See 'The Queen's Lineage from AD495 to the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11' by G.S.P.Freeman-Grenville.
See 'The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England' Edited by Antonia Fraser (ISBN 029776911) published 1975 @ DY
Plantagenet Genealogies of 'Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards' by David Hilliam ISBN 075092347 (920.041HIL @ DY)
University of Hull : http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01497
Genealogy of the Houses of Beaufort & Neville 'Margaret of York Duchess of Burgundy 1446-1503' by Christine Weightman
Genealogy of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy of 'Margaret of York Duchess of Burgundy 1446-1503' by Christine Weightman
John of Gaunt (1340-1399) has an extensive biography at http://www.britannia.com/bios/royals/jgdklanc.html
ENCYCLOPEDIA: JOHN OF GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster
http://www.historychannel.com/thcsearch/thc_resourcedetail.do?encyc_id=213319
Edited from George Frederick Beltz's "Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter" (1861).
http://www.thepeerage.com/p10188.htm#i101878

John of Gaunt (1340-1399) was born on March 1340 at St. Bavon Abbey, Ghent, Flanders. Earl of Richmond, Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lincoln, Earl of Leicester, Duke of Lancaster, King of Castile & Leon. Ancestor of the Lancastrian Kings.

He died on 3rd February 1399 at Leicester Castle, Leicestershire. This prince, the fourth son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, was born at Ghent (or Gaunt) in Flanders, in 1340. In his infancy, he was created Earl of Richmond and, by that title, admitted into the Order of the Garter upon the death of Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, one of the original knights. In 1359, at Reading Abbey (Berks), he married his cousin Blanche, the younger of the two daughters and co-heirs of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and upon the death of his father-in-law, in 1361, he was advanced to that Dukedom. He held also, in right of his wife, the Earldoms of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester, and the high office of Steward of England.

Blanche, dying in 1369, the ambition of the Duke - who had taken an active part in the war carried on by the his brother, Black Prince, for the restoration of Peter, King of Castile & Leon - induced him to direct his views towards Constance, the elder of the two daughters of that monarch, then lately slain by his illegitimate brother, Henry of Transtamare, his successor under the title of Henry II. In 1372, the Duke married this princess and thus assumed the regal style of those kingdoms. These titular honours were ascribed to him in the writs of summons to Parliament from that year until 1386, when, by an arrangement with King John I of Castile & Leon, the son and successor of Henry, Catherine, the only daughter of the Duke of Lancaster by Constance, was betrothed to Henry, Prince of Asturias, his heir-apparent, and the crown settled upon the issue of that alliance.

Although John of Gaunt had been engaged in warlike enterprises from his earliest years, yet his martial achievements did not increase the lustre of British glory or secure for himself the character of a great commander. In three expeditions into France, in 1369, 1370 and 1373, he gained no laurels and the peculiar misfortunes which attended the last, when a considerable number of his followers perished amongst the mountains of Auvergne, rendered him very unpopular on his return to England in July 1374. All Guienne and Gascony, with the exception of the towns of Bordeaux and Bayonne, had fallen from their allegiance and a suspension of hostilities was negotiated at Bruges, by the Duke and others, with the Duke of Anjou, before the expiration of that year.

After the death of the Black Prince, in 1376, the Duke of Lancaster acquired a marked ascendency in the councils of the infirm monarch, his father. His administration of public affairs is said, furthermore, to have been stained by several acts of violence. On the 16th June 1386, "at the palace of John of Gaunt, King of Castile & Leon, in the convent of the Friars Carmelites, at Plymouth" (where he was then sojourning prior to his embarkation for Spain), he gave his remarkable testimony in favour of the right of Sir Richard Scrope to the arms borne by him in the celebrated controversy between Scrope and Sir Robert Grosvenor. John continued to govern the Kingdom during the minority of his nephew, Richard II, by whom, in 1389, he was created Duke of Aquitaine. His power increasing, he proffered, in open parliament, a claim to the succession for his son, Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV), as son to Blanche, great-grandaughter of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, whom, he pretended, had been elder brother to King Edward I, but set aside on account of his deformity. The weakness of this pretension, which, if established, would have been fatal to the reigning monarch, was opposed, without difficulty, by Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, who, as son and heir of Philippa, the daughter and heir of his elder brother, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, had, by the laws of the empire, an indisputably prior right and was, accordingly, declared the presumptive heir to the crown.

The Duchess Constance dying in 1394, John espoused, in 1396, Catherine, daughter of Sir Paine Roet, Guienne King of Arms, and widow of Sir Hugh Swynford, a knight of Lincolnshire. This lady had been of the household of the Duchess Blanche and charged with the education of the ladies Philippa and Elizabeth during their minority. On the 3rd February 1399, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, died at the Bishop of Ely's Palace in Holborn. Conforming to his will, dated 3rd February 1398, his body was interred before the high altar of Old St. Paul's Cathedral, near the remains of Blanche, his first consort.

By Marie de St. Hilaire he had an illegitimate daughter Blanche Plantagenet, who married Sir Thomas MORIEUX.

By his first consort, Blanche of Lancaster, he had issue:
1. Henry, Duke of Hereford & Lancaster and Earl of Derby, afterwards King Henry IV (our direct ancestor).
2. Philippa, married to John I, King of Portugal (also our direct ancestors). Seven kings of her issue governed that country.
3. Elizabeth, married, firstly, to John Holland, Duke of Exeter, and, secondly, Sir John Cornwall Lord Fanhope.

By his second consort, Constance of Castile, John of Gaunt he had only one surviving child, a daughter, Catherine, wife of Henry, Prince of Asturias, afterwards Henry III, King of Castile & Leon. The descendants of this alliance were on the throne of Spain until King Charles II, who died in 1700. Constance also bore him a son John (aka John Beaufort) PLANTAGENET in 1374, however he died the following year.

His issue, before his marriage to his third consort, Catherine Swynford, were legitimated by Act of Parliament, 9th February 1397. They were all surnamed "De Beaufort," having been born at Beaufort Castle in France, which had devolved to the House of Lancaster by the marriage of Blanche of Artois with Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. They were:
1. John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset and Marquis of Dorset, KG [Ancestor of Sarah FERGUSON]
2. Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Lincoln, afterwards of Winchester, and, at length, Cardinal and Chancellor of England
3. Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, KG
4. Joan Beaufort, married, firstly, to Sir Robert Ferrers of Worn and Oversley; and, secondly, to Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Her grandsons included Richard, Earl of Warwick 'the Kingmaker,' Kings Edward IV and Richard III.
Edited from George Frederick Beltz's "Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter" (1861).

Descendants of John of GAUNT [Prince of England; Duke of Lancaster] via his third marriage to Katherine de ROET
include:
(#) his son John BEAUFORT, K.G. b. Abt 1372 daughter Joan, b. Abt 1406 married twice. Firstly to James I STEWART, [King of Scotland] and therefore became Queen of Scotland.
(#) His grandson Edmund BEAUFORT [Duke of Somerset] b. ca. 1406 descendant Edward POYNINGS [Ancestor of Sarah FERGUSON] as well as Henry [Duke of Somerset] father of Charles SOMERSET [Earl of Worcester] who grandson William, K.B., K.G., b. Abt 1527 m. Christian NORTH, b. Abt 1529 [anc. of Sarah FERGUSON]. Also Elizabeth, m. John SAVAGE, d. 27 Jul 1528; They were also ancestors of Sarah FERGUSON [Duchess of York]
(#)Eleanor BEAUFORT b. aft 1435 m. by 1470, Robert SPENCER. Their daughter Margaret SPENCER was ancestor of
Elizabeth, b. ca. 1606, m. 20 Nov 1586, John SAVILE, d. 31 Aug 1630; also Ancestors of Sarah FERGUSON thru Lady Elizabeth MONTAGU
(#) William CARY [Gentleman of the Privy Chamber; Esquire of the Body of King Henry VIII] m. Mary BOLEYN

Return to Taylor & Ashdown Family Genealogy

• Married: 19 MAY 1359 in Reading Abbey, Berkshire

1. King HENRY IV b: 30 MAY 1366 in Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, England
2. Philippa PLANTAGENET, of LANCASTER b: 31 MAR 1360 in Liecester Castle, Leicestershire, England
3. Elizabeth (of Lancaster) PLANTAGENET b: 1368 in possibly of Leicestershire, England
4. John of LANCASTER

• Married: 21 SEP 1371 in Roquefort, Gascogne, France.

1. Catherine (wife of Henry Prince of Asturias) dau of John of GAUNT b: 31 MAR 1373 in possibly of Berkshire, England
2. John (aka John Beaufort) PLANTAGENET b: 1374 in Gent, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium

• Married: 13 JAN 1396 in Catherine widow of Sir Hugh Swynford

1. Sir. John Beaufort K.G 'Earl of Somerset and Marquis of Dorset, KG \ DE BEAUFORT b: Abt 1372 in Beaufort Castle, England
2. Henry (Beaufort) 'Bishop of Lincoln & Winchester and Cardinal & Chancellor of England \ DE BEAUFORT b: Abt 1375 in Beaufort Castle, England
3. Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, KG \ BEAUFORT b: Abt 1375 in Beaufort Castle, England
4. Joan, Lady Joan DE BEAUFORT b: Abt 1379 in Beaufort Castle, England

• Married: in Not Married. Mistress of John of Gaunt

1. Blanche (illegitimate dau. of John of Gaunt) PLANTAGENET b: Bef 1360 in possibly possibly of Ghent, Flanders, Belgium

1. Author: MEDIEVAL FAMILIES * of LDS and others as listed in comments
   Note:
   Primary Source LDS at www.familysearch.org
   Additional data www.literaryheritage.org.uk
   BRITISH HISTORY ONLINE
   http://www.british-history.ac.uk
   UNIVERSITY OF HULL :
   http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01268
   The PLANTAGENET II Family" at http://members.aol.com/dwidad/edwardii.html
   http://members.aol.com/dwidad/normandy.html#8
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/scots4.html#15
   http://members.aol.com/dwidad/tudor.html#4
   ROYAL CONNECTIONS :
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/chap28a.html
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/chap28.html
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/franceds.html#dfs
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/franceds.html#c6
   thePeerage.com at http://www.thepeerage.com/p10148.htm
   http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon26.html
   http://www.britannia.com/bios/azlist.html
   Royal Genealogies at
   ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/genealogy/public_html/royal/index.html
   http://www.britishorigins.com/
   www.berkshirehistory.com and www.earlybritishkingdoms.com ALSO:
   1. J. Hall Pleasants. The Lovelace family and Its Connections, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Vol XXVII,.
   2. Americana Magazine Illustrated, v. 37, 1st quarter, No. 1, "Musser and Allied Families", 1943.
   3. Robert Barnes. :Ancestor Chart of Charles Gorsuch, an Early Settler of Baltimore Co., MD, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, Vol 38 No. 1,Winter 1977.
   4. The Americana Magazine Illustrated, Vol 37, 1st Quarter, No 1 "Musser & Allied Families" 1943.
   5. J. Hall Pleasants. Gorsuch and Lovelace Famlies. Virginia HIstorical Magazine, Vols XXVI-XXVII-XVIII.
   6. J. Hall Pleasants. The Lovelace Family and Its Connections, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol XXVII
   7. Loveless & Lovelace Family at :
   http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lovelace/index.htm
   8. 'Stray Leaves A JAMES FAMILY IN AMERICA SINCE 1650' at http://www.ericjames.org/html/fam/fam50771.htm
   9. West Kingsdown, the story of 3 villages in Kent by Zena Bamping
   10. Monarchs of Wessex Data by Brian Tompsett
   11. Directory of Royal Genealogical Data