John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 1373 - March 16, 1410) was the first of the four children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress (later his wife) Katherine Swynford. Beaufort was born in about 1373 and his surname probably reflects his birthplace, his father's Beaufort Castle in Anjou, France. The family emblem was the portcullis which is shown on the back of a 1p coin. John of Gaunt had his nephew Richard II of England declare the Beaufort children legitimate in 1390, with the important proviso that they were barred from the succession to the throne, despite being the grandchildren of Edward III of England. 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. Later that month, Gaunt married Katherine although they had been living apart for some years, possibly in order to have their children publicly declared legitimate. 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.

External Links

The Beaufort Family

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Courtenay Family

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~