Margaret de Bohun, Countess of Devon

Lady Margaret de Bohun was born on 3 April 1311 at Caldecote, Northamptonshire, and died on 16 December 1391. She was the granddaughter of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. Orphaned before her eleventh birthday, she was married to Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, on 11 August 1325, with whom she had seventeen children. Margaret was educated under a Sicilian Greek, Master Diogenes, and was known for her scholarship and book collecting. She became Countess of Devon on 23 December 1340 and is buried in Exeter Cathedral.

Her children’s achievements included an Archbishop of Canterbury and six knights, two of whom were founder knights of the Order of the Garter. Her descendants include members of the British royal family and former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The family chantry was expanded at Naish Priory by her son, William Courtenay. Margaret’s effigy, next to her husband’s, is located in Exeter Cathedral.