William le Latimer, 1st Baron Latimer of Corby (say 1240 – 1304-12-05)^ref was my double 20th-great-grandfather and an English peer. He was the son of William le Latimer, son (probably) of William le Latimer, but no other ancestors are known. He was married to Alice/Alicia Ledet of the Braybrook line. He was sometimes called William the Rich due to his wealth. My descent is through their son John, via John’s great-great-grandson Nicholas Latimer. Their descendants also include many European noble and royal families.

Origins

The name Latimer means interpreter, derived from latinier “Latin speaker”. It is sometimes spelled Latymer, and variously styled Latimer, le Latimer, and de Latimer. The last is technically incorrect, as de is meant for place names, but was nevertheless used by some of William’s relations. The first bearer of the surname is said to be the obscure Wrenoc, son of Meirric, who interpreted between the Welsh and English.

William’s father was an English nobleman and knight who held several government posts. He had two sons of record, William and John, and perhaps a daughter Joan. The brothers married Ledet sisters Alice and Christiana, respectively.

William served also as a knight and had a long military career, including partaking in Prince Edward’s Crusade in 1270. He eventually was called to Parliament, placing him in the English peerage.

Barony

The title of Baron Latimer was created when William was summoned to Parliament on 1299-12-29. From there it passed from father to son, all named William, for three generations. However, William the 4th Baron died in 1381 with no male heir, so the title went to his daughter Elizabeth, 5th Baroness Latimer of Corby, the only woman to have held the title. On her death in 1395, it passed to her son John Neville from her first marriage, but, him being childless, it legally passed on his 1430 death to his sororal nephew John Willoughby, whose mother (also named Elizabeth) had married her step-brother from the baroness’s second marriage. John’s grandson Robert Willoughby was drawn into a dispute over who was Baron Latimer, as the rules of inheritance were unclear. By modern law, Robert and his heirs have claim to the title, but he was given the title Baron Willoughby de Broke, entitling him and his heirs to a seat in the House of Lords, so that since then none have bothered to claim the Latimer barony.

The right to the barony passed from the Willoughby family (1430) to the Greville family (1562) to the Verney family (1631), in both cases due to a female heir, neither of who, as noted, claimed it. The current heir is conservative English politician Leopold David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke (*1938)^ref, who could be the 29th Baron Latimer of Corby, since the death of his father in 1986. On his death the right is expected to pass to his eldest son Rupert.

Other Baronies Latimer

Due to the confusion of writs, there were by modern law multiple creations of Baron Latimer. William’s son William would have his own, but as he inherited the original in 1304, it became basically redundant; but all heirs have claim to both baronies. William’s nephew Thomas would also have a barony, Baron Latimer of Braybrook, but the title was not acknowledged at the time, and his heir cannot be traced beyond Griffin Markham (17th century), who would be the 13th, and who anyway was attainted, meaning the title belongs to no one until and unless the attainder is reversed.

During the aforementioned dispute involving Robert Willoughby, it was decided there was a separate Baron Latimer of Snape, which belonged to the heirs of the first husband of the 5th Baroness Latimer. These were not relations of William, and this title also has a confused history.

The original thus may be specified as Baron Latimer of Corby, to distinguish it from the others.

Other lines of inheritance

I am not descended from any of the above barons other than William. However, the line following male primogeniture from William reverts to the descendants of William’s son John after the 4th Baron Latimer, and devolved to Nicholas Latimer, through my ancestral line. Nicholas had no sons, and so it went through his brother, and thus no further ancestors of mine. See Nicholas Latimer for the full line.

Family

William and Alice had several known children, birth order not certain:

• John, who married Isabel de Sherstrede in 1297, but died in 1299 without issue, and thus did not live to inherit the barony. It appears his name was reused.
• William, 2nd Baron Latimer of Corby, and ancestor of all following Barons. He first married Lucy Thwing, mother of the 3rd Baron, but she fled the marriage and started an affair, eventually securing an annulment on grounds of abuse and consanguinity, and remarried (to a third man). William remarried the widow Sibill, daughter of Richard de Fourneaux, but had no further children.
• Joan/Joanna, who married Alexander Comyn, Sheriff of Aberdeen. She is the ancestor of many royal houses of Europe from an early date, mostly through being the great-grandmother of Blanche of Lancaster, mother of King Henry IV of England.
• John, my ancestor, being the great-great-grandfather of Nicholas Latimer. He married Johanna, daughter of William de Gouvis. There is confusion about the reuse of the name John, and some suggest this John was William’s grandson^ref, which would add another generation to my line to William. This needs more investigation (but is far outside my expertise).
• Christian/Christiana. She married Robert de Bois, and is a closer ancestor of the current British royal family than Joan. Through her, there is a line with 21 generations between William and Queen Elizabeth II, although through less prominent people, whereas through Joan the shortest line is 22 generations.
• Nicholas. Alive in 1325^ref, and seems to have died before 1330^ref.
• Thomas.

William’s brother John also has descendants. As noted, John’s son Thomas may be considered the 1st Baron Latimer of Braybrook.

Alice died in 1316 (or 1317 as some have).

Siege of Caerlaverock

In 1300, William was part of the English forces that famously sieged Caerlaverock Castle. A poem written in Old French commemorated the engagement and listed the titled participants, including William and his arms:^ref

Prouesce ke avoit fait ami De Guilleme le Latimier Ki la crois patée de or mier Portoit, en rouge bien pourtraite, Sa baniere ot cele part traite.

Prowess, who had made her friend Of William le Latimer, Who a gold cross patée Bore, well pictured on red, Carried his banner into that squadron.

I had previously had an interest in this siege due to the presence of a “William de Ridre”, who I supposed might be a distant Ryder relation. DNA evidence has since shown that that is not the case.

Royal descendants

William is ancestral to many royal houses of Europe, primarily through his great-great-granddaughter Blanche of Lancaster (1342–1368), wife of John of Gaunt.

England

Through Blanche, William is the ancestor of her son Henry IV (1367–1413), Henry V, Henry IV, Mary I, and all monarchs from Charles II to the present day. He may be the ancestor also of Elizabeth I, based on the conjecture that William Moleyns’ mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Henry de Beaumont, 3rd Baron Beaumont.

Since William is an ancestor of Sophia, Electress of Hanover, everyone in the British line of succession is his descendant, as will be any future monarchs unless the current monarchy is completely overthrown.

Edith Latimer is an ancestor of Lady Diana Spencer, which gives me a closer relationship to Prince William, presumed future King of the United Kingdom. She is also ancestral to several others in the line of succession.

Spain

Blanche is the great-great-grandmother of Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504), who with her husband Ferdinand was the first to reign over the kingdoms which would later formally unite as Spain. She is also an ancestor of Isabella’s daughter’s husband Philip I, in fact his double great-great-great-grandmother. William is thus an ancestor of all monarchs of a united Spain to the present day except for Ferdinand himself.

Portugal

Blanche is the grandmother of King Edward (Duarte) of Portugal (1391–1438), and through him the ancestor of all following monarchs down to Manuel II, during whose reign the monarchy was overthrown, in 1910.

France

Blanche is the triple 6th-great-grandmother of Marie de’ Medici, Queen consort of France, whose son Louis XIII (1601–1643) became king. Through him, William is an ancestor of all monarchs of France (but not the Napoleonic emperors) from Louis until the monarchy was abolished.

Holy Roman Empire

Blanche is the triple 4th-great-grandmother of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (1503–1564), and through him an ancestor of all following emperors, till the so-called Empire was formally dissolved in 1806.

Others

Due to the interrelatedness of European royal families, relationships to many other estate heirs can be readily found. For example, Blanche is an ancestor of the four monarchs of the united Italy, starting with Victor Emmanuel II (1820–1878), from 1861 till Italy became a republic in 1946.

See

• William Latimer article on the German Wikipedia.
• Wikipedia article on the 4th Baron Latimer.