William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster

William de Burgh's father died young (in 1313 ), so William became the heir to his grandfather, the most powerful English lord in Ireland. His mother was the granddaughter of King Edward I and the sister of the last representative of the eldest branch of de Clair , who died under Bannockburn ( 1314 ), so John owned the rights to part of the vast inheritance, including, in particular, Claire in Suffolk , Carleon and Chepstow. After the death of John de Burg, Elizabeth de Claire married twice more - for Thibault de Verdun and Roger D'Amoury, but each time she was a quick widow. Her last husband was executed by the king for the rebellion in 1322 .

William inherited from his grandfather titles and lands in 1326, at the age of only 14 years. Already in 1327-1328. he was called to parliament by Edward II , who was his cousin. In 1331, William was appointed for a year Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ^[1] . And in November 1332, an event occurred that caused his early death and extinction of the eldest branch of the de Bourg family: in the city of Greencastle, Count William ordered the death of his cousin, Walter de Bourg, by starvation ^[2] . The last sister Jill decided to take revenge on the hands of her husband, Sir Richard de Mandeville. On June 6 of the following year, Mandeville, Sir John de Logan, and several other Englishmen killed the Count in Belfast. ^[3]

After the death of Count William in Ulster, a full-fledged power war unfolded between the different minor branches of de Burgs , in which most of the clan possessions were lost. The widow of William Maude with her daughter was forced to leave for England. King Edward III organized an engagement to Elizabeth de Burgh and his second son Lionel , the latter being proclaimed Earl of Ulster even before marriage. With their only daughter, Lionel and Elizabeth, the rights to Ulster passed to the Mortimers , and from them to York .

Wife and children

Until November 16, 1327, William de Burgh married Maud of Lancaster , daughter of Henry Plantagenet , nicknamed Curve Neck , Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, and Maud Choworth. The couple was closely related (both were descendants of King Henry III ), so a permission for marriage from the pope dated May 1, 1327 was required. Only one child was born in this marriage:

• Elizabeth de Burg, 4th Countess of Ulster ( 1332 - 1363 ), from 1352 the wife of Lionel of Antwerp , Duke of Clarence, second son of King Edward III

Ancestors