Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester

Arms Sir Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, KG: Quarterly 1st & 4th: Argent; 2nd & 3rd: Gules, a fret or, over all a ribbon sable

Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester KG (22 September 1373 13 January 1400) was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375.

Royal intrigues

A supporter of Richard II against Thomas of Woodstock and the Lords Appellant, he was rewarded with an Earldom as Earl of Gloucester in 1397.

However, he supported Henry Bolingbroke on his return to England to become King Henry IV, only to be attainted (deprived of his Earldom because of a capital crime) for his role in the death of Thomas of Woodstock.

He then took part in the Epiphany Rising, a rebellion led by a number of Barons aimed at restoring Richard to the throne by assassinating King Henry IV; this quickly failed when the conspirators were betrayed by Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York to Henry. After fleeing to the western counties, a number of the Epiphany Rising conspirators were captured and killed by mobs of townspeople loyal to the king; Despenser was captured by a mob and beheaded at Bristol on 13 January 1400.

Marriage

Thomas le Despenser married Constance, daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. They had issue, of whom:

Ancestry and succession

Peerage of England
Preceded by
Edward le Despenser
Baron le Despencer
13751400
Succeeded by
Attainted
Preceded by
New Creation
Earl of Gloucester
13971399
Succeeded by
Deprived

References

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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