Biography of Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons 1332-1382

Adam Murimuth Continuation. In the same year [1333] the king of England celebrated Christmas at Wallingford with the queen, who was pregnant. When the festival ended he left her at Woodstock [Map] to give birth¹. After the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary [2nd February] he himself travelled to York in order to hold a parliament there, which began on the Monday of the second week of Lent. Edward Balliol, king of Scotland, had been summoned to this parliament but did not come because of enemies lying in wait for him on islands near Scotland. Instead he sent distinguished representatives, namely Henry Beaumont, William Montagu, and certain other knights and barons.

Hoc anno tenuit rex Angliæ Natale Domini apud Walingfordiam, cum regina prægnante, et, finito festo, dimisit eam apud Wodestok ad pariendum. Et ipse, post Purificationem beatæ Mariæ, transtulit se versus Eboracum, ad tenendum parliamentum ibidem, quod die Lunæ in secunda hebdomada Quadragesimæ inchoavit. Ad quod parliamentum vocatus fuit Edwardus rex Scociæ, sed non venit propter insidias inimicorum suorum in insulis juxta Scociam latitantium; propter quod misit excusatores solempnes, scilicet dominos Henricum de Bello monte et Willelmum de Monte acuto et quosdam alios milites seu barones.

Note 1. [her mother] Philippa of Hainaut [aged 21] gave birth to Isabella of Woodstock on 16th June. The year of her birth is given by other sources as 1332. In 1365 she and [her future husband] Enguerrand de Coucy were married. They had two daughters, Marie and Philippa. She died in 1382.

On 16th June 1332 Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons was born to [her father] King Edward III of England [aged 19] and [her mother] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 21] at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

On 6th June 1333 William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster [aged 20] was murdered by Richard de Mandeville in revenge for the murder of Richard's wife's brother Walter Liath de Burgh the year before. Earl of Ulster and Baron Burgh extinct. There is some argument that his daughter [her future sister-in-law] Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence succeeded as Countess of Ulster although her husband Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence appears to have been Earl of Ulster of a new creation. See Annals of Ulster.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the same year [1333], the king celebrated the feast of the Nativity of Christ at Wallingford with the queen, who was pregnant and later gave birth to their daughter Isabella [aged 1] at Woodstock.¹ The king, having gone to York, held a parliament² which began on the Monday in the second week of Lent. Although the King of Scotland by conquest had been invited, he did not attend, but sent formal representatives in his place, namely, the Earls Henry de Beaumont and William de Montagu [aged 32], along with certain other barons and knights, who explained to the king that the said Edward, King of Scotland by conquest, could not come to his presence without great peril and resistance from the Scots still hiding out in the islands.

Eodem anno rex celebravit festum Nativitatis Christi apud Walingford cum regina pregnante, que postmodum apud Wodestok peperit filiam suam Isabellam. Rex vero, profectus Eboracum, tenuit parliamentum, die Lune in secunda ebdomada Quadragesime incoatum; ad quod rex Scocie conquestor, licet invitatus, non accessit, set misit pro ipso excusatores solempnes, scilicet Henricum de Bello monte et Willelmum de Monte acuto comites, et quosdam alios barones et milites, qui nunciarunt regi Edwardum predictum Scocie conquestorem non sine grandi periculo atque resistencia contra Scotos in insulis latitantes ad eius presenciam posse accedere.

Note 1. Other sources have Isabella being born on 16th June 1332 at Woodstock Palace.

Note 2. The parliament of York sat from the 21st February to the 2nd March 1333.

On 17th March 1337 [her brother] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 6] was created 1st Duke of Cornwall.

In 1340 princesses Isabella [aged 7] and [her sister] Joanna [aged 6], daughters of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault were left in the care of Nicholas de la Beche.

On 12th May 1343 [her brother] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 12] was created Prince of Wales.

On 22nd February 1347 John Graham Earl Menteith [aged 57] was condemned to be executed as a traitor. The sentence was carried out on the 28th February 1347 when John Graham Earl Menteith was hanged, drawn and quartered by direct orders of [her father] King Edward I [aged 34] to whom he had previously sworn fealty.

In 1352 [her brother] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 13] and [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 19] were married. He by marriage Earl of Ulster. She was the sole heir of her father and brought the de Burgh inheritance of the lands of Ulster to the marriage. As a consequence of their earlier betrothal he had been called Earl Ulster since 1347. She the daughter of William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster and Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 42]. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 39] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 41]. They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.

Archaeologia Volume 35 1853 XXXIII. On the 29th, being still at Shene, Isabella [Map] is visited by [her father] Edward III [aged 45]., the Lady Isabella [aged 25] ( the King's eldest daughter ), and the Earl of March [aged 29], who sup with her.

On 10th April 1362 Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria [aged 22] died. Her sister [her sister-in-law] Blanche [aged 20] succeeded 6th Countess of Leicester. [her brother] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 22] by marriage Earl of Leicester adding a fourth Earldom to the ones he already held: Earl Richmond, Earl Lancaster and Earl Derby.

Around 1363 Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 30] was granted custody of the paternal lands of Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington [aged 7].

On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington [aged 35] died at Gleaston Castle [Map]. His son Robert [aged 7] succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of [her father] King Edward III of England [aged 50] who granted his wardship to his daughter Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 30] and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 23].

On 27th July 1365 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 25] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] were married at Windsor Castle [Map]. She the daughter of King Edward III of England [aged 52] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 55]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

In 1366 [her husband] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 26] was created 1st Earl Bedford. Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] by marriage Countess Bedford.

In April 1366 [her daughter] Marie de Coucy Countess Soissons was born to [her husband] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 26] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] at Coucy Castle. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married November 1384 her third cousin Henry of Bar, son of Robert of Bar 1st Duke of Bar and Marie Valois Duchess Bar, and had issue.

In 1367 [her husband] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 27] was created 1st Count Soissons. Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 34] by marriage Countess Soissons.

Before 18th April 1367 [her daughter] Philippa Guines Duchess Ireland was born to [her husband] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 27] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 34] at Eltham Palace, Kent [Map]. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married (1) 5th October 1376 her half third cousin once removed Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland, son of Thomas de Vere 8th Earl of Oxford and Maud Ufford Countess of Oxford.

In June 1368 [her brother] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] and [her sister-in-law] Violante Visconti [aged 14] were married in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milan [Map]. The wedding festivities were lavish and ostentatious. The banquet, held outside, included 30 courses of meat and fish presented fully gilded. Between the courses the guests were given gifts such as suits of armour, bolts of cloth, war horses, arms, and hunting dogs. Among the guests were Geoffrey Chaucer [aged 25], Petrarch, Jean Froissart and John Hawkwood [aged 48]. He the son of [her father] King Edward III of England [aged 55] and [her mother] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 57]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

On 7th October 1368 [her brother] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] died from poisoning at Alba [Map]. Duke Clarence extinct. His daughter [her niece] Philippa [aged 13] succeeded 2nd Countess of Ulster. He was buried at the St Pietro Ciel d'Oro Church, Pavia [Map].

There was strong speculation he had been poisoned by his [her sister-in-law] wife's [aged 14] father [aged 48].

On 15th August 1369 [her mother] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 59] died at Windsor Castle [Map]. Her husband [her father] King Edward III of England [aged 56] and youngest son [her brother] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 14] were present. She was given a state funeral six months later on 9th January 1370 at which she was interred at on the northeast side of the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey [Map]. Her alabaster effigy was executed by sculptor Jean de Liège.

On 21st September 1371 John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 31] and Constance of Castile Duchess of Lancaster [aged 17] were married at Roquefort, Landes. She by marriage Duchess Lancaster. His younger brother Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 30] married Constance's sister in July 1372. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 58] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were half third cousin twice removed.

On 11th July 1372 Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 31] and Isabella of Castile Duchess York [aged 17] were married at Wallingford, Oxfordshire [Map]. She by marriage Countess Cambridge. She being the younger sister of Constance [aged 18] who had married Edmund's older brother John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 32] a year before. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 59] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were half third cousin twice removed.

On 16th January 1373 Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton [aged 31] died. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map]. Earl Hereford, Earl Essex, Earl of Northampton extinct. His estates were divided between his two daughters [her future sister-in-law] Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester [aged 7], wife of [her brother] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 18] and Mary Bohun [aged 5], wife of [her nephew] Henry of Bolingbroke [aged 5], the future Henry IV, although the title and estates should have been inherited Gilbert Bohun who was a grandson of Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex.

In 1374 [her brother] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 18] and [her sister-in-law] Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester [aged 8] were married. She the daughter of Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton and Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton [aged 27]. He the son of [her father] King Edward III of England [aged 61] and [her mother] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

On 5th October 1376 [her son-in-law] Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland [aged 14] and Philippa Guines Duchess Ireland [aged 9] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. She the daughter of Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 36] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 44]. He the son of Thomas de Vere 8th Earl of Oxford and Maud Ufford Countess of Oxford [aged 31]. They were half third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry III of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

After 1380 [her husband] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 40] and Isabelle of Lorraine were married. She the daughter of John Metz I Duke Lorraine [aged 33] and Sophie Württemberg Duchess Lorraine. They were second cousin once removed.

On 5th October 1382 Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 50] died.