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Birth:          ABT 1374 of Castle, Conisbrough, Yorkshire, England
Death:          28 Nov 1416 Reading, Berkshire, England
Burial:         Abbey, Reading, Berkshire, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_York,_Countess_of_Gloucester
Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, (c.?1374 – 28 November 1416) was the 
only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and his wife Isabella of Castile, 
daughter of King Peter of Castile and his favourite mistress, María de Padilla.
Family[edit]

Constance was born about 1374, the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of 
York, and his wife, Isabella of Castile, the youngest daughter of King Peter of Castile 
and his favourite mistress, María de Padilla.[citation needed]

Plots against Henry IV[edit]

Shortly before 7 November 1379, Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of 
Gloucester. Despenser was created Earl of Gloucester by King Richard II on 29 
September 1397, but after Richard's deposition and the accession of King Henry IV 
some of his lands were seized and he was degraded from the earldom. In 
consequence in late December 1399 he and others joined in a plot, known as the 
Epiphany Rising, to assassinate King Henry and restore King Richard to the throne. 
According to a French chronicle the plot was betrayed to the King by Constance's 
brother, Edward; however contemporary English chronicles make no mention of 
Edward's alleged role. Gloucester escaped immediate capture, but was eventually 
turned in to the authorities at Bristol, where he was beheaded on 16 January 1400.[1] 
After her husband's death, Constance was granted a life interest in the greater part of 
his lands and custody of her son.[2]

In February 1405, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, Constance herself instigated 
a plot to abduct the young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, and his brother, 
Roger Mortimer, from Windsor Castle, apparently intending to deliver the young Earl, 
who had the best claim to the throne of any of Henry IV's rivals, to his uncle Sir 
Edmund Mortimer, who was married to Glyndwr's daughter.[citation needed] The young 
Edmund Mortimer and his brother were recaptured before entering Wales. Constance 
implicated her elder brother, Edward, in the plot, as a result of which he was 
imprisoned for 17 weeks at Pevensey Castle, but was eventually restored to Henry IV's 
favour. When Constance died in 1416, she was buried at the High Altar in Reading 
Abbey.[citation needed]

Marriage and issue[edit]

Shortly before 7 November 1379 Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of 
Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 16 January 1400), third but first surviving son of 
Edward le Despenser and Elizabeth Burghersh, by whom she had a son and two 
daughters:[3]
Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh (1396 – 1414). He married Lady Eleanor 
Neville (c. 1397 - 1472), daughter of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland 
(d.1425) and Joan Beaufort (d.1440), daughter of John of Gaunt by Katherine 
Swynford. He died young without issue.
Elizabeth (died young c. 1398)
Isabel, born after her father's execution. She married, firstly, Richard Beauchamp, Earl 
of Worcester (d. 1421/2). A daughter, Elizabeth, Lady Abergavenny (b.1415) was the 
sole product of this union. Following Worcester's death, she married Richard de 
Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. They were parents to Henry de Beauchamp, 1st 
Duke of Warwick and Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick.

After her husband's death, Constance was either betrothed to or lived as the mistress 
of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (1382-1408), by whom she had an illegitimate 
daughter, Eleanor Holland (died c. 1459), who married James Tuchet, 5th Baron 
Audley.

Shakespeare and Constance of York[edit]

Constance is referred to as 'my sister Despenser' in Shakespeare's Richard II.

Parents
____ Edmund "of Langley" (5 Jun 1341 - 1 Aug 1402)
____ Isabel (1355 - 23 Dec 1392)

Siblings
OF YORK Constance (ABT 1374 - 28 Nov 1416)

Marriage To DE HOLAND Edmund (6 Jan 1384 - 15 Sep 1408)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
DE HOLAND Thomas (1354 - 25 Apr 1397)
FITZ ALAN Alice (ABT 1348 - 17 Mar 1416)

Children by DE HOLAND Edmund 6 Jan 1384 - 15 Sep 1408
DE HOLAND Eleanor (ABT 1405 - ABT 1459)

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