Elizabeth of Rhuddlan

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (7 August 1282 – 5 May 1316) was the eighth and youngest daughter of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile. Of all of her siblings, she was closest to her younger brother King Edward II, as they were only two years apart in age.

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
Countess of Hereford
Image of Elizabeth and her brother on the family tree
Countess consort of Holland
Tenure	8 January 1297 – 10 November 1299
Born	7 August 1282 Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire
Died	5 May 1316 (aged 33) Quendon, Essex
Spouse	John I, Count of Holland ​ ( m. 1297; died 1299) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford ​ ( m. 1302)
Issue Among others...	Lady Eleanor de Bohun John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford Margaret de Bohun, Countess of Devon William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
House	Plantagenet
Father	Edward I of England
Mother	Eleanor of Castile

First marriage

In April 1285 there were negotiations with Floris V for Elizabeth's betrothal to his son John I, Count of Holland. The offer was accepted and John was sent to England to be educated. On 8 January 1297 Elizabeth was married to John at Ipswich. In attendance at the marriage were Elizabeth's sister Margaret, her father, Edward I of England, her brother Edward, and Humphrey de Bohun. After the wedding Elizabeth was expected to go to Holland with her husband, but did not wish to go, leaving her husband to go alone. It is recorded that while in Ipswich the King, in some outburst, threw his daughter's coronet into the fire: a great ruby and a great emerald were supplied by Adam the Goldsmith for stones lost as a result.[1]

After some time travelling England, it was decided Elizabeth should follow her husband. Her father accompanied her, travelling through the Southern Netherlands between Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven and Brussels, before ending up in Ghent. There they remained for a few months, spending Christmas with her two sisters Eleanor and Margaret. On 10 November 1299, John died of dysentery, though there were rumours of his murder. No children had been born from the marriage.

Second marriage

On her return trip to England, Elizabeth went through Brabant to see her sister Margaret. When she arrived in England, she met her stepmother Margaret, whom Edward had married while she was in Holland. On 14 November 1302 Elizabeth was married to Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd of Essex, also Constable of England, at Westminster Abbey.

Issue

The children of Elizabeth and Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford were:

1. Margaret de Bohun (born 1302 – died 7 Feb. 1304).[2]
2. Humphrey de Bohun (born c. Oct. 1303 – died c. Oct. 1304).[3]
3. Lady Eleanor de Bohun (17 October 1304 – 1363)
4. John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (23 November 1306 – 1335)
5. Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford (6 December c. 1309 – 1361)
6. Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon (3 April 1311 – 1391)
7. William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton (1312–1360).
8. Edward de Bohun (1312–1334), twin of William
9. Eneas de Bohun, (1314 – after 1322); he is mentioned in his father's will
10. Isabel de Bohun (born and died 5 May 1316)

Later life

During Christmas 1315, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with her eleventh child, was visited by her sister-in-law, Queen Isabella of France. On 5 May 1316 she went into labour, giving birth to her daughter Isabella. Both Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella died shortly after the birth. Elizabeth was interred at Walden Abbey, Essex, together with her infant daughter & other members of the de Bohun family.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan[4]

16. Henry II of England 8. John of England 17. Eleanor of Aquitaine 4. Henry III of England 18. Aymer, Count of Angoulême 9. Isabella of Angoulême 19. Alice of Courtenay 2. Edward I of England 20. Alfonso II, Count of Provence 10. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence 21. Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier 5. Eleanor of Provence 22. Thomas I, Count of Savoy 11. Beatrice of Savoy 23. Marguerite of Geneva 1. Elizabeth of Rhuddlan 24. Ferdinand II of León 12. Alfonso IX of León 25. Urraca of Portugal 6. Ferdinand III of Castile 26. Alfonso VIII of Castile 13. Berengaria of Castile 27. Eleanor of England 3. Eleanor of Castile 28. Alberic II, Count of Dammartin 14. Simon de Dammartin 29. Mathilde of Mahaut 7. Joan, Countess of Ponthieu 30. William III, Count of Ponthieu 15. Marie, Countess of Ponthieu 31. Alice of France

References

1. T.H. Turner (ed.), Manners and Household Expenses of England in the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, Illustrated by Original Records (William Nicol/Shakspeare Press, London 1841), pp. lxxvi–vii, note (Internet archive).
2. Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, vol. 1, 2nd ed., (2011): p. 306 (author states, "i. MARGARET DE BOHUN, born 1302, died 7 Feb. 1304, aged 1-1/2 years, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.").
3. Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, vol. 1, 2nd ed., (2011): p. 306 (author states, "ii. HUMPHREY DE BOHUN, 1st son, born shortly before 30 Oct. 1303. He died by the end of Oct. 1304, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.").
4. Selby, Walford Dakin; Harwood, H. W. Forsyth; Murray, Keith W. (1895). The genealogist. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 30–31.

Sources

• Burke, John, Esq. A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, Extinct, Dormant and in Abeyance. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. (p. 196) googlebooks Retrieved 4 May
• Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Vol. I, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, 1910. (p. 1399) googlebooks Accessed 28 April 2008
• Everett Green, Mary Anne. Lives of the Princesses of England Vol. III London 1857 pages 56-
• Verity, Brad. "The Children of Elizabeth, Countess of Hereford, Daughter of Edward I of England," Foundations, Volume 6, June 2014, pages 3–10.
• Weir, Alison (2002). Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy. The Bodley Head London, U.K. ISBN 0-7126-4286-2. pages 83–85
• Weis, Frederick Lewis (2004). Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700. Genealogical Pub Co. ISBN 0-8063-1752-3. Lines 6-29, 6-30, 7-29, 7-30, 15-29, 15-30, 97-31, 97-32.