Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster

Philippa of Clarence (16 August 1355 – 5 January 1382) was the suo jure Countess of Ulster.

Biography

She was born at Eltham Palace in Kent on 16 August 1355, the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, and Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster.^[1] Her father was the third son, but second son to survive infancy, of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.^[2]

Philippa married Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, in 1368 at the age of twelve in the Queen's Chapel at Reading Abbey,^[1] an alliance that would have far-reaching consequences in English history. During her own lifetime (in the years 1377-1382), Philippa was the heir presumptive to her first cousin Richard II, although she would have been displaced in the succession by any legitimate children of the king. Richard remained childless, so after her death, her position as first in line for the throne passed to her son, Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March. He was killed in a skirmish at Kells, County Meath, in Ireland in 1398,^[3] making his six-year-old son, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, Richard's heir presumptive.

However, the throne was usurped by Philippa's first cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, an event that later precipitated the Wars of the Roses. As a result of Philippa's seniority in the line of succession to the throne of the Kingdom of England and her marriage into the powerful Mortimer family, her descendants eventually succeeded to the throne as the House of York under Edward IV.

Philippa died in 1378,^[4] and was buried at Wigmore Abbey, Herefordshire.

Marriage and issue

Her children with Edmund Mortimer were as follows:

Ancestry

Notes

References

• Davies, R.R. (2004). "Mortimer, Roger (VII), fourth earl of March and sixth earl of Ulster (1374–1398)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19356.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Holmes, George (2004). "Mortimer, Edmund (III), third earl of March and earl of Ulster (1352-1381)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19342.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Leese, Thelma Anna (2007). Blood Royal: Issue of the Kings and Queens of Medieval England, 1066–1399. Heritage Books. 
• Ormrod, W. M. (January 2008) [2004]. "Lionel, duke of Clarence (1338–1368)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16750.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G., ed. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families III (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 144996639X. 
• Ward, Jennifer (2004). "Clare, Elizabeth de (1294/5–1360)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5435.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-953973-5. 

House of Plantagenet   Henry II of England Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile Joan of England, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury Geoffrey (archbishop of York)   Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary William Plantagenet (died in infancy)   Richard I of England Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac   John, King of England Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Isabella of England Eleanor of Leicester Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz   Henry III of England Wife: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England Margaret of England Beatrice of England Edmund Crouchback Katherine of England   Edward I of England Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France, Queen of England Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant Mary of Woodstock Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Edward II of England Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent   Edward II of England Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor of Woodstock Joan of the Tower   Edward III of England Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward, the Black Prince Isabella de Coucy Joan of England (1335–1348) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Mary of Waltham Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester   Richard II of England Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois   Henry IV of England Wives: Mary de Bohun Joan of Navarre, Queen of England Henry V of England Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester Blanche of England Philippa of England   Henry V of England Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England   Henry VI of England Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales   Edward IV of England Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth of York Mary of York Cecily of York Edward V of England Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York Anne of York, Lady Howard Catherine of York Bridget of York Illegitimate: Elizabeth Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Mary John Tuchet, 6th Baron Audley unnamed   Edward V of England no consort or issue   Richard III of England Wife: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimate: John of Gloucester Katherine, Countess of Pembroke Richard of Eastwell Category