Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley

Elizabeth le Despenser
Baroness Berkeley
Spouse(s)	Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley
Issue Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Lord Berkeley James de Berkeley John de Berkeley Maurice de Berkeley Catherine de Berkeley Agnes de Berkeley Elizabeth de Berkeley
Father	Hugh Despenser the Younger
Mother	Eleanor de Clare
Born	1327 Tower of London, London, England
Died	13 July 1389
Buried	St Botolph's Aldgate, London, England

Elizabeth le Despenser (c. 1327 – 13 July 1389) was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest daughter of Hugh le Despenser the younger and his wife Eleanor de Clare. Her father is famous for being the favourite of Edward II of England, and being executed as a result of his position and actions. Through her mother, Elizabeth was a great granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

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 after her mother Eleanor's death the previous year.

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, the man largely responsible for the execution of Elizabeth's father Hugh. 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 ca. 1355 – 13 June 1405), married Elizabeth Bluet; sired James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley
• John de Berkeley (born ca. 1357–1381)
• Maurice de Berkeley (born ca. 1358; death date unknown), married Jane Hereford
• *Catherine de Berkeley (born ca. 1360; death date unknown)
• Agnes de Berkeley (born ca. 1363; death date unknown)
• Elizabeth de Berkeley (born ca. 1365; death date unknown)

Death

Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley died on 13 July 1389. She was buried at St Botolph's Aldgate, London, England.

Ancestry

Family of Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley

16. Hugh le Despenser I               8.Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer                       4.Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester                             18. Philip Basset               9. Aline Bassett                       19. Hawise de Gray               2.Hugh Despenser the Younger                                   20. William de Beauchamp               10. William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick                       21. Isabel Mauduit               5. Isabella de Beauchamp                             22. John Fitzgeoffrey               11. Maud FitzJohn                       23. Isabel Bigod               1. Elizabeth le Despenser                                         24. Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford               12. Richard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford                       25. Isabel Marshal               6.Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford                             26. John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln               13. Maud de Lacy                       27. Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln               3.Eleanor de Clare                                   28. Henry III of England               14. Edward I of England                       29. Eleanor of Provence               7. Joan of Acre                             30. Ferdinand III of Castile               15. Eleanor of Castile                       31. Joan, Countess of Ponthieu