Thomas St. Leger

Sir Thomas St. Leger
Sir Thomas St. Leger
	Anne St Leger
Parent(s)	Sir John St Leger of Ulcombe; Margery Donnet

Sir Thomas St Leger

Edward IV (1461–1483) and Richard III (1483–1485). His younger brother, Sir James St Leger of Annery in Devon, married Anne Butler, daughter of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond, and was, therefore, an uncle to Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

.

Career

St. Leger faithfully served

Edward IV in both a military and administrative capacity for years. For his loyal service, Edward IV rewarded St. Leger with a substantial grant of eight manors in the early 1460s. He had a lucky escape from justice in 1465 when he was arrested for brawling in the Palace of Westminster and sentenced to have his hand cut off. Edward IV, however, granted him a pardon. Thomas fought for Edward at the Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury

.

St Leger played a key role in ending the

profligate courtiers.^[2]

Thomas was also knighted as a member of the Order of the Bath.

Marriage

Richard, 3rd Duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield where Anne's father and her brother, Edmund, Earl of Rutland

, died in battle.

Anne and Exeter eventually separated. Thomas fought against Exeter at the Battle of Barnet, where Exeter was badly wounded and left for dead, but survived. Exeter was later imprisoned, and Anne divorced him in 1472. Exeter was also on Edward's expedition with Thomas St Leger to France in 1475. On the return voyage, he fell overboard and drowned. Some say he was in fact thrown overboard at the King's command. St Leger's stepdaughter, Anne Holland, died sometime around 1474, leaving her inherited Exeter estates behind.

Anne of York died giving birth in 1476 to her only child with Thomas, another girl, also named

Act of Parliament, Anne St. Leger was declared heiress to the entire Exeter estate, except for a portion which was given to the queen's son Richard Grey. This act, by which the lands of the Exeter dukedom fell into the hands of the last duke's stepdaughter and his daughter's brother-in-law, along with a number of similar acts, is thought to be a cause of difficulty in maintaining noble support for the reign of Edward IV.^[3]

Rebellion and death

Thomas's brother-in-law, Edward IV, whom he had served faithfully, died suddenly on 9 April 1483, leaving behind a twelve-year-old son, Edward V, who was by marriage Thomas's nephew. However, Richard III ascended the throne in July 1483. Thomas St. Leger attended the new king's coronation and was given cloth of silver and velvet for the occasion, but he was soon deprived of his positions of Master of Harthounds and Controller of the Mint. His daughter Anne was ordered to be handed over to Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. It has been suggested that Buckingham had the heiress in mind as a bride for his own eldest son Edward. This never came to pass, for both St. Leger and Buckingham ended up in rebellion against the new king. St Leger had been unshakably faithful to Edward IV and, like many of the other rebels of the rebellion of 1483, was undoubtedly distressed at Edward V having disappeared from sight after having been deprived of his crown.

When the rebellion floundered, St. Leger continued the fight in Exeter, but was captured. He was executed on 13 November 1483, at

Crowland Chronicler as a “most noble knight,” received a private burial. They are not buried in Rutland Chapel as most believe.^{[citation needed}

]

His daughter Anne St Leger (14 January 1476 – 21 April 1526) eventually married

George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros. Their son was Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, and their daughter, Lady Eleanor Manners (1505 – 16 September 1548) married John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath, and had descendants including daughter Elizabeth Bourchier who married Sir Richard Thomas Chase of Hundrich. Lady Anne St. Leger and her husband George are both buried in the private Rutland Chapel in Windsor Castle

.

References

^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 365, St Leger, Earl of Doneraile
^ MacFarlene, Charles, The Cabinet history of English civil, military and ecclesiastical
^ Ross, Charles (1997). Edward IV. Yale English monarchs (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 336–337

[1] Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 365, St Leger, Earl of Doneraile

[2] MacFarlene, Charles, The Cabinet history of English civil, military and ecclesiastical

[3] Ross, Charles (1997). Edward IV. Yale English monarchs (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 336–337

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