Person Page - 1288

     High Sheriff of Norfolk.

     Sir Henry Neville (c.1520-1593) was Gentleman of the Privy chamber to King Edward VI

Sir Henry Neville's father was Sir Edward Neville (d. 1538), of Addington Park in Kent, who married Eleanor, daughter of Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor, and Elizabeth, sister of Edward Blount, 2nd Baron Mountjoy.

His father was the younger brother of George Neville, 5th Baron Bergavenny and older brother to Sir Thomas Neville, Speaker. As Manning said, the Neville surname "stands proudly forth as a pedigree in itself, and is associated with all that is noble in blood, distinguished in chivalry, eminent in counsel, and celebrated in the historic annals of Britain."[1]

However, it stands curious that Sir Henry Neville secured a post in the Privy chamber, in consideration that his father was an allegedly attached to the Courtenay conspiracy, and moreover, executed in 1539 on order of King Henry VIII, charged with "devising to maintain, promote, and advance one Reginald Pole, late Dean of Exeter, enemy of the King, beyond the sea, and to deprive the King". (Reginald Pole was a Catholic exile and a second cousin once removed of Neville).

In March 1542, Neville attended Charles de Marillac the French ambassador, however, he apparently was not destined to have a career in politics, for by 1546, he is found serving as a groom of the privy chamber. He was made Groom of the Privy Chamber in 1546, Gentleman of the privy chamber in 1550, was knighted on 11 October 1551 and elected Knight of the shire for Berkshire five times, from 1553- 1584. Neville, was Henry VIII's godson and apparently was in good favour with the king, to the extent that he was included as one of the grooms who witnessed his will, of which he was afforded a legacy.

In 1551, he testifed at the trial of Stephen Gardiner, and revealed the strong detest Henry VII had for the bishop. Neville was closely aligned with John Dudley and Sir Henry Sidney, the former of whom promoted him to Gentleman of the Privy chamber during the reign of Edward VI. As with many Protestants, Neville left the country upon Mary I's accession, however returned under Elizabeth I, and continued his career holding various posts in Berkshire, where he lived at Billingbear House, until his death on 13 January 1593. Sir Henry Neville was buried in the parish church at Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire.

He married firstly, Winifred (d. in or before 1561), daughter of Hugh Loss of Whitchurch, then in Middlesex (no issue); secondly, 1561, Elizabeth (d. 1573), daughter of Sir John Gresham of Titsey in Surrey (issue four sons, including Sir Henry Neville (1562–1615) and Edward Neville (b. 1567), and two daughters); thirdly, May 1578, Elizabeth (Lady Neville) (d. 1621) the daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet (c.1543-1624)[2], and his wife, Anne Cooke, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke (no issue), and widow of Sir Richard Doyley of Greenland, at Hambleden in Buckinghamshire.¹

     Sir John Gresham (1495 - 23 October 1556) was an English merchant, courtier and financier who worked for King Henry VIII of England, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. He was Lord Mayor of London and founded Gresham's School.

Gresham was probably born in 1495, at Holt, in Norfolk, and was descended from an old Norfolk family[1] (see section 'Gresham Family', below). Biographers have suggested that he probably attended a school kept by Augustinian canons at nearby Beeston Regis[2]. At that time, England was a Roman Catholic country and was largely dependent on the church for education.

In about 1510, Gresham was apprenticed to John Middleton, a London mercer, and after serving his seven years he was admitted as a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers. In 1519, he and his older brother William Gresham were both elected to the livery of the company. Later, John Gresham was four times Master of the Mercers' Company[2]

Gresham was in partnership with his brother, Richard Gresham, in the export of textiles and in importing grain from Germany and wine from Bordeaux[2]. He also imported traded in silks and spices from the Ottoman Empire and imported timber and skins from the Baltic. He founded the Russia Company to trade with Russia. Meanwhile, he acted as an agent for Cardinal Wolsey[2], and through him knew Thomas Cromwell[2].

Gresham invested his money in land, buying the manors of Titsey, Tatsfield, Westerham, and Lingfield on the borders of Surrey and Kent, as well as properties in Norfolk and Buckinghamshire. He lived at a great house called Titsey Place at Oxted in Surrey from 1534 until his death[3].

Gresham was Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1537–1538 and at the same time was knighted[2]. He was a member of the Royal household between 1527 and 1550, first as a 'gentleman pensioner' and later as one of the 'esquires of the body' of King Henry VIII[2]. In 1539, the king granted Gresham the manor of Sanderstead in Surrey, following the dissolution of the monasteries: it had previously belonged to the Minster of Winchester since the year 962.

In 1541, Gresham was one of the jurors who tried Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham for treason - that is, intimacy with Queen Catherine Howard[2]. Both were duly beheaded at Tyburn on 10 December 1541, and their heads were put on display on London Bridge. Queen Catherine Howard was subsequently executed on 13 February 1542.

In 1546, he was one of the King's commissioners to survey the properties of chantries to be dissolved in Surrey and Sussex[2].

In 1547, Sir John Gresham became Lord Mayor of London,[2] and after the end of his term of office continued to serve as an alderman.[4]

In 1555, a year before his death, he founded Gresham's School in the town of his birth, Holt in Norfolk. Gresham endowed the school with land and money and placed these endowments in the care of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, which has continued to carry out his trust to the present day[2].

Gresham died on 23 October 1556, ‘of a malignant fever’ and was given "a very grand and very papistical funeral".[5] His tomb is in the City of London church of St Michael Bassishaw[1].

It has been claimed that Sir John Gresham belonged to a Norman family, his ancestor in the male line being Ralph de Braunche, one of the knights of William the Conqueror who fought at the Battle of Hastings (1066) under William de Warenne and was later granted lands in Norfolk which included the manor of Gresham, a descendant changing his name to "de Gresham". While evidence for this is lacking, it seems very likely that the manor of Gresham is indeed the ancestral home of the Gresham family,[6][7] and a branch of the family was established at Holt by the fifteenth century.[8] According to Francis Blomefield in An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk (1808), James Gresham, the grandfather of Sir John Gresham, was "the son of John Gresham, Gent., of Gresham".[9]

A John Gresham was baptized in 1340 at Aylmerton, Norfolk, and died there in 1410, owning property in Aylmerton and an interest in the manor of Holt. His son John Gresham was born in 1390 and died in 1450. In 1414, he was living at Holt. His son, James Gresham, of Holt, Norfolk, Lord of the Manor of East Beckham, lived from 1442 to 1497, and his son John Gresham of Holt married Alice Blyth and was the father of Sir John Gresham[1][10].

Gresham had brothers called William and Richard. The latter became Sir Richard Gresham and was also a Lord Mayor of London in 1537; he was the father of the famous Sir Thomas Gresham who founded the Royal Exchange and Gresham College, both in the City of London.

Sir John Gresham married twice: firstly, in 1521, Mary Ipswell, with whom he had twelve children between 1522 and 1538, and secondly, after Mary's death, Catherine Sampson, the widow of Edward Dormer, on 15 July 1553.

The twelve children of John and Mary Gresham were William, Mary, Catherine, James, John, Edmund, Anthony, Ellen, Ursula, Cecily, Elizabeth and Richard. Most of them died without issue, but the senior line of Gresham's descendants continued until the early nineteenth century.

Gresham's eldest son, William Gresham (1512–1579), was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham of Titsey (died 1630), whose sons were Sir John Gresham of Titsey (1588–1643) and Sir Edward Gresham of Titsey (1594–1647). The latter's son, Sir Marmaduke Gresham of Limpsfield (1627–1696), was created a baronet in 1660.

The 17th century Greshams sat as Members of Parliament, loyally supported King Charles I throughout the Civil War, and suffered from the victory of Cromwell. In 1643 the house at Titsey was commandeered by the Parliamentarians, but at the time of the Restoration in 1660 the new King Charles II created the head of the family, Marmaduke Gresham, a baronet as a reward for the family's support for the Royalist cause. This title died out with Sir John Gresham, sixth and last Baronet, of Limpsfield (who died in 1801). However, the last Sir John Gresham's daughter and heiress, Katherine Maria Gresham, married William Leveson-Gower, first cousin of the Marquess of Stafford, later the first Duke of Sutherland, and through Katherine Maria the Titsey estate continued to be owned by Sir John Gresham's descendants until the death of Thomas Leveson Gower in 1992. By his will, Leveson Gower set up the Titsey Foundation, a charitable trust with the aim of preserving the estate for the benefit of the nation.

Nevertheless, the first Sir John Gresham's line continues in the descendants of his third son, another John Gresham, who was the ancestor of the Greshams of Fulham, Albury, and Haslemere.¹

     Sir Edward Neville (1471—8 December 1538) was a nobleman born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He was the son of Sir George Neville, 2nd Lord Abergavenny and Margaret Fenne. He married Eleanor Windsor, daughter of Sir Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor and Elizabeth Blount, before 6 April 1529. He became a close friend and gentleman of the Privy Chamber to his distant cousin, Henry VIII.[1]

He was the brother of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny and the two of them became close to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.[2] The support of the Nevilles and their cousins the Courtenays, for Catherine of Aragon's marriage and for the Pope's authority in England, led to the execution of Edward Neville and many of his relatives. Yet even in 1535, Neville did not seem to have lost the King's favour.[3]

Early in 1538, Thomas Cromwell was warned that Sir Edward Neville was endeavoring to persuade the minister of Mottenden secretly to surrender his house. But Cromwell, who was now, after the death of the earl of Northumberland in 1537, honoured with the title of founder of the priory, had marked its property for his own. After the Pilgrimage of Grace, many conservative nobles were accused of treason.[4] Neville was arrested on 3rd November, 1538, for conspiricy with the brother of Cardinal Pole, they were both charged with high treason for promoting the interests of his cousin, Reginald Pole and Neville was sent to the Tower, tried at Westminster, and beheaded, 8th December at Tower Hill.

A patent was issued to Cromwell confirming his estate, possession and interest in the site of the late priory, of Mottenden, and the manors of Mottenden, Plushenden, Plomford, and Delmynden in Kent; the rectory of Lancing, Sussex, and all tithes thereto belonging; the advowson of the parish church of Lancing and the vicarage of the same church; a saltmarsh in Canwynden alias Derwishop, Essex; and all lands, &c., in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Essex, late of John Gregory alias John Harietsham, late minister of the Trinitarian priory of Mottenden.

Sir Edward Neville was Esquire of the Body, and keeper of Sewer (official overseeing service) to King Henry VIII's Household. He lived at Addington Park, Kent, England. On 25th September 1513 he was invested as a Knight and in 1516 held the offices of Master of the Hounds and Gentleman of the Chamber. He held the office of King Henry VIII's Standard Bearer in 1531and in 1534 he held the office of Constable of Leeds Castle, Kent.¹

     Married first to Ralph, Baron Scrope of Masham, She was widowed and, sometime before 1524, married Sir Edward Nevill, brother of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny. [1]¹

     1st Baron Windsor. Sir Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor (1467-1543) was an English nobleman. He inherited the manor of Stanwell in Middlesex. In 1542, during a visit by King Henry VIII, he was obliged to surrender the manor to the crown. In return he was offered the lands of Tardebigge and the seat of Hewell Grange in modern Worcestershire.

His son William (1542-1558) succeeded him as the 2nd Baron. His daughter Eleanor was married first to Ralph, Baron Scrope of Masham, She was widowed and, sometime before 1524, married Sir Edward Nevill, brother of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny. [1]¹

     4th Baron Bergavenny. Sir George Nevill, 4th and de jure 2nd Baron Bergavenny (c.1440 – 20 September 1492) was an English nobleman.

George was the son of Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny and Elizabeth Beauchamp, Lady Bergavenny. He was knighted by Edward IV on 9 May 1471,[1] after fighting for the King at the Battle of Tewkesbury. He succeeded his father in 1476.

His first wife was Margaret Fenne, by whom he had seven children:

George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny (c.1469–c.1535)
William Neville
Sir Edward Neville (1471–1538)
Sir Thomas Nevill (c.1480–1542), Speaker of the House of Commons
Jane Nevill (bef. 1485 – c.1538), married Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu.
Sir Richard Nevill (bef. 1485 – c.1515)
Elizabeth Nevill, married first Thomas Berkeley and second Richard Covert
By his second marriage, to Elizabeth (surname unknown), he had no children.

Bergavenny was a captain in the English forces at Calais in 1490, and died in 1492.[1]¹

     George Nevill, 1st Baron Latymer (also spelled George Neville, Baron Latimer) (died 30 December 1469), was an English peer.

George Nevill was the fifth son of Ralph de Nevill, 1st Earl of Westmorland, by his second wife Lady Joan de Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. He succeeded to the Latymer estates on the death of his half-uncle John Nevill, 6th Baron Latimer, in 1430 (see Baron Latimer), and on 25 February 1432 he was summoned to Parliament as Baron Latimer.[1] The question of his right to the title remained a subject of contention between him and the heirs of John Nevill's sister Elizabeth Willoughby. The two families resolved the issue in the reign of Henry VIII, but the Barons Willoughby of Broke are still considered by many to be the de jure Barons Latimer.[2]

Lord Latymer later fought in Scotland in 1436,[3] was a Justice of the Peace for Cumberland in 1437 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1439.

In 1437, Lord Latymer married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, by his first wife, Elizabeth Berkeley. [4] They had three children: a daughter who died childless; Henry Nevill, who married Joan Bourchier, daughter of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, and Marjorie Berners; and Thomas Nevill, of Shenstone, Staffordshire. [5].

George Nevill appears to have suffered from some form of dementia in his later years, as he was described as an "idiot," and the guardianship of his lands was given to his nephew, Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick. [6] George Nevill, Lord Latymer, died on 30 December 1469 and was succeeded in the barony by his grandson Richard, his eldest son Sir Henry Neville having predeceased him by several months, dying at the Battle of Edgecote Moor, 26 July 1469. [7]¹

     Elizabeth was born in 1415, and died in 1448. She was the only child and heiress of Richard Beauchamp, Baron Abergavenny and 1st Earl of Worcester, by Isabel, daughter of Thomas le Despencer, Earl of Gloucester by Constance of York, grand-daughter of Edward III.

She inherited her father's estates upon his death (1421/2). She became the first wife of Edward Neville (d.1476). He was a younger son of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.

Elizabeth and Edward had several children including George Neville (1440?-1492), 4th Baron Abergavenny.¹

     Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, KB (b. bef. 1397 – 18 March 1421/1422) was an English peer.

The only son of the 1st Baron Bergavenny, he succeeded as 2nd Baron Bergavenny upon the death of his father.

He married Lady Isabel le Despenser, daughter of the 1st Earl of Gloucester, on 27 July 1411, and grand-daughter of Edward III. They had the following child:

Lady Elizabeth de Beauchamp, later 3rd Baroness Bergavenny, married Sir Edward Nevill, later 1st Baron Bergavenny.¹

     Isabel le Despenser (26 July 1400 – 1439) was the posthumous daughter and eventually the sole heiress of Thomas le Despenser and his wife, Constance of York. She was born six months after her father had been beheaded for plotting against King Henry IV of England.

Isabel married Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester who died in 1422 at the siege of Meaux. They had a daughter, Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Lady of Abergavenny, born 1415.

Isabel married again, to Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (her 1st husband's cousin), by whom she had two children:

Henry, who succeeded his father as Earl of Warwick, and later became Duke of Warwick;
Anne Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, following the death of her infant niece and namesake, who married Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.¹

     Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 13 January 1400, Bristol) was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375.

A supporter of Richard II against Thomas of Woodstock and the Lords Appellant, he was rewarded with an Earldom as Earl of Gloucester in 1397.

However, he supported Henry Bolingbroke on his return to England to become King Henry IV, only to be deprived of his Earldom for his role in the death of Thomas of Woodstock.

He then took part in the Epiphany Rising, a rebellion aimed at restoring Richard; this quickly failed, and he was attainted. He was captured by a mob and beheaded at Bristol in January 1400.

Thomas le Despenser married Constance, daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York.¹

     Constance of York (c. 1374 - 29 November 1416) was the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and his wife Isabella of Castile, daughter of Pedro of Castile and Maria de Padilla. On about 7 November 1379, Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 16 January 1400), who was eventually beheaded at Bristol. She was involved in an affair with Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent and had a daughter by him, Eleanor de Holland. Eleanor was later married to James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley.

In 1405, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, Constance, who held Caerphilly Castle, arranged the escape of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, 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 Edmund who was married to Glyndwr's daughter. The earl was recaptured before entering Wales.

When Constance died in 1416, she was buried at the High altar in Reading Abbey.¹

     Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons of the Royal couple who lived to adulthood. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his birthplace: Kings Langley in Hertfordshire. At the age of twenty-one, he was created Earl of Cambridge. On 6 August 1385, Edmund was created Duke of York.[1] He was the founder of the House of York, but it was through the marriage of his younger son, Richard, that the Yorkist faction in the Wars of the Roses made its claim on the throne.

Although marriages within the Royal Family and between Royal Families are the rule, it is interesting to note Langley's marital ties to his older brother, John of Gaunt. Langley's first wife, Infanta Isabella of Castile, was the sister of Gaunt's second wife, Infanta Constance of Castile; his second wife, Joan Holland, was the sister of Gaunt's daughter-in-law Margaret Holland, wife of Gaunt's son John Beaufort.

Langley's first wife, Isabella, was a daughter of Pedro "the Cruel" of Castile and María de Padilla. They had two sons and a daughter:

Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York (killed in action at the Battle of Agincourt)
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (executed for treason by Henry V), ancestor of Kings Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III of the House of York, and all succeeding monarchs of England after King Henry VII.
Constance of York (an ancestor of Queen Anne Neville)
After Isabella's death in 1392, Langley married his cousin Joan Holland, whose great-grandfather Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, was the half-brother of Langley's grandfather Edward II; she and Langley were thus both descended from King Edward I. The marriage produced no children.

Edmund of Langley died in his birthplace, and was buried there, in the church of the mendicant friars. His dukedom passed to his eldest son, Edward.¹

     Infanta Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York (c. 1355 – 23 December 1392) was a daughter of King Peter of Castile and María de Padilla.[1] She was a younger sister of Constance, Duchess of Lancaster.

In 1372, sometime between the 1 March and 30 April, Isabella married Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, fourth son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault at Wallingford. As a result of her marriage, she became the first of a total of eleven women who became (as a courtesy by marriage to their husbands) Duchess of York. They had three children:

Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York (1373 - 25 October 1415).
Constance of York (1374 - 29 November 1416). Married Thomas le Despenser and was mother of Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick.
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1375 - 5 August 1415).
She was named a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1378. Isabella died 23 December 1392 and on 14 January 1393 was buried in Kings Langley Manor House in Hertfordshire, England.¹

     Isabella of France (c. 1295 – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-wolf of France,[1] was the Queen consort of Edward II of England and mother of Edward III. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre.

Isabella was born in Paris on an uncertain date, probably between May and November 1295 [2], to King Philip IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre; she was also (in time) the sister of three French kings.

While still an infant, Isabella was promised in marriage by her father to King Edward II of England; the intention was to resolve the conflicts between France and England over the latter's continental possession of Gascony and claims to Anjou, Normandy and Aquitaine. Pope Boniface VIII had urged the marriage as early as 1298 but was delayed by wrangling over the terms of the marriage contract. The English king, Edward I, had also attempted to break the engagement several times. Only after he died, in 1307, did the wedding proceed.

At the time of her marriage, Isabella was probably about twelve and was described by Geoffrey of Paris as "the beauty of beauties... in the kingdom if not in all Europe." These words may not merely have represented the standard politeness and flattery of a royal by a chronicler, since Isabella's father and brother are described as very handsome men in the historical literature. Isabella was said to resemble her father, and not her mother, queen regnant of Navarre, a plump woman of high complexion.[3] This would indicate that Isabella was slender and pale-skinned. In 1314, Isabella testified against Joan II, Countess of Burgundy; Blanche of Burgundy and Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France.

Edward and Isabella did manage to produce four children, and she suffered at least one miscarriage. Their itineraries demonstrate that they were together 9 months prior to the births of all four surviving offspring.

Isabella returns to England with her son, Edward III. Jean Fouquet, 1455x1460.Although Isabella produced four children, the apparently bisexual[4] king was notorious for lavishing sexual attention on a succession of male favourites, including Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despenser the younger. Isabella despised Hugh le Despenser, and in 1321, while pregnant with her youngest child, she dramatically begged Edward to banish Despenser from the kingdom. Despenser was exiled, but Edward recalled him later that year. This act seems finally to have turned Isabella against her husband altogether. While the nature of her relationship with Roger Mortimer is unknown for this time period, she may have helped him escape from the Tower of London in 1323. Later, she openly took Mortimer as her lover. He was married to the wealthy heiress Joan de Geneville, and the father of twelve children.¹

     Philip IV of France (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called the Fair (French: le Bel), son and successor of Philip III, reigned as King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was King of Navarre (as Philip I) and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305. The nickname Philip "the Fair" or "the Handsome" comes from his appearance; it had nothing to do with his actions as king.

A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of Fontainebleau at Seine-et-Marne, the son of King Philip III and Isabella of Aragon. Philip was nicknamed the Fair (le Bel) because of his handsome appearance, but his inflexible personality gained him other epithets, from friend and foe alike. His fierce opponent Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, said of him, "He is neither man nor beast. He is a statue."[1]

His education was guided by Guillaume d'Ercuis, the almoner of his father.

As prince, just before his father's death, he negotiated the safe passage of the royal family out of Aragon after the unsuccessful Aragonese Crusade.¹

     Philip III (30 April 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (French: le Hardi), was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.

Born in Poissy, to Louis IX (the later Saint Louis) and Margaret of Provence, Philip was prior to his accession Count of Orleans. He accompanied his father on the Eighth Crusade to Tunisia in 1270. His father died at Tunis and there Philip was declared king at the age of 25. Philip was indecisive, soft in nature, timid, and apparently crushed by the strong personalities of his parents and dominated by his father's policies. He was called "the Bold" on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback and not his character. He was pious, but not cultivated. He followed the dictates of others, first of Pierre de la Broce and then of his uncle Charles I of Sicily.

After his succession, he quickly set his uncle on negotiations with the emir to conclude the crusade, while he himself returned to France. A ten-year truce was concluded and Philip was crowned in France on 12 August 1271. On 21 August, his uncle, Alfonso, Count of Poitou, Toulouse, and Auvergne, died returning from the crusade in Italy. Philip inherited his counties and united them to the royal demesne. The portion of the Auvergne which he inherited became the "Terre royale d'Auvergne," later the Duchy of Auvergne. In accordance with Alfonso's wishes, the Comtat Venaissin was granted to the Pope Gregory X in 1274. Several years of negotiations yielded the Treaty of Amiens with Edward I of England in 1279. Thereby Philip restored to the English the Agenais which had fallen to him with the death of Alfonso. In 1284, Philip also inherited the counties of Perche and Alençon from his brother Pierre.

Philip all the while supported his uncle's policy in Italy. When, after the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, Peter III of Aragon invaded and took the island of Sicily, pope Martin IV excommunicated the conqueror and declared his kingdom (put under the suzerainty of the pope by Peter II in 1205) forfeit. He granted Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, Philip's son. Philip intervened in the Navarrese succession after the death of Henry I of Navarre and married his son, Philip the Fair, to the heiress of Navarre, Joan I.

In 1284, Philip and his sons entered Roussillon at the head of a large army. This war, called the Aragonese Crusade from its papal sanction, has been labelled "perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by the Capetian monarchy."[1] On 26 June 1285, Philip the Bold entrenched himself before Gerona in an attempt to besiege it. The resistance was strong, but the city was taken on 7 September. Philip soon experienced a reversal, however, as the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery. Philip himself was afflicted. The French retreated and were handily defeated at the Battle of the Col de Panissars. The king of France himself died at Perpignan, the capital of his ally James II of Majorca, and was buried in Narbonne. He currently lies buried with his wife Isabella of Aragon in Saint Denis Basilica in Paris.¹

     Elizabeth Despencer, 3rd Baroness Burghersh (ca. 1342 – August, 1402) was an English noblewoman born to Bartholomew de Burghersh, 2nd Baron Burghersh and Cicely Weyland. She married Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer and they had six children.

Children
Margaret Despencer (died 3 November 1415) married Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
Elizabeth Despencer (died 10 April or 11 April 1408) married (1) John d'Arundel (2) William la Zouche, 3rd Baron Zouche
Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester (22 September 1373 – 13 January 1400) married Constance Langley
Hugh Despencer
Cicely Despencer
Anne Despencer (died 30 October 1426 married (1) Hugh Hastings (2) Thomas de Morley, 4th Baron Morley.¹

     2nd Baron Burghersh.

     3rd Baron Zouche.