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

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

and his wife

Eleanor de Clare Eleanor de Clare, suo jure 6th Lady of Glamorgan (3 October 1292 – 30 June 1337) was a Anglo-Welsh noblewoman who married Hugh Despenser the Younger and was a granddaughter of Edward I of England.Lewis, M. E. (2008). A traitor's death? The id ...

. Her father is famous for being the favourite of

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

; 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, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

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 the heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk, in England and Usk in Wales. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford ...

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 Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley (c. 1330 – 8 June 1368), ''The Valiant'', feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, was an English peer. His epithet, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, ...

, 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 marri ...

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

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

. She and her husband had seven children: * Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Lord Berkeley (born 5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417); married Margaret de Lisle, Baroness Lisle * Sir James de Berkeley (born c. 1355 – 13 June 1405), married Elizabeth Bluet; sired

James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (c. 1394 – 22 OctoberBurke, Bernard. ''A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire.'' London: Harrison, 1866. (p. 44googlebooks.comAccessed 7 July 20 ...

* John de Berkeley (born c. 1357–1381) * Maurice de Berkeley (born c. 1358; death date unknown), married Jane Hereford * Catherine de Berkeley (born c. 1360; death date unknown) * Agnes de Berkeley (born c. 1363; death date unknown) * Elizabeth de Berkeley (born c. 1365; death date unknown)

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 full name of the church is St Botolph without Aldga ...

, London, England.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness 1327 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) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

People from Aldgate