Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford 1272-1307

In 1253 [her future husband] Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 9] and Alice or Alix Lusignan Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of Hugh XI of Lusignan VI Count of La Marche II Count Angoulême and Yolande Capet Countess Lusignan, La Marche and Angoulême [aged 34]. He the son of Richard de Clare 6th Earl Gloucester 5th Earl Hertford [aged 30] and Maud Lacy Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 29]. They were half fifth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

In April 1272 Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford was born to King Edward I of England [aged 32] and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England [aged 31] at Acre [Map].

In 1283 Roger Mowbray 1st Baron Mowbray [aged 26] was created 1st Baron Mowbray by [her father] King Edward I of England [aged 43].

On 2nd May 1290 Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 46] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 18] were married at Clerkenwell [Map]. She by marriage Countess Gloucester, Countess Hertford. The difference in their ages was 28 years. She the daughter of King Edward I of England [aged 50] and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England [aged 49]. He the son of Richard de Clare 6th Earl Gloucester 5th Earl Hertford and Maud Lacy Countess Gloucester and Hertford. They were half fifth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 9th July 1290 [her brother-in-law] John "Peaceful" Reginar II Duke Brabant [aged 14] and [her sister] Margaret Plantagenet Duchess Brabant [aged 15] were married. She the daughter of [her father] King Edward I of England [aged 51] and [her mother] Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England [aged 49]. He the son of John Reginar I Duke Brabant [aged 37] and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. They were half third cousin twice removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England.

Arounnd 10th May 1291 [her son] Gilbert de Clare 8th Earl Gloucester 7th Earl Hertford was born to [her husband] Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 47] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 19]. He a grandson of King Edward I of England. He married his third cousin once removed Matilda Burgh Countess Gloucester and Hertford, daughter of Richard "Red Earl" Burgh 2nd Earl of Ulster and Margaret Burgh Countess Ulster.

On 3rd October 1292 [her daughter] Eleanor Clare Baroness Zouche Mortimer was born to [her husband] Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 49] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 20] at Caerphilly Castle [Map]. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) after 14th July 1306 her third cousin once removed Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer, son of Hugh "Elder" Despencer 1st Earl Winchester and Isabella Beauchamp, and had issue (2) after 15th September 1317 William Zouche 1st Baron Zouche Mortimer, son of Robert Mortimer 2nd Baron Mortimer and Joyce Zouche Baroness Mortimer, and had issue.

In 1294 John Reginar I Duke Brabant [aged 41] died. His son [her brother-in-law] John [aged 18] succeeded II Duke Brabant. [her sister] Margaret Plantagenet Duchess Brabant [aged 18] by marriage Duchess Brabant.

On 16th September 1295 [her daughter] Elizabeth Clare Lady Verdun was born to [her husband] Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 52] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 23]. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) her third cousin once removed John Burgh, son of Richard "Red Earl" Burgh 2nd Earl of Ulster and Margaret Burgh Countess Ulster, and had issue (2) 4th February 1316 her third cousin Theobald Verdun 2nd Lord Verdun and had issue (3) before 3rd May 1317 Roger Damory 1st Baron Damory and had issue.

On 7th December 1295 [her husband] Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 52] died at Monmouth Castle [Map]. He buried at Tewkesbury Abbey [Map]. His son Gilbert [aged 4] succeeded 8th Earl Gloucester, 7th Earl Hertford, 8th Lord Clare, 4th Lord Glamorgan.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. In the same year died¹ Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester [aged 52], who had taken Joanna [aged 23], the daughter of King Edward, as his wife, and left behind a very young boy, also named Gilbert, as his tender heir, born of the same Joanna. After his death, Joanna, against the will of her father the king, within that same year, married a simple knight named Ralph de Monthermer [aged 25], a native of the bishopric of Durham, who had served as a knight under her former husband, the earl. Later, through his own bravery and skill, he rose to great prominence and was called Earl of Gloucester.

Eodem anno obiit Gilbertus comes Gloucestriæ, qui Johannam, filiam regis Edwardi, duxerat in uxorem, et puerum parvulum, Gilbertum nomine, reliquit hæredem tenerum, ex eadem Johanna procreatum. Post mortem cujus ipsa Johanna, contra voluntatem patris sui regis, infra eundem annum, simplicem sibi militem, nomine Radulphum de Montermere, de episcopatu Dunolmensi oriundum, qui viro suo comiti militaverat, sibi matrimonio copulavit; qui in posterum, per strenuitatem ipsius et industriam, in magnum crevit virum, comesque Gloucestriæ appellatus est.

Note 1. Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester died on 7th December 1295 at Monmouth Castle [Map]. He buried at Tewkesbury Abbey [Map]. He was succeeded by his four year old son Gilbert de Clare 8th Earl Gloucester 7th Earl Hertford [aged 4].

In January 1297 Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 27] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 24] were married in secret greatly offending her father King Edward I of England [aged 57] who had been planning to marry her to Amadeus V "Great" Savoy [aged 47] in March. Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford was imprisoned at Bristol Castle, Gloucestershire [Map]; he was released in August 1297. She the daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England.

In August 1297 [her husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 27] was created 1st Earl Gloucester, 1st Earl Hertford. There is some uncertainty as to whether these creations existed, or were created for life only, since they do appear to have been inherited, or whether there is confusion around his having been married to Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 25], the widow of the seventh Earl of the first creation Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford.

In October 1297 [her daughter] Mary Monthermer was born to [her husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 27] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 25]. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

On 29th December 1299 William Morley 1st Baron Morley was created 1st Baron Morley by writ of summons to [her father] King Edward I's [aged 60] 47th Parliament. Isabel Mohaut Baroness Morley by marriage Baroness Morley.

On 25th September 1300 Edmund "Almain" 2nd Earl Cornwall [aged 50] died. Earl Cornwall extinct. He was buried, heart and flesh, at Ashridge, Hertfordshire [Map]. His bones were interred at Hailes Abbey [Map] during a service attended by [her father] King Edward I of England [aged 61].

On 4th October 1301 [her son] Thomas Monthermer 2nd Baron Monthermer was born to [her husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 31] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 29] at Ham Stoke, Wiltshire. He a grandson of King Edward I of England. He married before 1340 Margaret Brewes Baroness Monthermer, daughter of Peter Brewes Count Flanders, and had issue.

On 14th November 1302 [her brother-in-law] Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex [aged 26] and [her sister] Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Essex, Countess Hereford. Westminster Abbey [Map]. She the daughter of [her father] King Edward I of England [aged 63] and [her mother] Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England. He the son of Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex and Maud Fiennes Countess Essex and Hereford. They were third cousins.

In 1304 [her son] Edward Monthermer was born to [her husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 34] and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 31]. He a grandson of King Edward I of England.

After 14th July 1306 [her son-in-law] Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 20] and Eleanor Clare Baroness Zouche Mortimer [aged 13] were married. She the daughter of Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 34]. He the son of Hugh "Elder" Despencer 1st Earl Winchester [aged 45] and Isabella Beauchamp. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

Before 12th December 1306 Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk [aged 61] died. Earl Norfolk extinct. In 1302 Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk had surrendered his Earldom to [her father] King Edward I [aged 67] and was recreated Earl Norfolk with the remainder "to the heirs of his body" effectively disinheriting his brother John Bigod having fallen out over the repayment of a loan - see Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough.

On 23rd April 1307 Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 35] died at Clare, Suffolk [Map].

Around 1313 [her former husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 43] and Isabel Despencer Baroness Hastings and Bergavenny were married. She the daughter of Hugh "Elder" Despencer 1st Earl Winchester [aged 51] and Isabella Beauchamp.

In 1324 [her niece] Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet [aged 5] was placed into the care of her cousin [her daughter] Eleanor Clare Baroness Zouche Mortimer [aged 31]. She was subsequently placed into the care of [her former husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 54] (he had formerly been married to her aunt Joan of Acre and Isabel Despencer Baroness Hastings and Bergavenny with her younger sister Joan of the Tower [aged 2] at Pleshey Castle [Map].

On 5th April 1325 [her former husband] Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 55] died. Earl Gloucester, Earl Hertford extinct. His son Thomas [aged 23] succeeded 2nd Baron Monthermer.

[her daughter] Margaret Clare Countess Gloucester was born to Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford and Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) 2nd November 1307 Piers Gaveston 1st Earl Cornwall (2) 28th April 1317 her third cousin once removed Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester, son of Hugh Audley 1st Baron Audley of Stratton Audley and Iseult Mortimer, and had issue.