Elizabeth le Despenser (c. 1327 – 13 July 1389) was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest daughter of

Hugh le Despenser the younger Hugh Despenser, 1st Baron Despenser (1287/1289 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser) and his wife Isabel Beauchamp, daughter of Wi ...

and his wife

Eleanor de Clare Eleanor de Clare, ''suo jure'' 6th Lady of Glamorgan (October 1292 – 30 June 1337) was a powerful Anglo-Welsh noblewoman who married Hugh Despenser the Younger, the future favourite of Edward II of England, and was a granddaughter of Edward I ...

. Her father is famous for being the favourite of

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

; he was executed as a result of his position and actions. Through her mother, Elizabeth was a great granddaughter of

King Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

Early life

The exact date of her birth is disputed; it is possible that she (or her brother John) was born in December 1325. She may have been born to her mother sometime after her father's death, as she was not forced to take the veil like three of her older sisters. Not much else is known about her youth until August 1338, when she was sent to the care of her maternal aunt

Elizabeth de Clare Elizabeth de Clare, 11th Lady of Clare (16 September 1295 – 4 November 1360) was a member of the Anglo-Norman family, de Clare, and heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk, in England and Usk in Wales. She is sometimes referred to as E ...

after her mother Eleanor's death the previous year.Higginbotham, Susan
"Elizabeth le Despenser"
retrieved 1 October 2009.

Marriage and later life

In August 1338, she married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley, who was ironically a grandson of

Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, 1st Earl of March (25 April 1287 – 29 November 1330), was an English nobleman and powerful marcher lord who gained many estates in the Welsh Marches and Ireland following his advantageous marr ...

, the man largely responsible for the execution of Elizabeth's father

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

. She and her husband had four sons and three daughters. As a widow Elizabeth married Sir Maurice Wyth.

Death

Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley died on 13 July 1389. She was buried at

St Botolph's Aldgate St Botolph's Aldgate is a Church of England parish church in the City of London and also, as it lies outside the line of the city's former eastern walls, a part of the East End of London. The church served the ancient parish of St Botolph wit ...

, London, England.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness 1320s births 1389 deaths Date of birth unknown English baronesses

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

People from Aldgate