Elizabeth de Bohun, Countess of Arundel

Elizabeth Fitzalan, Countess of Arundel, Countess of Surrey ( de Bohun; c. 1350 – 3 April 1385), was a member of the Anglo-Norman Bohun family, which wielded much power in the Welsh Marches and the English government.

She was the first wife of Richard FitzAlan, 4th Earl of Arundel and 9th Earl of Surrey. He was a powerful English nobleman and military commander in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. She was the mother of seven of his children, and as the wife of one of the most powerful nobles in the realm, enjoyed much prestige and took precedence over most of the other peers' wives.

Family and lineage Lady Elizabeth de Bohun was born around 1350, the daughter of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere. Her older brother Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, married Joan FitzAlan, a sister of the 11th Earl of Arundel, by whom he had two daughters.

Her paternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere,

As the Countess of Arundel, Elizabeth was one of the most important women in England, who enjoyed much prestige, and after the Queen, the Duchesses of Lancaster and York, and the Countess of Buckingham, took precedence over the other noble ladies in the realm.

At the coronation of King Richard II, FitzAlan carried the crown. In the same year, 1377, he was made Admiral of the South and West. The following year, 1378, he attacked Harfleur, but was repelled by the French.

FitzAlan allied himself with the King's uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, who was married to FitzAlan's niece, Eleanor de Bohun, who was also Elizabeth's niece. The two men eventually became members of the Council of Regency, and formed a strong and virulent opposition to the King. This would later prove fatal to both men.

Richard and Elizabeth had seven children: Thomas FitzAlan, 5th Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey KG (13 October 1381 – 13 October 1415), married 26 November 1405, Beatrice, Countess of Arundel, illegitimate daughter of King John I of Portugal and Inês Pires. Lady Margaret FitzAlan (1382 - after 1423), married Sir Rowland Lenthall, of Hampton Court, Herefordshire, by whom she had two sons. Son FitzAlan (his name is given as either Richard or William).

Death

Elizabeth Fitzalan, Countess of Arundel, Countess of Surrey, died on 3 April 1385. She was buried at Lewes in Sussex. Her husband married secondly Philippa Mortimer on 15 August 1390, by whom he had a son: John FitzAlan (born 1394 - died after 1397).

Richard FitzAlan was executed by decapitation on 21 September 1397 at Tower Hill Cheapside, London for having committed high treason against King Richard. His titles and estates were attainted until October 1400, when they were restored to his son and heir, Thomas FitzAlan, 5th Earl of Arundel, by the new king, Henry IV, who had ascended to the English throne upon the deposition of King Richard in 1399.

Ancestry