Constance
"Countess of Gloucester"
le Despencer
LG
formerly York
Born about in Badbey, Northamptonshire, England
Ancestors 
Daughter of Edmund (Plantagenet) of Langley KG
and Isabella (Castilla) of Castile LG
Sister of
Edward (York) of York KG and Richard (York) of York
Wife of
Thomas (Despenser) le Despenser KG
— married
before 7 Nov 1379 in England
Descendants 
Mother of
Richard (Despenser) le Despenser, Elizabeth (Despenser) le Despenser, Isabel (Despenser) Beauchamp and Eleanor (Holand) Touchet
Died
at about age 42
in Reading, Berkshire, England
Profile last modified
| Created 24 May 2012
This page has been accessed 11,331 times.
Biography
Constance is a member of the House of York.
Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester
- Born: about 1374[1]
- Parents: Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and Isabella of Castile
- Married: before 7 November 1379 Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373–16 January 1400)
- Mistress: c1403, between 1400 and 1406/7, Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (1382–1408)[2]
- They were "allegedly betrothed" after Thomas's death and before Edmund's marriage. "It is doubtful that this betrothal, if valid, resulted in actual marriage."[3]
- Children:
- Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh (1396–1414), married Eleanor Neville (about 1397–1472)
- Elizabeth (died about 1398)
- Isabel (born after 16 January 1400), married
- Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, died 1421/2
- Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
- Eleanor (died about 1459), married James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley[4]
- Constance died on 28 November 1416.[5]
Richardson Entry
EDMUND HOLAND, K.G., 4th Earl of Kent, Lord Wake, Lord Woodstock, Lord Holand, of Ware, etc., 4th son, born 9 Jan. 1382. He fought at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. During this period, he was allegedly betrothed to marry CONSTANCE OF YORK, widow of Thomas le Despenser, L.G., and daughter of Edmund of Langley, L.G., Duke of York (son of Edward III, King of England), by Isabel, younger daughter and co-heiress of Pedto el Cruel, King of Castile and Leon. It is doubtful that this betrothal, if valid, resulted in actual marriage. They had one daughter, Eleanor. He married at St. Mary Overy, Southwark, Surrey 24 Jan. 14067 LUCY (or LUCIA) VISCONTI, 10th and youngest daughter of Barnabo Visconti, signore of Milan, Lodi, Bologna, Pontremoli, and Parma, by Beatrice, daughter of Mastino II della Scala, signore of Verona. They had no issue. SIR EDWARD HOLAND, 4th Earl of Kent, Lord Wake died 15 Sept. 1408, being slain in the attack on the Isle of Brehat, Brittany, and was buried at Bourne Abbey, Lincolnshire. Lucy, Countess of Kent, Lady Wake died 14 April 1424, and was buried in the church of the Austin Friars, London. She left a will dated 11 April 1424, proved 31 May 1424.[3]
Sources
- ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), pp 76-77 #9 Thomas le Despenser, K.G., 5th Lord le Despenser
- ↑ The birth of their illegitimate daughter, Eleanor, around 1406[1] would appear that Constance had the affair with Edmund before he married Lucia on 24 January 1406.[2] Constance's husband had died in 1400.
[1] 1406 according to Wikipedia. Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry (pp 76-77, #9 Thomas le Despenser, K.G., 5th Lord le Despenser) implies Eleanor's birth was closer to 1400:
"...Sir Thomas le Despenser, Earl of Gloucester, 5th Lord le Despenser, was beheaded at Bristol 16 Jan. 1399/1400, and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey. Because of her kinship with the king, his widow, Constance, was treated with great generosity. She was granted the greater part of her husband's lands for life and given custody of their son and heir, Richard. About this time she was allegedly betrothed to marry Edmund Holand, K.G., 4th Earl of Kent, by whom she had a daughter, Eleanor Holand. ... It is doubtful that this betrothal, if valid, ever resulted in marriage. In Feb. 1405, Constance..." (p 77)
"... He [Edmund Holand] fought at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. During this period, he was allegedly betrothed to marry Constance of York, widow of Thomas le Despenser.... They had one daughter, Eleanor. In 1405, ..." (p 500, #8 Edmund Holand, K.G., 4th Earl of Kent)
[2] Wikipedia: Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Richardson, Vol. III, page 436
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'Henry VI: January 1431', in Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry and Rosemary Horrox (Woodbridge, 2005), British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval/january-1431 [accessed 20 November 2020].
- ↑ King's College London, 2014. | Mapping the Medieval Countryside [online]. Available at http://www.inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/view/inquisition/20-621/ [Accessed: 21/11/2020] Inquisitions Post Mortem for Constance widow of Thomas lord le Despenser 1416
- Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol. II page 453-5; Vol III, p 436; Vol. V page 449
- Wikipedia: Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester
- Constance Langley, "The Peerage" (website, compiled by Darryl Lundy, Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand; accessed Dec. 27, 2016)
- Peck, Francis. Academia Tertia Anglicana (Bettenham, London, 1727) Page 29
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Y > York | L > le Despencer > Constance (York) le Despencer LG
Categories: Ladies of the Garter | House of York
Perhaps changing to "after" 1374 is in order?
About the date (before November 7, 1379) - it's the "recorded date of gift for their marriage". But. Thomas & Constance's first child Richard was born in 1396, so the marriage probably wasn't consummated till 1395ish, making it seem that 1374 is based on her being 21 in 1395 (the profile previously had c1370 as birth year, but unsourced).