Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester

Constance of York
Baroness le Despencer Countess of Gloucester
Born	c. 1374 Conisburgh Castle, Yorkshire, England
Died	28 November 1416 (aged 41–42) Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England
Spouse	Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Issue	Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh Elizabeth le Despenser Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
House	York
Father	Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
Mother	Isabella of Castile

Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, (c. 1374 – 28 November 1416) was the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and his wife Isabella of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile and his favourite mistress, María de Padilla.

Family

Constance was born about 1374, the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and his wife, Isabella of Castile, the youngest daughter of King Peter of Castile and his favourite mistress, María de Padilla.

Plots against Henry IV

Shortly before 7 November 1379, Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester. Despenser was created Earl of Gloucester by King Richard II on 29 September 1397, but after Richard's deposition and the accession of King Henry IV some of his lands were seized and he was degraded from the earldom. In consequence in late December 1399 he and others joined in a plot, known as the Epiphany Rising, to assassinate King Henry and restore King Richard to the throne. According to a French chronicle the plot was betrayed to the King by Constance's brother, Edward; however contemporary English chronicles make no mention of Edward's alleged role. Gloucester escaped immediate capture, but was eventually turned in to the authorities at Bristol, where he was beheaded on 16 January 1400. After her husband's death, Constance was granted a life interest in the greater part of his lands and custody of her son.

In February 1405, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, Constance herself instigated a plot to abduct the young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, and his brother, Roger Mortimer, from Windsor Castle, apparently intending to deliver the young Earl, who had the best claim to the throne of any of Henry IV's rivals, to his uncle Sir Edmund Mortimer, who was married to Glyndwr's daughter. The young Edmund Mortimer and his brother were recaptured before entering Wales. Constance implicated her elder brother, Edward, in the plot, as a result of which he was imprisoned for 17 weeks at Pevensey Castle, but was eventually restored to Henry IV's favour. When Constance died in 1416, she was buried at the High Altar in Reading Abbey.

Marriage and issue

Shortly before 7 November 1379 Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 16 January 1400), third but first surviving son of Edward le Despenser and Elizabeth Burghersh, by whom she had a son and two daughters:

• Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh (1396 – 1414). He married Lady Eleanor Neville (c. 1397 - 1472), daughter of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland (d.1425) and Joan Beaufort (d.1440), daughter of John of Gaunt by Katherine Swynford. He died young without issue.

• Elizabeth (died young c. 1398)

• Isabel, born after her father's execution. She married, firstly, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester (d. 1421/2). A daughter, Elizabeth, Lady Abergavenny (b.1415) was the sole product of this union. Following Worcester's death, she married Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. They were parents to Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick and Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick.

After her husband's death, Constance was either betrothed to or lived as the mistress of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (1382-1408), by whom she had an illegitimate daughter, Eleanor Holland (died c. 1459), who married James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley.

Shakespeare and Constance of York

Constance is referred to as 'my sister Despenser' in Shakespeare's Richard II.

Ancestry

Family of Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester

16. Edward I of England               8. Edward II of England                       17. Eleanor of Castile               4. Edward III of England                             18. Philip IV of France               9. Isabella of France                       19. Joan I of Navarre               2. Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York                                   20. John II, Count of Holland               10. William I, Count of Hainaut                       21. Philippa of Luxembourg               5. Philippa of Hainault                             22. Charles of Valois               11. Joan of Valois                       23. Marguerite of Anjou and Maine               1. Contance of York                                         24. Ferdinand IV of Castile               12. Alfonso XI of Castile                       25. Constance of Portugal               6. Pedro of Castile                             26. Afonso IV of Portugal               13. Maria of Portugal                       27. Beatrice of Castile               3. Isabella of Castile                                   28.               14. Juan García de Padilla                       29.               7. María de Padilla                             30.               15. María Fernández de Henestrosa                       31.

References

• (subscription required)
• ISBN 0-86299-541-8
• ISBN 1449966373
• ISBN 1449966381
• Works related to Edward of Langley, 2nd Duke of York at Wikisource: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 45
• Liss, Peggy K., Isabel the Queen, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Reston, James, Dogs of God, New York: Doubleday, 2005.