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Hugh Despenser the Younger

Type Figure Region England Time 1296–1326 Also known as Hugh Despenser the Younger、Hugh Despenser II

Member of the Despenser family, later Earl of Winchester and Earl of Gloucester, and the most favored minister of Edward II's later reign.…

Timeline

  1. 1296–1317Warwick · WarwickshireSon of Hugh Despenser the Elder, of distinguished birth but with limited political influence in his early years. He entered court circles after marrying the king's niece in 1308, fought alongside the king at Bannockburn in 1314, and saw his family's standing rise after his father's return to court in 1317.
  2. 1318–1320Westminster · LondonFrom c. 1318 he became Edward II's most trusted favorite, gradually replacing the late Gaveston in the king's affections. Through manipulating office appointments, seizing the property of rival nobles, and expanding his lands in Wales, he had become all-powerful by 1320, provoking fierce hostility from the Lancastrian remnant and the Marcher lords.
  3. 1321–1326Hereford · HerefordshireA noble coalition launched an armed rebellion in 1321; after the king's victory at Boroughbridge in 1322, Despenser's power reached its peak, and he was created Earl of Winchester and Earl of Gloucester. In 1326 Queen Isabella and Mortimer invaded from France; Despenser fled west with the king, was captured in Wales in November, and was hanged, disemboweled, and drawn at Hereford.

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