for certain causes," were munificently granted to her "of
our gift." (_Ibidem_.) On the 24th of the same month, Kent and Lucia
were married, and--if his sisters may be believed--Constance was
present. (_Rot. Pari_, iv. 375.) And on the 18th of June following,
all the lands and tenements of Thomas Le Despenser were restored to his
widow. (_Rot. Pat_, 7 H. IV, Part 2.) In May, 1412, she had again
offended; for her son was taken from her, and his custody and marriage
were granted to trustees, one of whom was his uncle, Edward Duke of
York. (_Ibidem_, 13 H. IV, Part 2.) No more is heard of her until the
accession of Henry the Fifth, when the immediate favour shown to her
confirms the suspicion that her offence was in some way connected with
political, if not religious, Lollardism. On the 18th of July, 1413, the
young King confirmed _all_ his father's grants to Constance (_Ibidem_, 1
H. V, Part 3), which concession restored her boy to her custody. But
when Henry the Fifth turned against Lollardism, he turned against his
cousin with it. All the Despenser lands were granted to her brother
Edward for life, April 16th, 1414, in compensation for the loss which he
had sustained by Richard Le Despenser's death (_Ibidem_, 2 H. V, Part
1); the truth being that the grant to him in 1412 had been cancelled by
the subsequent concession to his sister, so that he had sustained no
loss at all. Troubles came thickly upon Constance now. The sudden and
violent deaths of her brothers, within three months of each other, must
have been no slight shock to her; and shortly after that she was again
under royal displeasure. The nature of her offence is matter for
conjecture. We only know with certainty that she died on the 28th of
November, 1416, aged about 42 (_Inq. Post Mortem_, 4 H. V 52); and
that she died under a dark cloud of royal wrath, which was manifested by
the withholding of permission for honourable burial for four years.
Constance was interred in Reading Abbey, in 1420. No portrait of her is
known. Her character appears to have been as I have represented it--
warm-hearted, impulsive, and eager, but wayward and obstinate. Her
children were four in number; three by her first marriage, who were:--1.
Richard, born at Cardiff, November 30th, 1396. On the 23rd of May,
1412, he was removed from his mother's keeping, and his custody and
marriage were granted, "at the request of Edward Duke of York," to ten
trustees: Arc