Lionel “Duke of Clarence” Plantagenet (1338-1368)

English Royalty. The Earl of Ulster and Duke of Clarence, he was the third son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, Born at Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium, he had scarcely completed his third year, when, in order to secure for him a large territory in Ireland, his future marriage was arranged with Lady Elizabeth De Burgh, the sole daughter and heiress of William, Earl of Ulster. They were married in 1355; and he was created Earl of Ulster, and first armed, for the purpose of attending his Royal father on an expedition to France. In 1359, he accompanied the King to Calais and was a witness to the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360. The Honour of Clare in Suffolk having devolved to him, as part of the inheritance of Elizabeth De Clare, his consort's grandmother, he was, in 1362, created Duke of Clarence. His Duchess, by whom he had an only child, Philippa, died in the following year and, towards the conclusion of the year 1367, a treaty of marriage was agreed upon between Lionel and Violante, daughter of Galeazzo, Prince of Milan, and niece of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. His wedding took place in Milan and he never returned to his native land. Whether from excesses in a climate not congenial to his constitution, as supposed by some, or the effects of poison, as hinted by others, he sickened and died at Alba Pompeia, in the Marquisate of Montferrat, in Piedmont. His remains were first interred at Papia, but afterwards brought to England, and deposited near the body of his first consort.

Bio by: julia&keld