Clarence from 1362, Guardian of England in 1345–46, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1361–66, Kni ...

Family

Elizabeth was born at

Carrickfergus Castle Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of B ...

near Belfast, Ireland, the only child of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster, and Maud of Lancaster, Countess of Ulster. She was the last of the senior legitimate line of the descendants of

William de Burgh William de Burgh ( , ; ; –winter 1205/06) was the founder of the House of Burgh (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given ...

. Her paternal grandparents were John de Burgh and Elizabeth de Clare, and her maternal grandparents were

Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster ( – 22 September 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III of England (1216–1272) and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327), his first cousin. Origins He wa ...

and

Maud Chaworth Maud de Chaworth (2 February 1282 – 3 December 1322) was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She was the only child of Patrick de Chaworth. Sometime before 2 March 1297, she married Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, by whom she had seven c ...

. Her younger half-sister was Maud de Ufford, through her mother's second marriage to Sir Ralph de Ufford,

Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monar ...

Marriage

Upon William's murder on 6 June 1333, she became the sole legal heir to all the de Burgh lands in Ireland. Actually, her kinsmen Sir Edmond de Burgh of Clanwilliam, Sir Edmond Albanach Bourke the Mac William Iochtar, Sir Ulick Burke the Mac William Uachtar became the ''de facto'' heads of the family and owners of de Burgh land during the Burke Civil War. This is because she was merely 11 months old at the time. As Countess of Ulster, she was raised in England and married

, on 15 August 1352 at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. He was the second son of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

and his

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted a ...

. As a boy, the poet

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

served as page to Elizabeth. The couple had one child,

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend", from the Greek Philippos, which is derived from ''philein'', meaning to love and ''hippos'', meaning ''horse''. The English masculine form is Philip, which was form ...

, born on 16 August 1355, the eldest grandchild of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

and Queen Philippa. Elizabeth's daughter Philippa succeeded as Countess of Ulster, and married

Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Earl of Ulster (1 February 135227 December 1381) was an English magnate who was appointed Lieutenant of Ireland, but died after only two years in the post. Early life He was the son of Roger Mortimer, 2n ...

, in 1368. Both their titles passed to their son Roger Mortimer, and eventually through their granddaughter

Anne de Mortimer Anne de Mortimer (27 December 1388 – 22 September 1411) was a medieval English noblewoman who became an ancestor to the royal House of York, one of the parties in the fifteenth-century dynastic Wars of the Roses. It was her line of descent w ...

, who married into the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...

. The House of York would base its claim to the English throne on their descent from Lionel of Antwerp. Elizabeth died in Dublin in 1363 during her husband's term as Governor of Ireland. She was buried at Bruisyard Abbey,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

; as her body was being repatriated, her husband obtained royal approval for her mother's new foundation of Franciscan nuns there.E 101/394/19 in the National Archives, translated at http://clarescribe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/THE-LAST-JOURNEY-1364.pdf , is the expense account of Nicholas de Fladebury & John de Neuborne who escorted Elizabeth's body via Chester & Coventry for the funeral at Bruisyard on 11 March 1364.

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * ** ''Earls of Ulster and Lords of Connacht, 1205–1460 (de Burgh, de Lacy and Mortimer)'', p. 170. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 1332 births 1363 deaths Nobility from County Galway

Burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...