William de Bohun - 1st Earl of Northampton

  General Notes:

He was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He had a twin brother, Edward.

His maternal grandparents were Edward I of England and his first Queen consort Eleanor of Castile.

He was created Earl of Northampton in 1337, one of the six earls created by Edward III to renew the ranks of the higher nobility. Since de Bohun was a younger son, and did not have an income suitable to his rank, he was given an annuity until suitable estates could be found.

In 1339 he accompanied the King to Flanders. He served variously in Brittany and in Scotland, and was present at the great English victories at Sluys and was a commander at Crécy.

In addition to being a warrior, William was also a renowned diplomat. He negotiated two treaties with France, one in 1343 and one in 1350. He was also charged with negotiating in Scotland for the freedom of David Bruce, prisoner of the English.

De Bohun was succeeded by his son Humphrey, who also succeeded his uncle and became 7th Earl of Hereford.
His daughter Elizabeth de Bohun was married to Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel.
De Bohun's wife and the mother of his children was Elizabeth de Badlesmere, daughter of Bartolomew De Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere, and Margaret de Clare.

William married Elizabeth de Baddlesmere in 1335. (Elizabeth de Baddlesmere was born in 1313 in Castle, Baddlesmere, Kent, died on 8 Jun 1356 and was buried in Black Friars Priory, London.)

  Marriage Notes:

On 27 June 1316, when she was just three years old, Elizabeth married her first husband Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331)[2] son of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and Joan de Geneville. The marriage produced two sons:
Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March (11 November 1328 Ludlow Castle- 26 February 1360), married Philippa Montacute, daughter of William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine Grandison, by whom he had issue, including Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March).

John Mortimer (died young)

In 1335, just over three years after the death of Edmund Mortimer, Elizabeth married secondly William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton (1312- 1360), fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He was a renowned military commander and diplomat.

A papal dispensation was required for their marriage as de Bohun and her first huband, Sir Edmund Mortimer were related in the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity by dint of their common descent from Enguerrand de Fiennes, Seigneur de Fiennes.

By her second marriage, Elizabeth had two more children:

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton (24 March 1342- 16 January 1373), after 9 September 1359, married Joan Fitzalan, by whom he had two daughters, Eleanor de Bohun Duchess of Gloucester, and Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry of Bolingbroke (who later reigned as King Henry IV).
Elizabeth de Bohun (c.1350- 3 April 1385), on 28 September 1359, married Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel, by whom she had seven children including Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, Elizabeth FitzAlan and Lady Joan FitzAlan, Baroness Bergavenny.