John Beaufort

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• Reference Number: 38148

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• Reference Number: 11217

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John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (second creation), KG (6 March 1340 - 3 February 1399) was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent, rendered in English as Gaunt.

As a younger brother of Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince), John exercised great influence over the English throne during the minority of his nephew, Richard II, and during the ensuing periods of political strife, but was not thought to have been among the opponents of the king.

John of Gaunt's legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, included Kings Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI. His other legitimate descendants included his daughters Queen Philippa of Portugal, wife of John I of Portugal and mother of King Edward of Portugal, and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, through his first wife, Blanche; and by his second wife, Constance, John was father of Queen Catherine of Castile, wife of Henry III of Castile and mother of John II of Castile. John fathered five children outside marriage, one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother, and four surnamed "Beaufort" by Katherine Swynford (after a former French possession of the Duke), Gaunt's long-term mistress and third wife. The Beaufort children, three sons and a daughter, were legitimized by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married in 1396; a later proviso that they were specifically barred from inheriting the throne ('excepta regali dignitate') was inserted with dubious authority by half-brother Henry IV. Descendants of this marriage included Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester and eventually Cardinal; Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, grandmother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III; John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, the great-grandfather of King Henry VII; and Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots, from whom are descended, beginning in 1437, all subsequent sovereigns of Scotland, and successively, from 1603 on, the sovereigns England, of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the United Kingdom to the present day. The three preceding houses of English sovereigns from 1399 - the Houses of Lancaster, York and Tudor - were descended from John through, respectively, Henry Bolingbroke, Joan Beaufort and John Beaufort.

When John died in 1399, his estates were declared forfeit as King Richard II had exiled John's son and heir, Henry Bolingbroke, in 1398, for 10 years for killing another nobleman. Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and deposed Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England (1399-1413), the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England.

John of Gaunt was buried beside his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, in the choir of St Paul's Cathedral. Their magnificent tomb had been designed and executed between 1374 and 1380 by Henry Yevele with the assistance of Thomas Wrek, at a total cost of £592. The two alabaster effigies were notable for having their right hands joined. An adjacent chantry chapel was added between 1399 and 1403.

From: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Gaunt,_1st_Duke_of_Lancaster)


Buried:
Old St Paul's Cathedral

Died:
Leicester Castle

John — Katherine Swynford. Katherine (daughter of Payne De Roet) was born 25 Nov 1350, Somme, Picardie, France; died 10 May 1403, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 3870

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• Reference Number: 11213

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Edward III (13 November 1312 - 21 June 1377) was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His reign saw vital developments in legislation and government - in particular the evolution of the English parliament - as well as the ravages of the Black Death. He remains one of only six monarchs to have ruled England or its successor kingdoms for more than fifty years.

Edward was crowned at the age of fourteen, following the deposition of his father. When he was only seventeen years old, he led a coup against the de facto ruler of the country, his mother's consort Roger Mortimer, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland in 1333, he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1337, starting what would become known as the Hundred Years' War. Following some initial setbacks, the war went exceptionally well for England; the victories of Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edward's later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and bad health.

Edward III was a temperamental man, but also capable of unusual clemency. He was in many ways a conventional king, whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an irresponsible adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently, and modern historiography credits him with some significant achievements.


Birth:
Windsor Castle

Edward married Philippa of Hainault York Minster. Philippa (daughter of I William and Joan of Valois) was born 24 Jun 1311; died 14 Aug 1369, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 5573

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Philippa of Hainault, or, Philippe (d'Avesnes) de Hainaut (24 June 1314 - 15 August 1369) was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her future husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years. She was married to Edward, first by proxy, when Edward dispatched the Bishop of Coventry "to marry her in his name" in Valenciennes (second city in importance of the county of Hainaut) in October 1327. The marriage was celebrated formally in York Minster Cathedral on 24 January 1328, some months after Edward's accession to the throne of England. In August 1328, he also fixed his wife’s dowry.

Philippa acted as regent on several occasions when her husband was away from his kingdom and she often accompanied him on his expeditions to Scotland, France, and Flanders. Philippa won much popularity with the English people for her kindness and compassion, which were demonstrated in 1347 when she successfully persuaded King Edward to spare the lives of the Burghers of Calais. It was this popularity that helped maintain peace in England throughout Edward's long reign. The eldest of her fourteen children was Edward, the Black Prince, who became a renowned military leader. Philippa died at the age of fifty-five from an illness closely related to dropsy. The Queen's College, Oxford was founded in her honour.

From: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa_of_Hainault)


Birth:
Valenciennes

Died:
Windsor Castle

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• Reference Number: 3871

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• Reference Number: 11215

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BERKELEY CASTLE --
THIS BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC CASTLE, BEGUN IN 1117, STILL REMAINS THE HOME OF THE FAMOUS FAMILY WHO GAVE THEIR NAME TO NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD, NOTABLY, BERKELEY SQUARE IN LONDON, BERKELEY HUNDRED IN VIRGINIA AND BERKELEY
UNIVERSITY IN CALIFORNIA. SCENE OF THE BRUTAL MURDER OF EDWARD II IN 1327 AND BESIEGED BY CROMWELL'S TROOPS IN 1645, THE CASTLE IS STEEPED IN HISTORY. MANY ROOMS ARE INTERESTING, PARTICULARLY THE GREAT HALL WHERE BARONS OF WESTCOUNTRY MET IN
1215 BEFORE GOING TO RUNNYMEDE TO FORCE KING JOHN TO PUT HIS SEAL TO THE MAGNA CASTA. TWENTY FOUR GENERATIONS OF BERKELEYS HAVE TRANSFORMED A NORMAN FORTRESS INTO THE LOVELY HOME IT IS TODAY. GUILLAUME FITZOSBERN, A COMMANDER IN THE NORMAN
ARMY THAT LANDED AT HASTINGS IN 1066, WAS CREATED EARL OF HEREFORD AND CHARGED WITH THE TASK OF GUARDING THE WESTERN DEFENCES OF THE CONQUEROR'S NEW KINGDOM. PART OF HIS DOMAIN WAS THE SAXON MANOR OF BERKELEY AND HE RECOGNISED THE MILITARY
VALUE OF THE SITE WITH ITS COMMANDING VIEWS OVER THE RIVER SEVERN AND WELSH BORDERS.
KING EDWARD II WAS COMMITTED THERE IN 1326 FOLLOWING THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN ENGLAND. HE WAS HELD IN A DUNGEON DEEP WITHIN THE CASTLE UNTIL BRUTALLY MURDERED BY SIR JOHN MALTRAVERS AND SIR THOMAS GURNEY. IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT LORD BERKELEY
PLAYED NO PART IN THE KING'S DEATH AS HE WAS NOT IN RESIDENCE AT THE TIME.

Died:
Berkeley Castle

Edward married Isabella De France Boulogne Cathedral. Isabella (daughter of Philippe of France) was born 1292; died 1358. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 3798

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• Reference Number: 38149

I — Joan of Valois. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 38150