Marriage To Hugh Despenser The Younger
In May 1306 at Westminster, Eleanor married Hugh le Despenser the Younger, the son of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester and Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. Her grandfather, King Edward I of England, granted Eleanor a maritagium of 2,000 pounds sterling. Eleanor and Hugh had nine children:
- Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le Despencer (1308–1349)
- Gilbert le Despenser, (1309–1381).
- Edward le Despenser, (1310–1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, Knight of the Garter
- John le Despenser, (1311 - June 1366).
- Isabel le Despenser (1312–1356), married Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel
- Eleanor le Despenser, (c. 1315 - 1351), nun at Sempringham Priory
- Joan le Despenser, (c. 1317 - 1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
- Margaret le Despenser, (c. 1319 - 1337), nun at Whatton Priory
- Elizabeth le Despenser, born 1325, died 13 July 1389, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.
Eleanor's husband rose to prominence as the new favourite of her uncle, King Edward II of England. The king strongly favoured Hugh and Eleanor, visiting them often and granting them many gifts. One foreign chronicler even alleged that Edward was involved in a ménage à trois with his niece and her husband. Whatever the truth, Eleanor's fortunes changed drastically after the invasion of Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer. Hugh le Despenser was gruesomely executed.
Read more about this topic: Eleanor De Clare
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