| Elizabeth of Rhuddlan | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Hereford | |
 Elizabeth in a 14th-century 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 | |
| Issue Detail | 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 |
Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (7 August 1282 – 5 May 1316) was the eighth and youngest daughter ofEdward I of England andEleanor of Castile and was born inRhuddlan Castle inDenbighshire. Of all of her siblings, she was closest to her younger brotherEdward II, as they were only two years apart in age.[1]
Elizabeth stayed with her parents, especially her mother, for the first few years of her life. She was atCaernarfon Castle in 1284 when her younger brother, Edward, was born. A year later Elizabeth and her family visited the south of England, firstly going toThomas à Beckett's shrine atCanterbury Cathedral, then staying atLeeds Castle before finally going toAmesbury, where her paternal grandmother,Eleanor of Provence, was living. In 1286, Elizabeth and Edward were left with their grandmother, whilst their parents left for the continent to try and negotiate a peace deal between France and Aragon, in the hope of starting another Crusade. Although another Crusade did not materialise, Edward and Eleanor stayed in Europe for several years until 1289. When they returned to England it was clear that the two youngsters had been over-indulged by their grandmother. This caused their mother to be concerned that maybe history was repeating itself, as her older daughter,Joan of Acre, had been brought up and spoiled by her maternal grandmother,Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, leading the child to become disobedient and rebellious who "stood in no awe of her parents". Edward though continued to spoil Elizabeth, much as his mother had done, as it's believed Elizabeth was his favorite child.
In October 1290, Elizabeth's mother became ill and she was summoned to see her atKing John's Palace inClipstone inNottinghamshire. Eleanor died atHarby, Nottinghamshire on 28 November 1290. Elizabeth was just eight years old. The king took his late wife back to London for burial atWestminster Abbey, ordering stone crosses to be erected at the places they stopped en route. These became known asEleanor crosses.
In April 1285 there were negotiations withFloris V for Elizabeth's betrothal to his sonJohn I, Count of Holland.[2] The offer was accepted and John was sent toEngland to be educated.[3] On 8 January 1297 Elizabeth was married to John atIpswich.[4] In attendance at the marriage were Elizabeth's sisterMargaret, her father,Edward I of England, her brotherEdward, andHumphrey de Bohun (who became Elizabeth's second husband). After the wedding Elizabeth was expected to go toHolland with her husband, but she did not wish to leave her father or England, so John had to go to Holland alone. It is recorded that the king, in an outburst at her refusal to leave with her husband, threw his daughter's coronet into the fire.[5] A greatruby and a greatemerald, stones supplied by Adam the Goldsmith, were lost as a result.[6]
After some time travelling around England in 1297, it was decided Elizabeth should follow her husband. Her father accompanied her, travelling through theSouthern Netherlands betweenAntwerp,Mechelen,Leuven andBrussels, before ending up inGhent.[7] There they remained for a few months, spendingChristmas with her two sistersEleanor andMargaret.[8] On 10 November 1299, John died ofdysentery, though there were rumours of his murder. The marriage did not produce any heirs.[9]
On her return trip to England, Elizabeth went throughBrabant to see her sister Margaret.[10] When she arrived in England, she met her stepmotherMargaret, whom Edward had married while Elizabeth was inHolland. On 14 November 1302 Elizabeth was married toHumphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd of Essex, alsoConstable of England, atWestminster Abbey.[11][12]
In 1303, she was pregnant and travelled fromDunfermline Abbey in Scotland toTynemouth.[13] She gave birth to her first child, Margaret de Bohun, in September, assisted by aholy relic of the girdle of the Virgin, brought especially fromWestminster Abbey.[14] Margaret died young[15] but Elizabeth would go on to have a large family, giving birth to numerous children in quick succession,[16] although only seven reached adulthood. Of those seven, only four had children themselves.
The children of Elizabeth andHumphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford were:
Despite Elizabeth being close to her younger brother, his friendship withPiers Gaveston caused problems and there was a period of a few years when the two siblings were semi-estranged. Elizabeth's husband, Humphrey (who was Lord High Constable of England), believed Gaveston was a traitor and in 1310/11 refused to fight in Scotland, because of his dislike of the royal favorite. De Bohun was one of the leaders that eventually deposed Gaveston but he eventually received a royal pardon.
During Christmas 1315, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with her eleventh child, was visited by her sister-in-law, QueenIsabella 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.[20]
Elizabeth was interred atWaltham Abbey, Essex, together with her infant daughter and other members of thede Bohun family.[21] Her husband Humphrey outlived her by six years and suffered depression after her death. He was killed at theBattle of Boroughbridge and was buried at the Church of the Friars Preachers in York, against the request in his will to be buried next to his wife in Waltham Abbey.
| Ancestors of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan[22] |
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Media related toElizabeth of England, Countess of Holland at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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