Following the removal of the Despensers, Mortimer set to work in restoring the status of his supporters, primarily in the Marches, and hundreds of pardons and restorations of property were made in the first year of the new king's reign. Rich estates and offices of profit and power were heaped on Mortimer. He was made constable of Wallingford Castle and in September 1328 he was created Earl of March. However, although in military terms he was far more competent than the Despensers, his ambition was troubling to all. His own son Geoffrey, the only one to survive into old age, mocked him as "the king of folly" deriding his ambitious extravagance of "rich clothes ot of manner resoun, both of shaping and wearing." During his short time as ruler of England he took over the lordships of Denbigh, Oswestry, and Clun (the first of which belonged to Despenser, the latter two had been the Earl of Arundel's). He was also granted the "marcher" lordship of Montgomery by the queen. During the War of Saint Sardos the Regent and his queen spent over £60,000 bankrupting the Treasury, even after the proscriptions of Arundel and the Despensers. The Lancastrian opposition were incensed by this casual display of irresponsible government.