John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
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John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 1371 – March 16, 1410) was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, later his wife. Beaufort was born in about 1371 and his surname probably reflects his birthplace, his father's Beaufort Castle in Champagne, France. The family emblem was the portcullis which is shown on the reverse of a modern British 1p coin. John of Gaunt had his nephew Richard II of England declare the Beaufort children legitimate in 1390,[1] Gaunt married their mother in January 1396. Despite being the grandchildren of Edward III of England, and next in the line of succession after the Lancasters, their father's legitimate children, by agreement they were barred from the succession to the throne.[2]
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[edit] Titles
John Beaufort was created Earl of Somerset on February 10, 1397. On September 28 of that year he married Margaret Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent; two days later he was created Marquess of Dorset, and sometime that year he was made a Knight of the Garter. His marquessate was rescinded in 1399 after the accession of Henry IV, and afterwards he was merely Earl of Somerset. In 1404 he was Constable of England.
[edit] Offspring
He and his wife had six children; his grand-daughter Lady Margaret Beaufort married a descendant of Catherine of Valois by Owen Tudor, creating a powerful branch of the Lancastrian family and enabling Henry VII to claim the throne in spite of the agreement barring the Beaufort family from the succession.
Somerset died on 16 March 1410 in the Hospital of St. Katherine-by-the-Tower. He was buried in St. Michael's chapel in Canterbury Cathedral.
His children included:
- Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (c. 1401 – November 25, 1418).
- John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (baptized March 25, 1404 – May 27, 1444).
- Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Perche (c. 1405–1432).
- Joan Beaufort (c. 1406 – July 15, 1445), who married James I of Scotland.
- Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (c. 1406 – May 22, 1455).
- Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon (c. 1409–1449). Married Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon.
[edit] References
- ^ It is thought that this may have been a "private" act (that is, not entered in the public records), because, in January 1397, the Duke had Parliament issue a similar declaration, with the same proviso.
- ^ While this legal wrangling ultimately caused an enormous amount of bloodshed and destruction, it did result in one of the Beaufort descendants ascending the throne as Henry VII.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Duke of York |
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1398–1399 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Erpynham |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl of Somerset 1397–1410 |
Succeeded by Henry Beaufort |
| Marquess of Dorset 1397–1399 |
Succeeded by Confiscated |
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