1st Earl of Winchester Hugh le Despenser

Notes:

Hugh le Despenser (1262 – October 17, 1326), son of Hugh le Despenser II, sometimes referred to as "the elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England.

He was created a baron by writ of summons to Parliament in 1295. He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward during the controversy regarding Piers Gaveston. Despenser became Edward's loyal servant and chief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but the jealousy of other barons led to his being exiled along with his son Hugh the younger Despenser in 1321, when Edmund de Woodstoke replaced him as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Edward found it difficult to manage without them, and recalled them to England a year later, an action which enraged the queen, Isabella, the more so when Despenser was created Earl of Winchester. When Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer, led a rebellion against the king, both Despensers were captured and executed. The elder Despenser was hanged at Bristol on October 27, 1326.

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Family/Spouse: Isabel Beauchamp. Isabel (daughter of 9th Earl of Warwick William Beauchamp and Maud FitzGeoffrey) was born about 1263 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England; died on 30 May 1306 in Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. 3rd Lord le Despenser1 Hugh "the younger" le Despenser was born in 1290 in Barton, Gloucester, England; died on 24 Nov 1326 in Herford, Herfordshire, England; was buried in Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.

Hugh married Aline Bassett. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]