John of Gaunt Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Family == === Marriages === [[File:John and Blanche of Lancaster.png|thumb|John with his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, in a 15th-century family tree of his great-grandson, [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]]]] <!-- citations at end of paragraph are for all statements in this paragraph as of 11 March 2008 --> * On 19 May 1359 at [[Reading Abbey]], John married his [[Cousin#Third cousins|third cousin]], [[Blanche of Lancaster]], younger of the two daughters of [[Henry of Grosmont|Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster]]. Both shared a common descent from King Henry III. The wealth she brought to the marriage was the foundation of John's fortune. Blanche died on 12 September 1368 at [[Tutbury Castle]], while her husband was overseas. Their son [[Henry Bolingbroke]] became Henry IV of England, having deposed King [[Richard II]], who had seized the duchy of Lancaster upon John's death while Henry was in exile. Their daughter [[Philippa of Lancaster]] became Queen of Portugal by marrying King [[John I of Portugal]] in 1387. All subsequent kings of Portugal beginning from the [[House of Aviz]] were thus descended from John of Gaunt. Philippa's daughter [[Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy|Isabella]], married [[Philip the Good|Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy]]. Their lone heiress, [[Mary of Burgundy|Mary]], the only child of Philip's only legitimate son [[Charles the Bold]], married her 2nd cousin, Holy Roman Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], whose mother [[Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress|Eleanor]], was the daughter of Philippa's son [[Edward, King of Portugal|Edward]]. Their grandson [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles]] married [[Isabella of Portugal|Isabella]], daughter of [[Manuel I of Portugal]], a male line grandson of Edward. * In 1371, John married [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Infanta Constance of Castile]], daughter of King [[Peter of Castile]], thus giving him a claim to the [[Crown of Castile]], which he would pursue. Constance died in 1394. Though John was never able to make good his claim, his daughter by Constance, [[Catherine of Lancaster]], became Queen of Castile by marrying [[Henry III of Castile]]. [[Catherine of Aragon]] & [[Joanna of Castile|Joanna of Castille]] are descended from Catherine through their mother [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella I]], daughter of Catherine's son [[John II of Castile|John II]]. Isabella I was also a descendant of Catherine's half-sister Philippa, through her mother [[Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Isabella]], who was the daughter of Philippa's other son [[John, Constable of Portugal|John]]. Hence the [[House of Habsburg|House of Hapsburg]] is also related to John of Gaunt. * During his marriage to Constance, John of Gaunt fathered four children by a mistress, the widow [[Katherine Swynford]] (whose sister [[Philippa Roet]] was married to [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]). Prior to her widowhood, Katherine had had at least two children with her husband, Sir Hugh Swynford from [[Kettlethorpe Hall|Kettlethorpe]] in Lincolnshire. These were Blanche, for whom John of Gaunt stood as [[godparent|godfather]], and Thomas, later Sir Thomas.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johngauntkingca00armigoog/page/n509 <!-- quote=Thomas Morieux. --> Dame Blanche Morieux] in {{harvnb|Armitage-Smith|1904|pp=460β461}}</ref> John married Katherine in 1396, and their four children, the Beauforts, were legitimised by King Richard II and the Church, but barred from inheriting the throne. From the eldest son, [[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset|John]], descended a granddaughter, [[Lady Margaret Beaufort]], whose son, later King [[Henry VII of England]], would nevertheless claim the throne. === Children === [[File:KTombDugdale67.jpg|thumb|right|1640 drawing of tombs of [[Katherine Swynford]] and daughter [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland]], in [[Lincoln Cathedral]]]] [[File:Felipe of Spain and MariaTudor.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=Interior scene of the royal couple with Mary seated beneath a coat of arms and Philip stood beside her|Queen [[Mary I of England]] and her husband, [[Philip II of Spain]]: both were descended from John of Gaunt]] * By [[Blanche of Lancaster]]: ** [[Philippa of Lancaster|Philippa]] (1360β1415) married King [[John I of Portugal]] (1357β1433). ** John (1362β1365) was the first-born son of John and Blanche of Lancaster and lived possibly at least until after the birth of his brother Edward of Lancaster in 1365 and died before his second brother another short-lived boy called John in 1366.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weir |date=2007 |first=A. |title=Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess |publisher=Jonathan Cape |place=London |page=[{{google books|5pl2dDVe__4C|pg=PA43|plainurl=yes}} 43] |isbn=978-0-224-06321-0 |author-link=Alison Weir |url={{google books|5pl2dDVe__4C|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref> He was buried in the Collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of The Newarke, Leicester (the church founded by his grandfather Henry, Duke of Lancaster<ref>{{cite book |last=Billson |date=1920 |first=C. |title=Mediaeval Leicester |title-link=s:Mediaeval Leicester |place=Leicester |author-link=Charles J. Billson }}</ref>). ** [[Elizabeth of Lancaster, Duchess of Exeter|Elizabeth]] (1364β1426), married (1) in 1380 [[John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke]] (1372β1389), annulled 1383; married (2) in 1386 [[John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter]] (1350β1400); (3) Sir [[John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope|John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope and Milbroke]] (died 1443) ** Edward (1365) died within a year of his birth and was buried in the Collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of The Newarke, Leicester. ** John (1366β1367) most likely died after the birth of his younger brother Henry, the future [[Henry IV of England]]; he was buried in the Collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of The Newarke, Leicester. ** [[Henry IV of England]] (1367β1413) married (1) [[Mary de Bohun]] (1369β1394); (2) [[Joan of Navarre, Queen of England|Joanna of Navarre]] (1368β1437) **Isabel (1368β1368).<ref>{{cite book |last=Leese |date=1996 |first=Thelma Anna |title=Blood royal: issue of the kings and queens of medieval England, 1066β1399 |publisher=Heritage Books |page=219 }}</ref> * By [[Constance of Castile (1354-1394)|Constance of Castile]]: ** [[Catherine of Lancaster|Catherine]] (1373β1418), married King [[Henry III of Castile]] (1379β1406) ** John (1374β1375){{sfn|Leese|1996|p=222}} * By [[Katherine Swynford]] (nΓ©e de Roet/Roelt), mistress and later wife (children legitimised 1397): **[[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset]] (1373β1410), married [[Margaret Holland]]. His great-grandson was [[Henry VII of England]]. ** Cardinal [[Henry Beaufort]], [[Bishop of Winchester]] (1375β1447) ** [[Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter]] (1377β1427), married Margaret Neville, daughter of Sir Thomas de Neville of Hornby by an unknown wife ** [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland|Joan Beaufort]] (1379β1440); married first [[Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Boteler of Wem]], and second [[Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland]] * By mistress Marie de St. Hilaire of [[Hainaut (province)|Hainaut]], a lady-in-waiting to John's mother, Queen Philippa: ** Blanche (1359β1388/1389), who married Sir Thomas Morieux (1355β1387) in 1381 and had no children. Morieux held several important posts, including Constable of the Tower the year he was married, and Master of Horse to King Richard II two years later.{{cn|date=February 2023}} {{Wars of the Roses family tree|State=collapsed|collapsed=yes}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page