She was married to Piers Gaveston, the favourite of her uncle Edward II on 1 November 1307. At the time of her marriage, she was 14 yearsof age. According to the Vita Edwardi Secundi, this marriage was arranged by the King "to strengthen Piers and surround him with friends". Piers Gaveston celebrated the marriage with a lavish tournament at Wallingford Castle. The marriage of such a high-born heiress to a foreigner did not please the English nobility and engendered a great deal of unpopularity. Their daughter, Joan Gaveston, was born on 12 January 1312 in York. It is alleged that they had another child named Amy Gaveston born around 1310, but there is little evidence outside of hearsay to validate this claim. There are also claims that Amy was born to a mistress of Piers Gaveston. However, the evidence is circumstantial and the official records only list Joan Gaveston as born to Piers Gaveston and Margaret de Clare. King Edward arranged a lavish celebration after the birth of this little girl, complete with minstrels. However, Piers Gaveston was executed only six months later, leaving Margaret a widow with a small child. Her dower rights as Countess of Cornwall were disputed, and so King Edward instead assigned her Oakham Castle and other lands. She joined the royal household, and accompanied the King in his journey from London to York in 1316.
Hugh and Margaret were among the victims of their brother-in-law, Hugh the younger Despenser. In his rashness and greed for the Clare lands, he robbed Margaret of much of her rightful inheritance. In 1321, Hugh de Audley joined the other Marcher Barons in looting, burning, and causing general devastation to Despenser's lands which subsequently became the Despenser War. Hugh was captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and was saved from a hanging thanks to the pleas of his wife. He was imprisoned, and two months later Margaret was sent to Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire. She remained there until 1326, when Hugh escaped prison and she was released from Sempringham.
Countess of Gloucester
Hugh and Margaret were reunited sometime in 1326. In summer 1336, their only daughter, Margaret Audley, was abducted by Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford. Her parents filed a complaint, but King Edward III of England supported Stafford. He appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh Earl of Gloucester. Margaret was henceforth styled Countess of Gloucester.
