Edmund (1351-1381)

1. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March was born in 1351. He died on 17 December 1381. He married Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence.

 

Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March

Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and jure uxoris Earl of Ulster (1351? – 27 December, 1381) was son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, by his wife Philippa, daughter of William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury.

Early life

Being an infant at the death of his father, Edmund, as a ward of the crown, was placed by Edward III of England under the care of William of Wykeham and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel.

The position of the young earl, powerful on account of his possessions and hereditary influence in the Welsh marches, was rendered still more important by his marriage in 1368 at the age of 17 to the 13 year old Philippa, the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III.

Lionel's wife, Elizabeth, was daughter and heiress of William de Burgh, 6th Lord of Connaught and 3rd Earl of Ulster, and Lionel had himself been created Earl of Ulster before his marriage. Edmund inherited the title Earl of Ulster on Lionel's death.

Therefore, the Earl of March not only represented one of the chief Anglo-Norman lordships in Ireland in right of his wife Philippa, but Philippa's line was also the second most senior line of descent in the succession to the crown, after Edward, the Black Prince and his son, King Richard II of England.

This marriage had, therefore, far-reaching consequences in English history, ultimately giving rise to the claim of the House of York to the crown of England contested in the Wars of the Roses; Edward IV being descended from the third son of Edward III as great-great-grandson of Philippa, countess of March, and in the male line from Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III.

Edmund's son Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March would become heir presumptive to the English crown during the reign of Richard II.

Political Advancement

Mortimer, now styled Earl of March and Ulster, became Marshal of England in 1369, and was employed in various diplomatic missions during the next following years. He was a member of the committee appointed by the Peers to confer with the Commons in 1373?the first instance of such a joint conference since the institution of representative parliaments on the question of granting supplies for John of Gaunt's war in France.

He participated in the opposition to Edward III and the court party, which grew in strength towards the end of the reign, taking the popular side and being prominent in the Good Parliament of 1376 among the lords who supported the Prince of Wales and opposed the Court Party and John of Gaunt. The Speaker of the Commons in this parliament was March's steward, Peter de la Mare, who firmly withstood John of Gaunt in stating the grievances of the Commons, in supporting the impeachment of several high court officials, and in procuring the banishment of the king's mistress, Alice Perrers. March was a member of the administrative council appointed by the same parliament after the death of Edward, the Black Prince to attend the king and advise him in all public affairs.

 

Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence, daughter of Lionel of Antwerp DUKE OF CLARENCE (1338-1368) and Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363), was born in 1355. She and Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March had the following children:

 

+2

Elizabeth MORTIMER ( - )

+3

Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March and ULSTER ( - )

+4

Edmund de MORTIMER (1376-1409)

+5

Philippa MORTIMER ( - )

Second Generation

2. Elizabeth MORTIMER, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence, married Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur).

 

Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur), son of Henry PERCY (1341-1408) and Margaret NEVILL (1341-1372), was born on 20 May 1364. He died on 21 July 1403. He and Elizabeth MORTIMER had the following children:

 

+6

Elizabeth PERCY (c. 1390-1437)

 

3. Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March and ULSTER was the son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence.

 

4. Edmund de MORTIMER, son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence, was born in 1376. He died in 1409.

 

Mortimer, Sir Edmund de, 1376–1409, English nobleman; youngest son of Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd earl of March. In 1398 when young Edmund, the 5th earl, nephew of Sir Edmund, succeeded to the title while still a minor, Sir Edmund became the most powerful representative of his family. He supported the usurpation of the throne by the Lancastrian Henry IV in 1399. In 1402, however, Mortimer was captured by the rebellious Welshman Owen Glendower, and when the suspicious king forbade his ransom, Edmund entered an alliance with Glendower and married his daughter. Supporting the claim of his young nephew to the throne, he and Glendower continued to fight even after the defeat of their allies, the Percy family (see Percy, Sir Henry and Northumberland, Henry Percy, 1st earl of). However, Glendower began to suffer defeats, Mortimer's own effectiveness declined, and he died when besieged by royal forces at Harlech.

 

5. Philippa MORTIMER, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence, married Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel.

 

This marriage had no children.

 

Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel, son of Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel (c. 1307-1376) and Lady Eleanor PLANTAGENET (aft1311-1372), was born in 1346. He married Elizabeth de Bohun on 28 September 1359. He died on 21 September 1397.

Third Generation

6. Lady Elizabeth PERCY, daughter of Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur) and Elizabeth MORTIMER, was born circa 1390. She married in 1404. She married John CLIFFORD in 1404. She died on 26 October 1437.

 

They were great grandparents of Jane Seymour, wife of Henry VIII.

 

John CLIFFORD, son of Thomas CLIFFORD (c. 1363-1391) and Elizabeth ROS (c. 1390-c. 1437), was born in 1388 in Appleby, Westmoreland. He had the title '7th Lord Clifford'. He died on [Julian] 13 March 1421 in Meaux. He was killed at the Siege of Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. He was buried in Bolton Abbey/Friars Minors, Ipswich, Suffolk. He and Elizabeth PERCY had the following children:

 

7

Thomas CLIFFORD (1414-1455). Thomas was born in 1414. He had the title '8th Lord Clifford'. He married Joan DACRE circa 1424 in Skelton, Yorkshire. Thomas was killed at the Battle of St. Albans.