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'James Butler, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 5th Earl of Ormonde', KG was born on 24 November 1420. The son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde and Elizabeth Beauchamp, he married, firstly, Avice Stafford, daughter of Sir Richard Stafford and Maud Lovell. He married, secondly, Eleanor Beaufort, daughter of Sir Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp. He died on 1 May 1461, beheaded at Newcastle, by the Yorkists, after the Battle of Towton.
He was created by Henry VI, 8 July 1449, for his fidelity to the Lancastrian interest, Earl of Wiltshire, in the Peerage of England. In 1451 he became Lord Deputy of Ireland; and the next year, succeeding his father in the title of 'Earl of Ormonde' was appointed Lord Lieutenant for ten years. In 1454, he was constituted Lord High Treasurer of England and made a Knight of the Garter 1459.