Lord High Constable of England | |
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The 1st Viscount Alanbrooke was the last Lord High Constable, appointed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. | |
Type | Great Officer of State |
Appointer | The Monarch |
Term length | At His Majesty's Pleasure |
Formation | 1139 |
First holder | The 1st Earl of Hereford |
Final holder | The 1st Viscount Alanbrooke |
The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, [1] ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal.[ citation needed ] This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was originally the commander of the royal armies and the Master of the Horse. He was also, in conjunction with the Earl Marshal, president of the court of chivalry or court of honour. In feudal times, martial law was administered in the court of the Lord High Constable. [1]
The constableship was granted as a grand serjeanty with the Earldom of Hereford by the Empress Matilda to Miles of Gloucester, and was carried by his heiress to the Bohuns, earls of Hereford and Essex. They had a surviving male heir, and still have heirs male, but due to the power of the monarchy the constableship was irregularly given to the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham; and on the attainder of Edward Stafford, the third Duke, in the reign of King Henry VIII, it became merged into the Crown. [1] Since that point it has not existed as a separate office, except as a temporary appointment for the coronation of a monarch; in other circumstances the Earl Marshal exercises the traditional duties of the office. [1] [2]
The Lacys and Verduns were hereditary constables of Ireland from the 12th to the 14th century; and the Hays, earls of Erroll, have been hereditary Lord High Constables of Scotland from early in the 14th century. [1] [3]
A cousin was alive who was not granted the titles due to him and his heirs: Gilbert de Bohun, died 1381
At this point, the office merged with the Crown and was revived only for coronations. It was held at coronations by the following individuals:
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
Humphrey de Bohun may refer to:
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford of Pleshy Castle in Essex, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who became Hereditary Constable of England from 1199.
The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England that was formed to collectively supply ships for The Crown in the absence at the time of a formal navy. Today the role is a sinecure and an honorary title, and fourteen towns belong to the Cinque Ports confederation. The title is one of the higher honours bestowed by the Sovereign; it has often been held by members of the Royal Family or prime ministers, especially those who have been influential in defending Britain at times of war.
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.
Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, 1st Earl of Essex was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and soldier who served as hereditary Constable of England.
Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford was the eldest daughter and eventually sole heiress of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, by his wife Eleanor de Bohun, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex (1341–1373) of Pleshy Castle in Essex.
Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford was a great magnate based in the west of England. He was hereditary Constable of England and Sheriff of Gloucestershire.
Pleshey is a historic village and civil parish in the Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England, 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Chelmsford. The Normans built a motte and bailey in the late 11th century; the motte is one of the largest of its kind in Great Britain. It was besieged several times during the Barons' Wars and rebellions in the 13th centuries.
Eleanor de Bohun was the elder daughter and co-heiress, of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.
William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, was an English knight created by King Henry V 1st Count of Eu, in Normandy.
Llanthony Secunda Priory was a house of Augustinian canons in the parish of Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England, situated about 1/2 a mile south-west of Gloucester Castle in the City of Gloucester. It was founded in 1136 by Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, a great magnate based in the west of England and the Welsh Marches, hereditary Constable of England and Sheriff of Gloucestershire, as a secondary house and refuge for the canons of Llanthony Priory in the Vale of Ewyas, within his Lordship of Brecknock in what is now Monmouthshire, Wales. The surviving remains of the Priory were designated as Grade I listed in 1952 and the wider site is a scheduled ancient monument. In 2013 the Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust received funds for restoration work which was completed in August 2018 when it re-opened to the public.
Joan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first wife of Henry of Bolingbroke who later reigned as King Henry IV, and Eleanor de Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester. She was the maternal grandmother of King Henry V.
Wendlebury is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Bicester and about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) from Junction 9 of the M40. It lends its name to Wendlebury Interchange, a major junction between the A34, A41, and M40 roads. A stream flows through the centre of the village, parallel with the main street. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 421.
Humphrey III de Bohun of Trowbridge Castle in Wiltshire and of Caldicot Castle in south-east Wales, 5th feudal baron of Trowbridge, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and general who served King Henry II as Lord High Constable of England.
Margaret of Hereford was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford by his wife, the wealthy Cambro-Norman heiress Sibyl de Neufmarché. Margaret married Humphrey II de Bohun, by whom she had five children. Margaret held the office of Constable of England and as a widow, exercised lordship of Herefordshire until her own death. She was the benefactress of several religious institutions.
The Bohun swan also known as the Bucks Swan was a heraldic badge used originally in England by the mediaeval noble family of de Bohun, Earls of Hereford, and Earls of Essex.
The de Bohun then Bohun family is an English noble family of Norman origin that played a prominent role in English political and military history during the Late Middle Ages. The swan used by the family and their descendants as a heraldic badge came to be called the Bohun swan.