Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March

Also known as: Edmund Mortimer, the last earle of March / Edmund earle of March / Edmund erle of March / earle of March Edmund · Family: England · Role: earl · First appears: Richard II 29

Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, was the son of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March and the cousin and heir of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence. After Henry IV took the crown following Richard II’s resignation, Edmund and Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge opposed the change, beginning a persecution between their lineages. Edmund was also married to Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of March, and Roger Mortimer, Anne Mortimer, and Eleanor Mortimer are listed among his siblings.

Around 1402, while leading the forces of Herefordshire against Owen Glendower, Edmund was defeated, captured, and imprisoned, with more than a thousand of his men killed. In 1403 he joined Owen Glendower against Henry IV and married Owen’s daughter; the Percies then freed him and allied with Owen. At Bangor, Edmund, Owen Glendower, and Hotspur divided England and Wales by a tripartite agreement, assigning England south and east of the Severn and Trent to Edmund. Henry IV regarded him as a rival because of his title, and the king delayed his release, while Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, and Hotspur sought to advance him.

Under Henry V, Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge and Thomas Grey were indicted for conspiring to lead Edmund into Wales and advance him against the king. Edmund is also recorded with Henry V at Mant and later among the mourners at the king’s funeral. In 1424, “the last earle of March” died without issue; his inheritance passed to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, the son of Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge. Retrospective accounts describe Edmund as having asserted his title while captive with Owen Glendower, and call him the “most welbeloued vncle” of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.