Gloucester Titles
by Russell Grant
Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester from 1385 (Born Woodstock, Oxfordshire January 7 , 1355 September 8 (or 9), 1397) Thomas was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa. He was the king's lieutenant in France but lost face when he failed to take Nantes against a combined French and Castilian army in 1380. After becoming Duke of Gloucester whilst taking the high road Scotland he became head of the anti-Richard Lords Appellant and de facto control of Richard II's government. He decided that the royal advisers be removed forthwith. He secured a conviction of treason of all the king's counsellors at what became known as the Merciless Parliament in 1388 finding them all guilty of living in vice and deluding the king . Thanks to John of Gaunt, the following May Richard II regained power and he and his uncle the Duke of Gloucester made peace and together went across the seas to Ireland in 1394. In 1397 Gloucester was arrested by the King himself at Pleshey Castle in Essex from there he was taken to Calais and murdered on the orders of his nephew, Richard. Before he could appeal, he was declared a traitor in similar vein to how he had disposed of the royal advisers years before. His death caused outcry amongst the nobility and added to Richard's unpopularity. His daughter was known as Anne of Gloucester although the title became forfeit on his murder in 1397.
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester from 1414 Good Duke Humphrey (1390 February 23 , 1447) and was the fifth son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun . His brother Henry V succeeded to the throne and Humphrey fought for Harry, Crispin and St George and was wounded at the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415. On the death of Henry V he became regent of the kingdom and protector to his young nephew, King Henry VI . But his brother's will made it clear that on his death the regency should go to Gloucester 's older brother John of Lancaster, to which Parliament concurred. Around about 1422 he married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault and Holland , daughter of William VI . The marriage was annulled in 1428 , and Jacqueline died disinherited - in 1436 . Meanwhile, amidst building criticism Gloucester remarried, his second wife being his former mistress, Eleanor Cobham .
In 1441, Eleanor was tried and convicted of practising magic against King Henry VI in an attempt to help Gloucester to succeed to the throne, as he was now heir presumptive. She died in prison. Following his wife's conviction, Gloucester himself was arrested on a charge of treason. He died, or was assassinated, at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk whilst in custody a few days later. This particular Duke of Gloucester was indecisive, had little or no staying power and unable to finish things he started. His name lives on in "Duke Humfrey's Library", leaving a gift of books, which form the heart of the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Richard III became Duke of Gloucester in 1461 (born at Fotheringhay Castle , Northamptonshire 2 October 1452 22 August 1485 ) and is probably the most famous or notorious holder of the title, dependent upon your point of view. He was one of the few Dukes of Gloucester that did something for the city. Richard was King from 1483 until his death, and he conferred upon the city in his coronation year its charter making it a city and county in its own right. It confirmed the 1155 Henry I charter of incorporation but with a little bit extra! After his brother King Edward IV demise, Richard briefly governed as the Lord Protector for Edward's son King Edward V but cunningly placed Edward and his brother Richard in the Tower of London and crowned himself king on 6 July 1483 . Two large-scale rebellions rose against Richard. The first, in 1483, was led by his own 'kingmaker', Henry Stafford , Duke of Buckingham . The revolt was not successful and Buckingham was executed at Salisbury . However, in 1485, a more formidable enemy took arms against Richard, headed by the formidable Welshman/Briton Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (later King Henry VII). At this point all Richard's enemies allied and the king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field , Leicestershire. He was the last monarch from the House of York , the last Plantagenet king, and last English king to die in battle - and his death at the Battle of Bosworth ended the Wars of the Roses and introduced the iconic Tudors to the throne.
Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester from 1659 (born in Oatlands Park , Weybridge, Surrey on July 8 th 1640 - September 18 th 1660) was son of Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. After his father's defeat at the end of the British Civil War, the six year old prince (unlike his older brothers, who escaped with their mother to France), was captured and brought to the royal apartments in the white tower of the Tower of London , under the 'protection' of the republican army. It was even suggested that the young prince be placed on the throne as a puppet with Oliver Cromwell and parliament pulling the strings. It was thought he was young enough not to have been 'corrupted' by the catholic and absolutist views of his mother and father. This never came to pass. Eventually, in 1652, republican leader Oliver Cromwell agreed to release him, and he was sent to join his mother and brothers in Paris . Cromwell's influence did take hold as Henry had become a staunch Protestant . His doctrine clashed vehemently with his mother's and they quarelled so much over matters of religion and politics that their mutual dislike led Henrietta virtually expelling him from her presence; and he went to join the Spanish armies fighting at Dunkirk. He returned to Britain as part of his brother Charles II's triumphant restoration through London in May 1660. He was created Duke of Gloucester by him but died suddenly of smallpox not long afterwards.
Decades later, during the exclusion crisis Henry was looked back on as a kind of 'lost leader'; as what might have been a legitimate, warlike, protestant alternative to the equally unpalatable choices of either James II or the Duke of Monmouth .
QUEEN ANNE'S LITTLE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
Prince William (July 24 th 1689 July 29 th 1700 ) The only child out of the 18 Queen Anne gave birth to, to live beyond infancy, PRINCE WILLIAM, was declared by his uncle, the then King, WILLIAM III, to be Duke of Gloucester at his birth on July 24th 1689, but no formal documentation for such a creation exists. He died on July 29 th 1700.
Prince Frederick Louis (Born in Hanover , Germany February 1 st 1707 Died Leicester House, London March 31 st 1751 ) GEORGE II's Heir Apparent and father of GEORGE III. There is no formal documentation for his creation as Duke of Gloucester.
Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester in 1764 (was born at Leicester House London on November 14 th 1743 - August 25 th 1805) . His father was The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach . His mother was The Princess of Wales (née Augusta of Saxe-Gotha) . Prince William Henry joined the British Army . His elder brother King George III became king on October 25 th 1760 and four years after created William Henry Duke of Gloucester . Gloucester , Ontario is named in his honour.
HRH Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester (Born in Rome, Italy on January 15 th 1776 - November 30 th 1834 ) His father was Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester , the third son of the Prince of Wales . His mother was Maria, Duchess of Gloucester , the illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole and granddaughter of Robert Walpole , the great and first British Prime Minister. On 25 August 1805 , Prince William's father died, and he inherited the title Duke of Gloucester.
HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester 1928 (Born York Cottage, Sandringham, Norfolk March 31 st 1900 - June 10 th 1974 ) His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V) , His mother The Duchess of York (later Queen Mary) . In 1898, Queen Victoria issued letters patent granting the children of the Duke and Duchess of York the style Royal Highness . In 1928 , his father, by now King George V, created him Duke of Gloucester . On November 2 , 1930 he attended the coronation of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa . In 1934, King George V as King of Ireland made him a Knight of St Patrick (KP), Ireland 's chivalric order. It was the last time this order was ever awarded. Returning to the UK , the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire with an apartment in Kensington Palace . The Duke attended the coronation of his niece, Queen Elizabeth in 1953 . In 1972 , the Duke's eldest son, Prince William, tragically died in a plane crash. The Duke was the last surviving child of the late King and Queen. When he died on June 10 1974 , his second eldest son, Prince Richard inherited the title of Duke of Gloucester. The old Duke's wife, Alice, received permission from Queen Elizabeth II to be styled Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester to distinguish herself from Prince Richard's wife. She survived until 2004 , and at the age of 102 becoming the longest-lived member of the British Royal Family in history.
HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1944 ) was born on 26 August 1944 at Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire . His father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester ; His mother was Alice, Duchess of Gloucester . At the time of his birth, he was second in line to his father's Dukedom, behind his brother, Prince William of Gloucester .
When he was four months old, Prince Richard accompanied his parents to Australia , where his father was Governor-General from 1945 to 1947 . The family returned to Britain in 1947 . After university and completing his training, he went into practice as a partner in a firm of London architects. Although he planned to practice full time as an architect, the unforeseen death of his brother, Prince William of Gloucester , left Richard first in line to his father's Dukedom. He therefore resigned his partnership, and began to represent his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II , on Royal occasions. On 8 June 1972 , Prince Richard of Gloucester married Birgitte van Deurs , a Danish woman, at St Andrew's Church in his home village of Barnwell . On 10 June 1974 , Prince Richard's father died and he succeeded to the title Duke of Gloucester . The Duke is particularly interested in architecture and conservation. A keen motorist, Prince Richard was president of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for 32 years he resigned his post in January 2005 when on 23 December 2004 , he was banned from driving for six months and fined for speeding, it being his fourth similar offence in three years
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's official residence is at Kensington Palace and they have leased Barnwell Manor since 1994 .
EARLS OF GLOUCESTER
Earl or Jarl (Nordic) is an Anglo-Saxon and Norse title. It means the chieftain and it referred especially to the head honchos given an area to rule in a king's stead. In the Viking kingdoms, it became obsolete in the middle Ages but in Britain , it is on par with the continental count ; same meaning, different root. An Earl is a member of the British peerage and ranks below a Marquess and above a Viscount . The wife of an Earl is a Countess .
Before the Norman Conquest Earldoms of Gloucester covered a much wider area than just Gloucester or its shire. The earliest Earls or Jarls of Gloucester were probably held by Brictric, son of Algar, alias Brictric Meaw, and more certainly by Swein, eldest son of Godwin Earl of Kent and elder brother of HAROLD II who killed at Hastings in 1066. In medieval times, the blurring of any distinction between the county town in this case Gloucester and county, Gloucestershire, when conferring earldoms were intended to make the titleholder governor of both city and county.
It is supposed that William Fitzeustace became 1st Earl of Gloucester in its first creation in 1093 (d. 1094 ) After the Conquest it is possible that the Earldom of Gloucester was held by either William FitzEustace, perhaps the son of Eustace II Count of Boulogne OR Robert Fitzhamon born between 1045/ 1055 and died in Falaise, Normandy March 1107 ), Sieur de Creully in the Calvados region of Normandy, who was Lord of Gloucester , not to be confused with the earldom; The Lord here most probably refers to Lord of the Manor. Fitzhamon is sometimes called Earl of Gloucester, but was never so created formally and calling him so probably due to the confusion of being Lord of Gloucester. He was allegedly grandson of Hamo Dentatus , the toothy or buck-toothed; as a kinsman of the Conqueror and one of the few Anglo-Norman barons to remain loyal to two successive kings Rufus and Henry I Beauclerc, he was a prominent figure in England and Normandy . However, not much is known about his earlier life or his exact relationship to William I and William II, Rufus, but it is supposed they were cousins.
During the rebellion of 1088, he supported Rufus and was rewarded with great estates in Gloucestershire some of which belonged to the Empress Matilda. Fitzhamon married circa 1087-1090 Sibyl of Montgomery. His eldest daughter Mabel inherited his great estates and married circa 1119 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester . Fitzhamon's Gloucestershire property thus became the nucleus of the Earldom of Gloucester later given to his son-in-law.
He refounded Tewkesbury Abbey in 1092. The abbey was apparently built under the influence of his wife Sibyl said to be a beautiful and religious woman like her sisters. In 1105, he went to Normandy and was captured whilst fighting near his ancestral estates near Bayeux . This was one of the reasons King Henry I crossed the channel with a substantial force to rescue Robert later that year. Fitzhamon was freed, and joined Henry's campaign, which proceeded to besiege Falaise . There Fitzhamon was severely injured in the head; although he lived two more years, he was never the same mentally. He is buried in the Chapter House at Tewkesbury Abbey, which he had founded and considerably enriched during his lifetime.
William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester 1121 (Born Nov 23 rd 1116 (1121 has also been suggested) - November 23 rd 1183 )
William married Hawise de Beaumont of Leicester . Because his only son and heir Robert died in 1166 , Earl William made John Lackland, the younger son of King Henry II , heir to his earldom, if the King promised that John marry one of the Earl's daughters, if the Church would allow it, they being related in the third degree. Until then the three sisters t he eldest daughter, Hadwise Avisa of Gloucester , Mabel Fitzrobert of Gloucester and Amicia Fitzrobert, Countess of Gloucester who was born in Tewkesbury in 1160 were to become co-heirs of the Earldom. The fourth daughter Isabel born in Gloucester in 1170 was known as Isabel of Gloucester and eventually had her own creation as Countess of Gloucester.
Isabel became Countess of Gloucester in its 3 rd creation in 1186 . (Died October 14 th 1217) and King John Lackland became Earl of Gloucester in 1199 (born in 1167 died 1216) when the title merged with the crown after he divorced Isabel. Isabel of Gloucester the youngest daughter of William and Hawise married King John when he was just Earl of Cornwall on August 29 th 1189. A new title created in 1186 made her Countess of Gloucester. She never became Queen as John had their marriage annulled by the Pope, no doubt he wanted the title and new if would become his, as they had no heirs. The official reason was they were too closely related being second cousins and it was a sin! As this was known all the time presumably, it was a means to an end for John to grab as much of Isabel's possessions and many of her titles as possible. She lost two titles as a result, Queen and Countess of Gloucester. John her ex-husband took the Gloucester title as it was merged with the crown. Out of interest Isabel did find some literary fame as a witch in The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay and Hadwisa in the Robin Hood stories.
Important note: It is the de Clare's or Clare's that gave their family coat of arms to the City of Gloucester 's Coat of Arms.
Gilbert de Clare, 1 st Earl of Gloucester 1218 (1180to October 25 th 1230) inherited the Clare estates from their mother Amice Fitzrobert. In 1202, Gilbert was entrusted with the safekeeping of Harfleur and Montrevilliers in Normandy . They were at the vanguard of the powerhouse forces against King John in the Baronial wars that led to the signing of the Magna Carta, where Gilbert, the Earl of Gloucester was present. He fought against the British (Welsh) and then joined a military expedition to Brittany (where the British/Welsh that left Britain due to Anglo Saxons and Normans incursions had settled) but died on his way back home and was taken to Tewkesbury where he was interred.
Richard de Clare, 2 nd Earl of Gloucester (August 4 th 1222- July 15 th 1262 near Canterbury , Kent ) known as Strongbow due to his Irish successes. First, he fought against the British (Welsh). Thanks to his mother, he inherited Kilkenny and other lands in Ireland . In 1252, he came to Tewkesbury to spend Easter but after a very active military life he was laid to rest at Tewkesbury and buried 28 July 1262, it is writ with great solemnity in the presence of two bishops and eight abbots in the presbytery at his father's right hand. Richard's own arms were: Or, three chevronels gules.
Gilbert de Clare, 3 rd Earl of Gloucester (September 2nd 1243 Christchurch , Hampshire December 7 th 1295) . known as Red' Gilbert due to his bright red hair. He built Caerffili (Caerphilly) Castle in Glamorgan. He married Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I. In 1264 fighting with Prince Edward Longshanks (later to become Edward I) they took possession of Gloucester and Bristol and were declared rebels in their own land! Red took action by destroying the bridge over the Severn and ships at Bristol to prevent Simon de Montfort escaping. He died at Monmouth Castle and buried at Tewkesbury on the left hand side of his grandfather, Gilbert.
Gilbert de the 4th Earl of Gloucester in 1295 ( 1291 24 June 1314 ) was the grandson of Edward I but died young whilst fighting the Scots. He had no heirs and so the title became extinct again. His first wife was Eleanor of Castile .
Ralph de Monthermer, Earl of Gloucester from 1299 (d. 1325 ) acquired Earldoms through his marriage to Gilbert the Red's widow Joan of Acre (who was also daughter of no-nonsense Edward I). Edward was furious by this lowly second marriage as he had other ideas and was busy playing matchmaker by arranging her marriage to an Italian noble. Despite Ralph held prisoner at Bannockburn on behalf of Edward's wars, he was thrown in prison again, this time by a frustrated father-in-law, and Joan had to plead for his release. According to the St. Albans chronicler, she told her father, " No one sees anything wrong if a great earl marries a poor and lowly woman. Why should there be anything wrong if a countess marries a young and promising man? " Her father relented, released Monthermer from gaol in August 1297, and allowed him to hold the title of Earl of Gloucester during Joan's lifetime. He lost them on her death in 1307 .
Hugh Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester from 1337 (born1289 in Stretton Audley, Oxfordshire, died on 10 Nov 1347 in France ) Hugh married Margaret de Clare on 28 Apr 1317 in Windsor , Berkshire . Margaret was born in 1298 in Gloucestershire and as daughter of Sir Gilbert "The Red de Clare and Joan of Acre she carried the title of Earl of Gloucester. Margaret was the first wife of Piers Gavestone, Edward II's intimate favourite. In his lifetime Hugh became Ambassador to France in 1341, his wife died on 13 Apr 1342 in France .
Thomas Le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester from 1397 degraded 1399 ( 1373 - 1400 ), He supported Richard II and was awarded the Gloucester earldom in the king's fight against Thomas of Woodstock. However he supported Henry Bolingbroke's drive to become Henry IV to be deprived of the Earldom in his part in Woodstock's death, what comes around
..he was finally dishonoured and beheaded in at Bristol when he took part in a rebellion to restore Richard II.
SOME OTHER NOBLE GLOUCESTERS!
SHAKESPEARE
Edmund Glouster is one of the players in King Lear. He is the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester . Edmund plots against his half-brother Edgar as well as his father, and various other members of the cast, and becomes involved in a love triangle with Goneril and Regan and is ambitious, scheming and duplicitous.
Robert of Gloucester 12601300, English chronicler. Possibly a monk of Gloucester was a chronicler during his lifetime. More than one person may have written the chronicle, which covers the period from the legendary Brut to 1270, for the two sections vary. It is important however for the study of words at the time and an historical source for the Barons' War in the reign of Henry III.
Miles or Fitzmiles of Gloucester .
Milo or Miles FitzWalter known as Miles of Gloucester was a prominent landowner from the Gloucestershire area, whose father held the offices of both sheriff and justice for that county. Miles died in a hunting accident on the Christmas Day of 1143. Of the four marriages, Miles managed to produce not one single child, still less a male heir.
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