William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Marriage Age Gap Greater Than Fifty Years is in Marriages with Large Age Gaps.
After 14th October 1257 Richard Percy 5th Baron Percy Topcliffe and Agnes Neville [aged 36] were married. The difference in their ages was 51 years.
In 1284 Reginald Cobham [aged 47] and Joan Devereux were married. There is some confusion here as to which Joan Devereux he married since she was born six years after the supposed marriage?. The difference in their ages was 53 years.
Before 8th August 1303 Henry Ivrea [aged 73] and Juana "La Palomilla" Núñez de Lara [aged 17] were married. The difference in their ages was 55 years. He the son of Ferdinand III King Castile III King Leon and Elisabeth Hohenstaufen Queen Consort Castile Queen Consort Leon. They were half first cousin twice removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.
In 1422 Władysław II Jagiełło [aged 70] and Sophia of Halshany [aged 17] were married. The difference in their ages was 53 years.
After 12th November 1529 Robert Drury [aged 75] and Anne Jerningham [aged 25] were married. The difference in their ages was 50 years.
In September 1603 Charles Howard 1st Earl Nottingham [aged 67] and Margaret Stewart 1st Countess Nottingham [aged 12] were married. She by marriage Countess Nottingham. The difference in their ages was 55 years. She the daughter of James "The Bonnie Earl" Stewart 2nd Earl of Moray and Elizabeth Stewart 2nd Countess Moray. They were half fourth cousin twice removed. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.
On 20th October 1677 Samuel Sleigh of Ash and Etwall [aged 72] and Elizabeth Harpur [aged 21] were married. The difference in their ages was 51 years.
On 19th January 1818 Count Alessandro Guiccioli [aged 68] and Teresa Countess Guiccioli [aged 18] were married. His third wife. The difference in their ages was 50 years.
On 7th September 1854 Francis L'Esrange Astley [aged 44] and Florence Conyngham were married. The difference in their ages was 56 years. She the daughter of George Henry Conyngham 3rd Marquess Conyngham [aged 29] and Jane St Maur Blanche Stanhope Marchioness Conyngham [aged 21].
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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On 28th April 1898 Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing [aged 37] and Augusta Boyle were married. The difference in their ages was 59 years; she, unusually, being older than him.
On 23rd December 1902 George Augustus Hamilton Chichester 5th Marquess Donegal [aged 80] and Violet Gertrude Twining Marchioness Donegal [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Donegal. The difference in their ages was 57 years. He the son of Edward Chichester 4th Marquess Donegal and Amelia Ogrady Marchioness County Donegal.
William de Valoignes and Loretta Quincy were married. The difference in their ages was 51 years. She the daughter of Saer Quincy 1st Earl Winchester and Margaret Beaumont Countess Winchester.
In or before Thomas Tempest of Bracewell and Elizabeth Bosvile were married. The difference in their ages was 52 years.
Bishop John Hinchliffe and Elizabeth Crew Countess Arran were married. The difference in their ages was 52 years; she, unusually, being older than him.