1.
Lancaster House
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Lancaster House is a mansion in the St Jamess district in the West End of London. It is close to St. Jamess Palace and much of the site was part of the palace complex. This Grade I listed building is now managed by the Foreign, construction of the house commenced in 1825 for the Duke of York and Albany, the second son of King George III, and it was initially known as York House. The house was only a shell by the time of the death of the Duke in 1827 and it is constructed from Bath stone, in a neo-classical style, being the last great London mansion to use this essentially Georgian style. The house was purchased by and completed for the 2nd Marquess of Stafford and was known as Stafford House for almost a century and it was assessed for rating purposes as the most valuable private house in London. The completed building was three floors in height, the State rooms being on the first floor or piano nobile, family living rooms on the ground floor, there is also a basement containing service rooms, including the government wine cellar. The interior was designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt, Sir Charles Barry, chopin gave a recital there in 1848 in the presence of Queen Victoria. Almost as influential as the visitors was the décor, which was to set the fashion for London reception rooms for nearly a century. The mainly Louis XIV Style interiors created a backdrop for the Sutherlands’ impressive collection of paintings and objets d’art. Queen Victoria is said to have remarked to the Duchess of Sutherland on arriving at Stafford House, with its ornate decoration and the dramatic sweep of the great staircase, the Grand Hall is a magnificent introduction to one of the finest town houses in London. More than a later, its grandeur remains and the house is as popular as ever with those who visit it. In 1912 it was purchased by the Lancastrian soap-maker Sir William Lever, 1st Baronet who renamed it in honour of his county of Lancashire. Since 1922 the building has housed the Government Wine Cellar, from 1924 until shortly after World War II, the house was the home of the London Museum, but it is now used for government receptions and is closed to the public except on rare open days. The European Advisory Commission met at the house in 1944, in January 1947 a special envoy meeting on affairs concerning occupied Austria was hosted here. The year 1956 saw the signing of the agreement of independence for Malaya, in 1961, South Africa affirmed its intention to become a republic, inside the Commonwealth. In 1979 it was the scene of the Lancaster House Agreement, the house was the venue for the 10th G7 summit in 1984 and the 17th G7 summit in 1991. A new 35-foot-long table was built for the Long Gallery, where the main negotiating sessions were planned in 1991, the house was used for location shooting in the mystery adventure film National Treasure, Book of Secrets. Sequences supposedly occurring in Buckingham Palace were filmed in the house, in the historical drama film The Young Victoria, the house was used for filming of scenes that purportedly took place within the ballroom, a passage and the reception room of Buckingham Palace
2.
House of Plantagenet
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The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, under the Plantagenets, England was transformed, although this was only partly intentional. The Plantagenet kings were forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta. These constrained royal power in return for financial and military support, the king was no longer just the most powerful man in the nation, holding the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare. He now had defined duties to the realm, underpinned by a justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, in the 15th century, the Plantagenets were defeated in the Hundred Years War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms, the Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid some of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance, and the advent of early modern Britain, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, adopted Plantagenet as his family name in the 15th century. Plantegenest had been a 12th-century nickname for his ancestor Geoffrey, count of Anjou, one of many popular theories suggests the common broom, planta genista in medieval Latin, as the source of the nickname. It is uncertain why Richard chose this name, although during the Wars of the Roses it emphasised Richards status as Geoffreys patrilineal descendant. It was only in the late 17th century that it passed into common usage among historians, the three Angevin kings were Henry II, Richard I and John, Angevin can also refer to the period of history in which they reigned. Many historians identify the Angevins as a distinct English royal house, Angevin is also used in reference to any sovereign or government derived from Anjou. The term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in 1887, the Empire portion of Angevin Empire has been controversial. In 1986 a convention of historians concluded that there had not been an Angevin state, and therefore no Angevin Empire, nonetheless, historians have continued to use Angevin Empire. The later counts of Anjou, including the Plantagenets, descended from Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais, in 1060 the couple inherited the title via cognatic kinship from an Angevin family that was descended from a noble named Ingelger, whose recorded history dates from 870. During the 10th and 11th centuries, power struggles occurred between rulers in northern and western France including those of Anjou, Normandy, Brittany, Poitou, Blois, Maine, and the kings of France. In the early 12th century Geoffrey of Anjou married Empress Matilda, King Henry Is only surviving legitimate child and heir to the English throne. As a result of marriage, Geoffreys son Henry II inherited the English throne as well as Norman and Angevin titles, thus marking the beginning of the Angevin
3.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
4.
Edmund Crouchback
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Edmund Crouchback, a member of the House of Plantagenet, was the second surviving son of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1265 he was granted all the lands of Simon de Montfort and from 1267 he was titled Earl of Leicester. In that year he began to rule Lancashire, but he did not take the title Earl of Lancaster until 1276. Between 1276 and 1284 he governed the counties of Champagne and Brie with his wife, Blanche of Artois. His nickname, Crouchback, refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade and he was a younger brother of Edward I, Margaret, and Beatrice, and an older brother of Catherine. In 1255 he was invested ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily by the Bishop of Romania, in return his father undertook to pay the papacy 135,541 marks and fight a war to dislodge the Hohenstaufen king Manfred. Upon Innocents death, Pope Alexander IV confirmed Edmunds grant of Sicily, henrys barons refused to contribute to what they called the Sicilian business and ultimately Henry was only able to pay 60,000 marks. Stephen Runciman says the grant of the kingdom was revoked by Pope Alexander IV on 18 December 1258, Baines and he was granted the honour of the Stewardship of England and the lands of Nicolas de Segrave. He also acquired the titles and estates of Lord Ferrers, that included the earldom of Derby, in 1267 he was granted the lordship of Builth Wells in opposition to the then holder, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. To help him conquer the land he was granted his elder brothers lordships of the Trilateral of Skenfrith, Grosmont. After the civil war in 1267, he was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire, Henry III created his second son Earl of Leicester in 1267, granting the honour and privileges of that city. The following year, he was made Constable of Leicester Castle, by now Crouchback had a reputation for being a ruthless and ferocious warrior, but he was not in England fighting de Montfort. In 1271 he accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. Edmund remained loyal to his brother, Edward I, who confirmed the Charter grants of 1265,1267, and 1268-9, in a document of Inspeximus in 1284 and he frequently acted as an ambassador abroad. In 1291, he was sent as Governor of Ponthieu, on behalf of his second wife, on his return from the Crusade of 1271-2 he seems to have made Grosmont Castle his favoured home and undertook much rebuilding there. His son Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster was apparently born there in 1281, Edmunds duty to the church included the foundation of a Nuns of Clara or Poor Clares nunnery at Minories, St Aldates. In 1291, his estate paid for the establishment for the Chapel of Savoy, in memory of his mother, filial piety was part of the chivalric code of an honourable knight. He was a benefactor to the monastery of Grace Dieu in Leicestershire
5.
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
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He was a founding member and the second Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348, and in 1351 was created duke. Grosmont was also the author of the book Livre de seyntz medicines and he is remembered as one of the founders and early patrons of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which was established by two of the guilds of the town in 1352. Grosmonts uncle, Thomas of Lancaster, was the son and heir of Edward Is brother Edmund Crouchback, through his inheritance and a fortunate marriage, Thomas became the wealthiest peer in England, but constant quarrels with King Edward II led to his execution in 1322. Having no heir, Thomass possessions and titles went to his younger brother Henry – Grosmonts father, Earl Henry of Lancaster assented to the deposition of Edward II in 1327, but did not long stay in favour with the regency of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. When Edward III took personal control of the government in 1330, relations with the Crown improved, little is known of Grosmonts early years, but that he was born at Grosmont Castle in Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, and that he was born c. 1310, not around the turn of the century as previously held, according to his own memoirs, he was better at martial arts than at academic subjects, and did not learn to read until later in life. In 1330 he was knighted, and represented his father in parliament, the next year he is recorded as participating in a royal tournament at Cheapside. In 1333 he took part in Edwards Scottish campaign, though it is whether he was present at the great English victory at the Battle of Halidon Hill. After further service in the north, he was appointed the Kings lieutenant in Scotland in 1336, the next year he was one of the six men Edward III promoted to the higher levels of the peerage. One of his fathers titles, that of Earl of Derby, was bestowed upon Grosmont. With the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1337, Grosmonts attention was turned towards France and he took part in several diplomatic missions and minor campaigns and was present at the great English victory in the naval Battle of Sluys in 1340. Later the same year, he was required to commit himself as hostage in the Low Countries for the considerable debts. He remained hostage until the year and had to pay a large ransom for his own release. On his return he was made the lieutenant in the north. The next years he spent in negotiations in the Low Countries, Castile. In 1345 Edward III was planning an assault on France. A three-pronged attack would have the Earl of Northampton attacking from Brittany, the ransom from the prisoners has been estimated at £50,000. The next year, while Edward was carrying out his Crécy campaign, Grosmont laid siege to, in 1345, while Grosmont was in France, his father died
6.
Earl of Lancaster
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The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267, merging in the crown in 1399. It was succeeded by the Duke of Lancaster, the title was created when Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancaster—from which the house was named—for his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267. This brought him—and Henry, his younger brother—into conflict with their cousin Edward II of England, Henry inherited Thomass titles and he and his son, who was also called Henry, gave loyal service to Edwards son—Edward III of England. Later grants included the first Earldom of Lancaster on 30 June 1267, Edmund was also Count of Champagne and Brie from 1276 by right of his wife. Edmunds second marriage to Blanche of Artois, the widow of the King of Navarre, blanches daughter Joan I of Navarre was queen regnant of Navarre and through her marriage to Philip IV of France was queen consort of France. Edmunds son Thomas became the most powerful nobleman in England, gaining the Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury through marriage to the heiress of Henry de Lacy and his income was £11,000 per annum—double that of the next wealthiest earl. After initially supporting Edward, Thomas became one of the Lords Ordainers, who demanded the banishment of Piers Gaveston, after Gaveston was captured, Thomas took the lead in his trial and execution at Warwick in 1312. Edwards authority was weakened by poor governance and defeat by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn and this allowed Thomas to restrain Edwards power by republishing the Ordinances of 1311. Following this achievement Thomas took little part in the governance of the realm and this allowed Edward to regroup and re-arm, leading to a fragile peace in August 1318 with the Treaty of Leake. In 1321 Edwards rule again collapsed into civil war, Thomas raised a northern army but was defeated and captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered but because he was Edwards cousin he was given a death by beheading. Henry joined the revolt of Edwards wife Isabella of France and her lover Mortimer in 1326 and his restored prestige led to him knighting the young King Edward III of England before his coronation. Mortimer lost support over the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton that formalised Scotlands independence, when Mortimer called a parliament to make his new powers and estates permanent with the title of Earl of March in 1328, Henry led the opposition and held a counter-meeting. In response, Mortimer ravaged the lands of Lancaster and checked the revolt, Edward III was able to assume control in 1330 but Henrys further influence was restricted by poor health and blindness for the last fifteen years of his life. Henrys son, also called Henry, was born at the castle of Grosmont in Monmouthshire between 1299 and 1314, according to the younger Henrys memoirs, he was better at martial arts than academic subjects and did not learn to read until later in life. Henry was coeval with Edward III and was pivotal to his reign, becoming his best friend, Henry was knighted in 1330, represented his father in parliament and fought in Edwards Scottish campaign. After the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, Henry took part in diplomatic missions. Later, he was required to commit himself as hostage in the Low Countries for Edward’s considerable debts and he remained hostage for a year and had to pay a large ransom for his own release
7.
Earl of Leicester
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The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England, and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837. The title was first created for Robert de Beaumont, but he always used his French title of Count of Meulan. Three generations of his descendants, all also named Robert, called themselves Earls of Leicester, the Beaumont male line ended with the death of the Fourth Earl. His property was split between his two sisters, with Simon IV de Montfort, the son of the eldest sister, acquiring Leicester, de Montfort however was never formally recognized as earl, due to the antipathy between France and England at that time. His second son, Simon V de Montfort, did succeed in taking possession of the earldom and he is the Simon de Montfort who became so prominent during the reign of Henry III. He was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and his lands, in 1267 the title was created a second time and granted to the kings youngest son Edmund Crouchback. In 1276 he also became Earl of Lancaster, and the titles became united, crouchbacks son Thomas lost the earldom when he was executed for treason in 1322, but a few years later it was restored to his younger brother Henry. Henrys son Henry of Grosmont left only two daughters, and his estate was divided between them, the eldest daughter Matilda receiving the earldom, which was held by her husband William V of Holland. Matilda, however, soon died, and the passed to John of Gaunt, husband of her younger sister, Blanche. Both the dukedom and the earldom were inherited by John of Gaunts son, Henry Bolingbroke, the properties associated with the earldom became part of what was later called the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1564 the earldom was created for Queen Elizabeth Is favourite. Since Dudley died without heirs, the title became extinct at his death, the title was again created in 1618 for Robert Sidney, his nephew. Along with the earldom Robert Sidney was granted the title of Viscount Lisle on 4 May 1605. The Sidneys retained the titles until the death of the seventh Earl in 1743, the title of earl was then recreated for Thomas Coke, but it became extinct when he, too, died without heirs. Townshend was a female-line great-great-great-grandson of Lady Lucy Sydney, daughter of the second Earl of the 1618 creation, the earldom became extinct yet again upon the death of his son, the third Marquess and second Earl, in 1855. The Coke family is descended from the judge and politician Sir Edward Coke. His great-great-great-grandson Thomas Coke was a landowner, politician and patron of arts, Lord Leicester began the construction of Holkham Hall in Norfolk. He married Margaret Tufton, 19th Baroness de Clifford and their only child Edward Coke, Viscount Coke, predeceased both his parents, without issue
8.
Count of Champagne
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The Count of Champagne was the ruler of the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the eleventh century. When Sancho VII of Navarre died childless in 1234, his nephew Count Theobald IV of Champagne became also King of Navarre, the latters greatgrandaughter Joan married King Philip IV of France. Upon Joans death in 1305, her son Louis became the last independent count of Champagne, the titular counts of Champagne also inherited the post of seneschal of France. In Merovingian and Carolingian times, several dukes of Champagne are known, the duchy appears to have been created by joining together the civitates of Rheims, Châlons-sur-Marne, Laon, and Troyes. In the late seventh and early centuries, Champagne was controlled by the Pippinids, first by Drogo, son of Pippin of Herstal. Feudal Society in the Baillage of Troyes under the Counts of Champagne, feudal Society in Medieval France, Documents from the County of Champagne. ISBN 0-8122-1441-2, ISBN 0-8122-3225-9 Evergates, Theodore, the Aristocracy of Champagne in the Mid-Thirteenth Century, A Quantitative Description. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol.5, sánchez-Marco, Carlos, Casa de Champagne, La Historia Medieval del Reyno de Navarra, retrieved 24 August 2010
9.
Earl of Moray
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The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland. Prior to the establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray. The province of Morays importance as part of the kingdom of Scotland was demonstrated during the years of warfare between 1296 and 1340. The province was forced to submit to Edward I of England in 1303, in 1312 Robert I re-established the Earldom of Moray for his nephew, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray. The new earldom included all of the old province and the lands of the Laich or coastal area of Moray. With the absence of noble leaders, power fell to lesser figures who functioned in kin-based groups such as the Clan Donnachaidh of Atholl and this drew in lords and men from outside of the province, from further south such as the Dunbars and Stewarts who staked their claims. The division of Moray led to conflict which was exacerbated by the activities of local kindreds and the eastward spread of the Gaelic superpower. Scotlands rulers were slow to react to the problems in the earldom of Moray and their response was largely indirect and the governor, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, campaigned in the region in 1405 and 1411. James I of Scotland did the same in 1428 and 1429 and they preferred to rely on a Lieutenant, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, the son of the Wolf of Badenoch. When the Earl of Mar died in 1435, a power vacuum allowed the Lords of the Isles to dominate Moray from the 1430s to the 1450s, the crowns earldom was restricted to the coastal areas of Moray and was held by lords whose resources lay elsewhere. The last of these lords were the Clan Douglas, Earls of Douglas who were forfeited in 1455, after the Battle of Arkinholm against the king. The Clan Gordon, Earls of Huntly secured Badenoch in 1452, the earldom eventually descended to Elizabeth Stewart, 7th Countess of Moray, whose husband was also recognised as earl. However, when her husband, James, was killed in battle against the Sovereign in 1455, the next grant was made to James Stewart, the son of King James IV. He, however, died without children, and the title became extinct, the title was next given to George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly. Gordon fell out of favour, and in 1462, he was killed. The most recent creation was in favour of another James Stewart, other Scottish titles associated with this creation are, Lord Abernethy and Strathearn, Lord Doune and Lord St Colme. He was also a direct descendant of King Robert II. The family seats are Doune Lodge, near Doune, Stirling and Darnaway Castle, near Forres, findláech mac Ruaidrí Máel Coluim mac Maíl Brigti Gille Coemgáin mac Maíl Brigti Mac Bethad mac Findláich, Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin Máel Snechtai mac Lulaich
10.
Earl Ferrers
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Earl Ferrers is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for Robert Shirley, 13th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, the Shirley family descends from George Shirley of Astwell Castle, Northamptonshire. In 1611 he was created a Baronet, of Staunton Harold in the County of Leicester and he was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He married Lady Dorothy Devereux, daughter of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Shirley was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Baronet. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his brother, the fourth Baronet. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Cromwell and died there in 1656, on his death the title passed to his eldest son, the fifth Baronet. He died at an age and was succeeded at birth by his posthumous son. He died as an infant and was succeeded by his uncle, in 1677 King Charles II terminated the abeyance of the barony of Ferrers of Chartley in his favour and he became the thirteenth Baron Ferrers of Chartley. His claim to the barony of Bourchier was overlooked, however and he later served as Master of the Horse and as Lord Steward to the queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, and was Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire. In 1711 he was created Viscount Tamworth, of Tamworth in the County of Stafford and he was succeeded in the barony of Ferrers of Chartley by his granddaughter Elizabeth, wife of James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton. She was the daughter of the first Earls eldest son the Hon. Robert Shirley, Lord Ferrers was succeeded in the baronetcy, viscountcy and earldom by his second son, the second Earl. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire from 1725 to 1729 and he died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl. He was Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire from 1731 to 1742 and he died unmarried and was succeeded by his nephew, the fourth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. Lawrence Shirley, third surviving son of the first Earl, Lord Ferrers killed Mr Johnson, his land-steward, was tried, condemned for murder and hanged at Tyburn on 5 May 1760. He is the last British peer to die a felons death, on his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and he was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Earl. His eldest son, the seventh Earl, died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, when the latter died the titles passed to his grandson, the ninth Earl. He was the son of Robert William Shirley, Viscount Tamworth and he was succeeded by his son, the tenth Earl
11.
Earl of Derby
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Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139 and it continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279. Most of the Ferrers property and, by a creation in 1337, the title merged in the Crown upon Henry IVs accession to the throne. It was created again for the Stanley family in 1485, Lord Derbys subsidiary titles are Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe in the County Palatine of Lancaster, and Baron Stanley of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. The courtesy title of the heir apparent is Lord Stanley and they were at times one of the richest landowning families in England. The family seat is Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool, Merseyside, Ferrières in Normandy, the hometown of the de Ferrers family, was an important centre for iron and takes it name from the iron ore mines used during the Gallo-Roman period. Lord of Longueville, Normandy, and a Domesday Commissioner, he built Tutbury Castle, the Ferrers, lords of the barony of Ferrières in Normandy, were accompanied to England by three other families who were their underlords in France, the Curzons, the Baskervilles and the Levetts. Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Ferrières was created Earl of Derby by King Stephen in 1138 for his valiant conduct at the Battle of Northallerton and he was married to Hawise de Vitre and died in 1139. His son Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby became the earl and was married to Margaret Peverel. He founded Darley Abbey and Merevale Abbey and his son William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby was married to Sybil de Braose. He rebelled against King Henry II and was imprisoned at Caen and he died in the Crusades at the Siege of Acre. He was succeeded by his son William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby who married Agnes de Kevelioc, daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, through one line the descent of the Earls of Derby eventually gave rise to the Earls Ferrers. Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was the only peer of the realm to be hanged for murder, another familial line takes in the Baron Ferrers of Chartley descent. The large estates which were taken from Robert in 1266 were given by Henry III to his son, Edmund Crouchback, John of Gaunt’s son and successor was Henry Bolingbroke, who acceded to the throne as Henry IV in 1399. The title Earl of Derby merged into the Crown, the Stanley family was descended from Ligulf of Aldithley, who was also the ancestor of the Audleys. One of his descendants married an heiress whose marriage portion included Stoneley, Sir Thomas Stanley served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and represented Lancashire in the House of Commons. In 1456 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Stanley and his eldest son Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley, married Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, and also Eleanor Nevill. The title of Earl of Derby was conferred on him in 1485 by his stepson Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth Field where Thomas decided not to support King Richard III
12.
Earl of Salisbury
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Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, when the Earl of Lancaster lost his titles and was executed for treason in 1322, the Countess surrendered all of her titles to the King, and the titles lapsed. The title was created for a time in 1337 for William Montacute. It was inherited later by Richard Neville the Kingmaker, upon death the title went into abeyance because multiple individuals were entitled to inherit it. Then, in 1472, it was granted to George, Duke of Clarence, when the Duke of Clarence was executed in 1478 for treason, the title was forfeit. It was then granted to Edward of Middleham, who died in 1484 at the age of 11, in 1605 the title was given to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, a close advisor to James I. Cecil was a son of Queen Elizabeth Is chief advisor, William Cecil, for information on this creation, see the Marquess of Salisbury. George Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Salisbury, son-in-law of the last Neville earl, after 1485 he was kept in custody and did not attend the House of Lords under any title, in the intervening months, he was too young to sit. He was executed and attainted in 1499 at the age of 24, at which point all his titles and it is possible, however, that he had used it as a courtesy title, as it was a subsidiary title of his father. Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, only sister of the above, sources differ on whether the Earldom of Salisbury restored to her was her fathers or her grandfathers
13.
Earl of Lincoln
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Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England. William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a time by King Stephen sometime after 1143 for William de Roumare. However, in 1149 or 1150, as William had gone over to the side of Empress Matilda, the King Stephen took the earldom from him and elevated Gilbert de Gant as Earl of Lincoln. Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a time by King Stephen in 1149 or 1150 for Gilbert de Gant. The Earldom was created for a time in 1217 for Ranulph de Blondeville. In April 1231, with the consent of the King, before his death he passed the Earldom to his sister Hawise of Chester, Royal consent was needed for this, because the Earldom would otherwise have reverted to the crown in the absence of a legitimate male heir. She in turn passed the Earldom, again with the consent of the King, to her daughter Margaret de Quincy suo jure and they were formally invested by Henry III in November 1232. Their grandson, the third Earl, married Margaret Longespee and their daughter Alice inherited the earldom. She was the wife of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and they had no children and the earldom reverted to the Crown on Alices death in 1348. He is included in the above list because he was created Earl of Lincoln by Royal Charter, january 1337 As Earl of Lincoln these husbands had immense power with the right to control the estates of their wives. The above list also does not include Margaret Longespee, the lady who was titled Countess of Lincoln by right of her husband Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. See Duke of Lancaster The Earldom was created for a time in the following year,1349, when it was revived for Alices nephew-in-law Henry of Grosmont. It became extinct on his death in 1361, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a sixth time in 1467 for John de la Pole. He was the eldest son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and he predeceased his father and the title became extinct on his death in 1487. Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for the time in 1525 for Henry Brandon. He was the son of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. He died at the age of eleven in 1534 when the title became extinct and this creation of the Earldom was made for the eighth time in 1572 for the naval commander Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton. He served as Lord High Admiral under Edward VI, Mary I and he was succeeded by his son, the second Earl
14.
Duke of Lancaster
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The Duke of Lancaster is an ancient title which is informally used within Lancaster to describe Elizabeth II, the monarch of the United Kingdom and owner of the estates of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Duchy of Lancaster exists as an entity from the Crown Estate. There were several Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th centuries, there were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster. He died in 1361 and the peerage expired, the second creation was on 13 November 1362, for John of Gaunt, 1st Earl of Richmond, who was both the 1st Dukes son-in-law and also fourth son of King Edward III. John had married Blanche of Lancaster, 6th Countess of Lancaster, daughter of Henry Grosmont, when John of Gaunt, the 1st Duke of this creation died on 4 February 1399, the Dukedom passed to his son, Henry of Bolingbroke, 1st Duke of Hereford. Later that same year, the new 2nd Duke usurped the throne of England from Richard II, ascending the throne as Henry IV, the third creation was on 10 November 1399, for Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales, eldest son of the new king. In 1413, the 1st Duke ascended the throne as King Henry V, and the Dukedom merged in the crown again, where it has remained ever since
15.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
16.
Kingdom of Castile
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The Kingdom of Castile was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region and it began as the County of Castile, an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León in the 9th century. During the 10th century its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León, between 1072 and 1157 it was again united with León, and after 1230 this union became permanent. Throughout this period the Castilian kings made conquests in southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. Castile and León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, according to the chronicles of Alfonso III of Asturias, the first reference to the name Castile can be found in a document written during AD800. The name reflects its origin as a march on the frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias, protected by castles. The County of Castile, bordered in the south by the northern reaches of the Spanish Sistema Central mountain system and it was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabria, Asturias, Vasconia and Visigothic and Mozarab origins. It had its own Romance dialect and customary laws, the areas that they settled didnt extend far from the Cantabrian southeastern ridges, and not beyond the southern reaches of the high Ebro river valleys and canyon gores. Subsequently, the region was subdivided, separate counts being named to Alava, Burgos, Cerezo & Lantarón, the minority of Count García Sánchez led Castile to accept Sancho III of Navarre, married to the sister of Count García, as feudal overlord. García was assassinated in 1028 while in León to marry the princess Sancha, Sancho III, acting as feudal overlord, appointed his younger son Ferdinand as Count of Castile, marrying him to his uncles intended bride, Sancha of León. At the Battle of Tamarón Bermudo was killed, leaving no surviving offspring, in right of his wife, Ferdinand then assumed the royal title as king of León and Castile, for the first time associating the royal title with the rule of Castile. When Ferdinand I died in 1065, the territories were divided among his children, Sancho II became King of Castile, Alfonso VI, King of León and García, King of Galicia, while his daughters were given towns, Urraca, Zamora, and Elvira, Toro. Sancho II allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and together they conquered, Sancho later attacked Alfonso VI and invaded León with the help of El Cid, and drove his brother into exile, thereby reuniting the three kingdoms. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora, Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. As a result, Alfonso VI recovered all his territory of León. This was the union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct entities joined only in a personal union. The sworn oath taken by El Cid before Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of Alfonso in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known, under Alfonso VI, there was an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, including France. He gave his daughters, Elvira, Urraca and Theresa, in marriage to Raymond of Toulouse, Raymond of Burgundy, in the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabic rite was replaced by the Roman one
17.
Kingdom of Portugal
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The Kingdom of Portugal was a monarchy on the Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of modern Portugal. It was in existence from 1139 until 1910, after 1248, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves and between 1815 and 1822, it was known as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The name is often applied to the Portuguese Empire, the realms extensive overseas colonies. The nucleus of the Portuguese state was the County of Portugal, established in the 9th century as part of the Reconquista, by Vímara Peres, a vassal of the King of Asturias. The county became part of the Kingdom of León in 1097, the kingdom was ruled by the Alfonsine Dynasty until the 1383–85 Crisis, after which the monarchy passed to the House of Aviz. During the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese exploration established a vast colonial empire, from 1580 to 1640, the kingdom of Portugal was in personal union with Habsburg Spain. After the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640–1668, the passed to the House of Braganza and after to the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg. From this time, the influence of Portugal declined, but it remained a major due to its most valuable colony. Portugal was an absolute monarchy before 1822. It rotated between absolute and constitutional monarchy from 1822 until 1834, and was a constitutional monarchy after 1834. The Kingdom of Portugal finds its origins in the County of Portugal, the Portuguese County was a semi-autonomous county of the Kingdom of León. Independence from León took place in three stages, The first on 26 July 1139 when Afonso Henriques was acclaimed King of the Portuguese internally, the second was on 5 October 1143, when Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognized Afonso Henriques as king through the Treaty of Zamora. The third, in 1179, was the Papal Bull Manifestis Probatum, once Portugal was independent, D. Afonso Is descendants, members of the Portuguese House of Burgundy, would rule Portugal until 1383. Even after the change in houses, all the monarchs of Portugal were descended from Afonso I, one way or another. With the start of the 20th century, Republicanism grew in numbers and support in Lisbon among progressive politicians, however a minority with regard to the rest of the country, this height of republicanism would benefit politically from the Lisbon Regicide on 1 February 1908. When returning from the Ducal Palace at Vila Viçosa, King Carlos I, with the death of the king and his heir, Carlos Is second son would become king as King Manuel II of Portugal. Manuels reign, however, would be short-lived, ending by force with the 5 October 1910 revolution, sending Manuel into exile in England, on 19 January 1919, the Monarchy of the North was proclaimed in Porto. The monarchy would be deposed a month later and no other monarchist counterrevolution in Portugal has happened since, after centuries of Portuguese dominion in Angola, the Kingdom of Kongo was made a vassal state of the Portuguese kingdom, its king pledging allegiance to the King of Portugal
18.
John of Gaunt
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John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third of five surviving sons of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called John of Gaunt because he was born in Ghent, when he became unpopular later in life, scurrilous rumours and lampoons circulated that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher, perhaps because Edward III was not present at the birth. This story always drove him to fury, due to some generous land grants, John was one of the richest men in his era. John of Gaunts legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, include Kings Henry IV, Henry V and his other legitimate descendants include his daughters Queen Philippa of Portugal and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, and Queen Catherine of Castile. John fathered five children outside marriage, one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother, the children of Katherine Swynford, surnamed Beaufort, were legitimised by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married in 1396. Through his daughter Philippa, he was grandfather of King Edward of Portugal, through John II of Castiles great-granddaughter Joanna the Mad, John of Gaunt is also an ancestor of the Habsburg rulers who would reign in Spain and much of central Europe. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to the crown, since King Richard II had named Henry a traitor, Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and depose Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England, the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England, John was the fourth son of King Edward III of England. His first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, was also his third cousin and they married in 1359 at Reading Abbey as a part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. He also became the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland, John inherited the rest of the Lancaster property when Blanches sister Maud, Countess of Leicester, died without issue on 10 April 1362. John received the title Duke of Lancaster from his father on 13 November 1362, by then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a household comparable in scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year, however, Johns ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera, for example, when Edward III died in 1377 and Johns ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, Johns influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself, John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richards kingship. As de facto ruler during Richards minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the Peasants Revolt in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the Savoy Palace. Unlike some of Richards unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels. In 1386 John left England to seek the throne of Castile, claimed in Jure uxoris by right of his wife, Constance of Castile. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richards misrule brought England to the brink of civil war
19.
Henry VI of England
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Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Henry inherited the long-running Hundred Years War, where Charles VII contested his claim to the French throne. Henry married Charless niece, Margaret of Anjou, partially in the hope of achieving peace in 1445, the war recommenced, with France taking the upper hand, by 1453, Calais was Henrys only remaining territory on the continent. Henry experienced a breakdown after the failure of the war. Civil war broke out in 1460, leading to a period of dynastic conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. Henry was taken prisoner by Richard of York at Northampton on 10 July 1460 but was rescued that December by forces loyal to Margaret and he was deposed on 29 March 1461 following the victory at Towton by Richards son, who took the throne as Edward IV. Henry suffered another breakdown and, despite Margaret continuing to lead a resistance to Edward, he was captured by Edwards forces in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, restored Henry to the throne in 1470, Henry died in the Tower during the night of 21 May 1471, possibly killed on the orders of Edward. He was buried at Chertsey Abbey, before being moved to Windsor Castle in 1484, miracles were attributed to Henry after his death, and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr until the 16th century. He left a legacy of educational institutions, having founded Eton College, Kings College and All Souls College, William Shakespeare wrote a trilogy of plays about his life, depicting him as weak-willed and easily influenced by his wife, Margaret. Henry was the child and heir of King Henry V. He was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle and he succeeded to the throne as King of England at the age of nine months upon his fathers death on 31 August 1422, he was the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. A few weeks later on 21 October 1422 in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes of 1420 and his mother, Catherine of Valois, was then 20 years old. As Charles VIs daughter, she was viewed with suspicion by English nobles and was prevented from playing a full role in her sons upbringing. On 28 September 1423, the nobles swore loyalty to Henry VI and they summoned Parliament in the Kings name and established a regency council to govern until the King should come of age. One of Henry Vs surviving brothers, John, Duke of Bedford, was appointed regent of the realm and was in charge of the ongoing war in France. During Bedfords absence, the government of England was headed by Henry Vs other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and his duties were limited to keeping the peace and summoning Parliament. Henry Vs half-uncle Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, had an important place on the Council, after the Duke of Bedford died in 1435, the Duke of Gloucester claimed the Regency himself, but was contested in this by the other members of the Council
20.
King of England
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This list of kings and queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, one of the petty kingdoms to rule a portion of modern England. While Alfred was not the first king to lay claim to all of the English, his rule represents the first unbroken line of Kings to rule the whole of England. The last monarch of a kingdom of England was Queen Anne. For monarchs after Queen Anne, see List of British monarchs, arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons to be deemed the first King of England. For example, Offa, king of Mercia, and Egbert, king of Wessex, are described as kings of England by popular writers. In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England that did not survive his death in 796, in 829 Egbert conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it. By the late ninth century Wessex was the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom and its king, Alfred the Great, was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons, but he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then the Danelaw. Since that time, except for King Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Queen Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under King James VI of Scotland, however, this is not accepted by all historians. Also, it is unclear whether Ælfweard was declared king of the kingdom or of Wessex only, there is evidence that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex. England came under the control of Sweyn Forkbeard, a Danish king, after an invasion in 1013, during which Æthelred abandoned the throne, following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king on 3 February 1014. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London, following the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Cnut in which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Cnut. Upon Edmunds death on 30 November, Cnut ruled the kingdom as its sole king. After Harthacnut, there was a brief Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066, in 1066, several rival claimants to the English throne emerged. Harald and William both invaded separately in 1066, godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by Hardrada, but ultimately lost the throne of England in the Norman conquest of England. After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror made permanent the recent removal of the capital from Winchester to London. William was crowned King William I of England on Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, Henry I left no legitimate male heirs, his son William Adelin having died in the White Ship disaster. This ended the direct Norman line of kings in England, Henry named his eldest daughter, the dowager Empress Matilda as his heir
21.
English claims to the French throne
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From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the nephew of the last direct Capetian. Despite this, English and British monarchs continued to call themselves kings of France. This continued until 1801, by which time France had no monarch, the Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim. The title was first assumed in 1340 by Edward III of England, Edward III claimed the throne of France after the death of his uncle Charles IV of France. At the time of Charles IVs death in 1328, Edward was his nearest male relative through Edwards mother Isabella of France, since the election of Hugh Capet in 987, the French crown had always passed based on male-line relations. There was no precedent for succeeding to the French throne based on his maternal ancestry. Philip arranged for his coronation, and became Philip V of France and he was challenged by the supporters of the Princess Joan, daughter of Louis X, on the basis of his right to the throne. In response, he convened an assembly of prelates, barons, and burgesses at Paris, who acknowledged him as their lawful king, at the time of Charless death in 1328, there was once again a dispute over the succession. At the time, Edward paid homage to Philip VI for his Duchy of Aquitaine, however, in 1337, Edward, in his capacity as Duke of Aquitaine, refused to pay homage to Philip. The decision to assume the title of King of France was made at the solicitation of his Flemish allies, who had signed a treaty that they would no longer attack the French king. They said that if Edward took the French royal title, then the Flemish would be able to keep their honor, Edward continued to use this title until the Treaty of Brétigny on 8 May 1360, when he abandoned his claims in return for substantial lands in France. After the resumption of hostilities between the English and the French in 1369, however, Edward resumed his claim and the title of King of France, Henry V then adopted the title Heir of France instead. Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, and Henry Vs infant son Henry VI became King of France. He was the only English king who was de facto King of France, however, by 1429 Charles VII, with the support of Joan of Arc, had been crowned at Reims and begun to push the English out of northern France. The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558, nonetheless the kings and queens of England continued to claim the French throne for centuries, through the early modern period. The words of France was prominently included among their realms as listed in their titles and styles, and this continued until 1801, by which time France had no monarch, having become a republic. Henry V, King of England Henry VI, King of England, succeeded as King of France upon the death of Charles VI, according to the Treaty of Troyes
22.
House of Beaufort
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The House of Beaufort is an English noble family, which originated in the fourteenth century and played an important role in the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century. The name Beaufort refers to Montmorency-Beaufort, once the possession of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the family is descended from John Beaufort, John of Gaunts son by his then-mistress Katherine Swynford. Gaunt married Swynford in 1396, and their children were legitimized by Richard II and they had three other children, also Beaufort, Henry, Thomas, and Joan. The Beauforts were a powerful and wealthy family from the start, however, in 1406, Henry IV decided that although the Beauforts were legitimate, their genetic line could not be used to make any claim to the throne. John Beaufort had already been created Earl of Somerset in 1397 and his second son John became the first Duke of Somerset in 1443. The third son, Henry, became a bishop, Lord Chancellor, and a Cardinal, the son, Thomas, became Duke of Exeter. When the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses broke out in the fifteenth century, the Beauforts were the chief supporters of Henry VI. Henry VII traced his claim to the English crown through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, granddaughter of John Beaufort, the Beauforts suffered heavily in the Wars of the Roses. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and his three sons were killed in the war, leaving no legitimate male heir. The male line was continued through Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Charles Somerset. He assisted in the Restoration to the throne of Charles II, in 1682, Charles created Henry Somerset the first Duke of Beaufort. The Beaufort family in the line is today represented by its cadet branch the House of Somerset, whose senior representative is David Somerset. These included, John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset. John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of King Henry VII of England Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset. Bibliography Ailes, Adrian, The Origins of The Royal Arms of England, Reading, Graduate Center for Medieval Studies, University of Reading, ISBN0704907763 Brooke-Little, J. P. Potter, Inc. ISBN0517545586 Pinches, John Harvey, Pinches, Rosemary, The Royal Heraldry of England, Heraldry Today, Slough, Buckinghamshire, Hollen Street Press, ISBN 0-900455-25-X
23.
Duke of Beaufort
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The name Beaufort refers to a castle in Champagne, France. It is the current dukedom to take its name from a place outside the British Isles. The Dukes of Beaufort descend in the line from the House of Plantagenet through John of Gaunt. Beaufort Castle was a possession of John of Gaunt, and the surname Beaufort was given to Gaunts four legitimised children by his mistress and third wife and this was the foundation of the House of Beaufort, Dukes of Somerset. A descendant of the Beauforts through his mother was Henry Tudor, Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, KG was the bastard son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset by his mistress Joan Hill. The Duke of Beaufort holds two subsidiary titles, Marquess of Worcester and Earl of Worcester, the title Marquess of Worcester is used as a courtesy title by the dukes eldest son and heir. The title Earl of Glamorgan is used by the eldest son of the apparent to the dukedom. The Earl of Glamorgans eldest son is known as Viscount Grosmont, the Earldom of Glamorgan and Viscountcy of Grosmont derive from an irregular creation by Charles I in 1644 in favour of Edward Somerset, who later succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Worcester. All subsidiary titles are in the Peerage of England, field Marshal The Lord Raglan, born Lord FitzRoy Somerset, was the youngest son of the fifth duke. The family seat was once Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire, but as of 2017 is Badminton House near Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, the principal burial place of the Dukes and Duchesses of Beaufort is St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton. Following the creation of the dukedom, each successive duke has served as Master of the Duke of Beauforts Hunt, for previous creations of the same title, see Earl of Worcester. He has a claim to the invention of the steam engine, david Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, great-grandson of Rt. Hon. Lord Henry Richard Charles Somerset, second son of the 8th Duke The heir apparent is Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, the heir apparents heir apparent is his son Henry Robert FitzRoy Somerset, Earl of Glamorgan, his eldest son. In heraldry, a bordure compony is traditionally used to designate illegitimacy, since the original Beaufort siblings father was of the English royal family, the English royal arms are used. At that time, the king of England also claimed the French crown, hence the inclusion of the French royal arms
24.
Henry III of England
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Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was nine in the middle of the First Barons War. Cardinal Guala declared the war against the barons to be a religious crusade and Henrys forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, which limited royal power and his early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had belonged to his father. A revolt led by William Marshals son, Richard, broke out in 1232, following the revolt, Henry ruled England personally, rather than governing through senior ministers. He travelled less than previous monarchs, investing heavily in a handful of his palaces and castles. He married Eleanor of Provence, with whom he had five children, in a fresh attempt to reclaim his familys lands in France, he invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. After this, Henry relied on diplomacy, cultivating an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to become King of the Romans in 1256 and he planned to go on crusade to the Levant, but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony. The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to reform a stable government, in 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons War. Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised an army, the Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264, where Henry was defeated and taken prisoner. Henrys eldest son, Edward, escaped captivity to defeat de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year. Henry initially enacted a harsh revenge on the rebels, but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth. Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to acquiesce to various measures, including suppression of the Jews, to maintain baronial. Henry died in 1272, leaving Edward as his successor and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had rebuilt in the second half of his reign, and was moved to his current tomb in 1290. Some miracles were declared after his death but he was not canonised, Henry was born in Winchester Castle on 1 October 1207. He was the eldest son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, little is known of Henrys early life
25.
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
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He led the rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons War of 1263–64, and subsequently became de facto ruler of England. During his rule, Montfort called two famous parliaments, the first stripped the King of unlimited authority, while the second included ordinary citizens from the towns. For this reason, Montfort is regarded today as one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy, after a rule of just over a year, Montfort was killed by forces loyal to the King in the Battle of Evesham. Montfort was a son of Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, a French nobleman and crusader. His paternal grandmother was Amicia de Beaumont, the senior co-heiress to the Earldom of Leicester, the elder Simon had also acquired vast domains during the Albigensian Crusade, but was killed during the Siege of Toulouse in 1218 and his eldest son Amaury was not able to retain them. When Amaury was rebuffed in his attempt to get the earldom back, Henry was in no position to confront the powerful Earl of Chester, so Simon approached the older, childless man himself and convinced him to cede him the earldom. It would take nine years before Henry formally invested him with the title Earl of Leicester. Simon de Montfort shared various levels of consanguinuity and by-marriage connections with both English and French royal lineages, for instance, his ancestor Simon I de Montfort was father of Bertrade de Montfort who herself was a paternal great-grandmother of King Henry II. He was also descended from Henry I, as a younger son, Simon de Montfort attracted little public attention during his youth, and the date of birth remains unknown. He is first mentioned when his mother made a grant to him in 1217, as a boy, Montfort accompanied his parents during his fathers campaigns against the Cathars. He was with his mother at the Siege of Toulouse in 1218, in addition to Amaury, Simon had another older brother, Guy, who was killed at the siege of Castelnaudary in 1220. As a young man, Montfort probably took part in the Albigensian Crusades of the early 1220s and he and Amaury both took part in the Barons Crusade. In 1229 the two surviving brothers came to an arrangement with King Henry whereby Simon gave up his rights in France and Amaury gave up his rights in England. As Lord of Leicester, he expelled the small Jewish community from Leicester in 1231 and they moved to the eastern suburbs, which were controlled by Montforts great-aunt Margaret, Countess of Winchester. It was also a strategy to enhance his popularity in his new domains by banishing the practice of usury, Montfort became a favourite of King Henry III and even issued a charter as Earl of Leicester in 1236, despite having not yet been granted the title. In that same year Simon tried to get Joan, Countess of Flanders to marry him, the idea of an alliance between the rich County of Flanders and a close associate of Henry III of England did not sit well with the French crown. The French Queen Dowager Blanche of Castile convinced Joan to marry Thomas II of Savoy instead, in January 1238, Montfort married Eleanor of England, daughter of King John and Isabella of Angoulême and sister of King Henry III. While this marriage took place with the Kings approval, the act itself was performed secretly and without consulting the great barons, as a marriage of such importance warranted
26.
Second Barons' War
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The Second Barons War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against Royalist forces led by Prince Edward, in the name of Henry III. As a result, a feud developed between de Montfort and Henry and their relationship reached a crisis in the 1250s, when de Montfort was put on trial for actions he took as lieutenant of Gascony, the last remaining Plantagenet lands across the English Channel. Henry also became embroiled in funding a war against the Hohenstaufen Dynasty in Sicily on behalf of Pope Innocent IV in return for the Hohenstaufen title King of Sicily for his second son Edmund. This made many barons fearful that Henry was following in the footsteps of his father King John and, like him, when Henrys treasury ran dry, Innocent withdrew the title, and in regranting it to Charles of Anjou in effect negated the sale. Simon de Montfort became leader of those who wanted to reassert the Magna Carta, Henry was forced to take part in the swearing of a collective oath to uphold the Provisions of Oxford. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry was defeated, while Henry was reduced to a figurehead king, de Montfort broadened parliamentary representation to include groups beyond the nobility, members from each county of England and many important towns. Henry and Edward continued under house arrest and his son, Simon, attempted a negotiated surrender but it was rejected by de Montfort loyalists. The impasse culminated in the six-month Siege of Kenilworth at which the King prevailed, de Montforts forces were permitted to leave the castle with their weapons and horses. Following this victory, savage retribution was exacted on the rebels, the casualties of the war are estimated at 15,000. 1261 – King Henry III of England obtains a papal bull releasing him from the Provisions of Oxford 1264 – Before May – The war officially begins. By the end of the battle, de Montforts forces capture both King Henry and his son, future King Edward I, making de Montfort the uncrowned king of England. 1265 –20 January – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster,1265 –28 May – Future King Edward I of England escapes captivity at the hands of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. 1266 –15 May – The Battle of Chesterfield is fought in Chesterfield,1266 – October – The war winds down as supporters of the slain Simon de Montfort make an offer of peace to the king in the Dictum of Kenilworth. 1267 – The war ends, as the rebels and King Henry III of England agree to terms as laid out in the Dictum of Kenilworth. R. Simon de Montfort, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-37493-6 Carpenter, the reign of Henry III, London, Hambledon ISBN 1-85285-070-1 Simon de Montfort 2014
27.
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster
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Thomas, Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman. A junior member of the House of Plantagenet, he was one of the leaders of the opposition to his first cousin. Thomas was the eldest son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster and Blanche of Artois, Crouchback was the son of King Henry III of England. His marriage to Alice de Lacy was not successful and they had no children together, while he fathered, illegitimately, with another woman, two sons. In 1317 she was abducted from her manor at Canford, Dorset by Richard de St Martin and this incident caused a feud between Lancaster and Surrey, Lancaster divorced his wife and seized two of Surreys castles in retaliation. King Edward then intervened, and the two Earls came to an uneasy truce, although divorced from his wife, he continued to hold the powerful Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury. On reaching full age he became hereditary Sheriff of Lancashire, but spent most of the ten years fighting for Edward I in Scotland. He was present at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 as part of Edward Is wing of the army and he served in the coronation of his cousin, King Edward II of England, on 25 February 1308, carrying Curtana, the sword of St Edward the Confessor. At the beginning of the Kings reign, Lancaster openly supported Edward and he despised the royal favourite, Piers Gaveston, who mocked him as the Fiddler, and swore revenge when Gaveston demanded that the King dismiss one of Lancasters retainers. Lancaster was one of the Lords Ordainers who demanded the banishment of Gaveston and his private army helped separate the King and Gaveston, and Lancaster was one of the judges who convicted Gaveston and saw him executed. After the disaster at Bannockburn in 1314, Edward submitted to Lancaster and he attempted to govern for the next four years, but was unable to keep order or prevent the Scots from raiding and retaking territory in the North. This time, however, he was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge, Lancaster was tried by a tribunal consisting of, among others, the two Despensers, Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, and King Edward. Lancaster was not allowed to speak in his own defence, nor was he allowed to have anyone to speak for him, because of their kinship and Lancasters royal blood, the King commuted the sentence to mere beheading and Lancaster was convicted of treason and executed near Pontefract Castle. Soon after Thomass death, miracles were reported at his tomb at Pontefract, in 1327 the Commons petitioned Edward III to ask for his canonisation, and popular veneration continued until the reformation. In 1942 it was reported by E J Rudsdale that some of Thomass bones had been found in a box at Paskells auctioneers in Colchester, Essex, from his father Thomas inherited the Earldoms of Lancaster, Leicester, and a Ferrers earldom of Derby. Master of five earldoms, he was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in England, Thomas was in possession of many key fortresses, including Clitheroe Castle, particularly in northern England. He was responsible for the extension of Pontefract Castle and in 1313 he began the construction of Dunstanburgh Castle a massive fortress in Northumberland, inherited from his father, Thomas bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label France of three points. Richard II, Edward II, and the Lancastrian Inheritance, maddicott, J. R. Thomas of Lancaster, 1307–1322, A study in the reign of Edward II
28.
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
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Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was a grandson of King Henry III of England and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II, his first cousin. He was the son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester. Henrys mother was Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of Navarre and he took part in the Siege of Caerlaverock in July 1300. Henry did not participate in his brothers rebellions, he petitioned for his brothers lands and titles. A few years later, shortly after his accession in 1327 and he was sent in pursuit and captured the king at Neath in South Wales. He was appointed to charge of the king and was responsible for his custody at Kenilworth Castle. Henry was appointed advisor for the new king Edward III of England. He was appointed Constable of Lancaster Castle and High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1327 and he also helped the young king to put an end to Mortimers regency and tyranny, also had him declared a traitor and executed in 1330. In about the year 1330, he became blind, Henry spent the last fifteen years of his life at Leicester Castle. There he founded a hospital for the poor and infirm in an extension of the castle bailey and it became known as the Newarke, and Henry was buried in the hospital chapel when he died in 1345. The king and queen attended his funeral, according to Froissart, he was nicknamed Wryneck, or Tort-col in French, possibly due to a medical condition. He was succeeded as Earl of Lancaster and Leicester by his eldest son, Henry of Grosmont and he married Maud Chaworth, before 2 March 1296/1297. Prior to his restoration to his earldoms, Henry bore the arms of King Henry III. Upon his restoration, his difference changed, to a label France of three points (that is to say a label of three points azure each charged with three fleur-de-lys or, Henry is a supporting character in Les Rois maudits, a series of French historical novels by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by William Sabatier in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, john of Gaunt, king of Castile and Leon, duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster. A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, london, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. Blood royal, issue of the kings and queens of medieval England, 1066–1399
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Edward II of England
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Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the following the death of his older brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns to pacify Scotland, Edward succeeded to the throne in 1307, following his fathers death. In 1308, he married Isabella of France, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV, Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. The precise nature of Edward and Gavestons relationship is uncertain, they may have been friends, Gavestons arrogance and power as Edwards favourite provoked discontent both among the barons and the French royal family, and Edward was forced to exile him. On Gavestons return, the barons pressured the King into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms called the Ordinances of 1311, the newly empowered barons banished Gaveston, to which Edward responded by revoking the reforms and recalling his favourite. Led by Edwards cousin, the Earl of Lancaster, a group of the barons seized and executed Gaveston in 1312, English forces were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Widespread famine followed, and criticism of the Kings reign mounted, in response, Edward led a short military campaign, capturing and executing Lancaster. Edward and the Despensers strengthened their grip on power, revoking the 1311 reforms, executing their enemies, unable to make progress in Scotland, Edward finally signed a truce with Robert. Opposition to the regime grew, and when Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward. Isabella allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer, and invaded England with an army in 1326. Edwards regime collapsed and he fled into Wales, where he was captured in November, Edwards relationship with Gaveston inspired Christopher Marlowes 1592 play Edward II, along with other plays, films, novels and media. Many of these have focused on the sexual relationship between the two men. Debate has continued into the 21st century as to whether Edward was a lazy and incompetent king, or simply a reluctant, Edward II was the fourth son of Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile. His father was the King of England, and had also inherited Gascony in south-western France, which he held as the vassal of the King of France. His mother was from the Castilian royal family, and held the County of Ponthieu in northern France, Edward I proved to be a successful military leader, leading the suppression of the baronial revolts in the 1260s, and joining the Ninth Crusade. During the 1280s he conquered North Wales, removing the native Welsh princes from power and he was considered an extremely successful ruler by his contemporaries, largely able to control the powerful earls that formed the senior ranks of the English nobility. The historian Michael Prestwich describes Edward I as a king to inspire fear and respect, despite his successes, when Edward I died in 1307 he left a range of challenges for his son to resolve
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Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
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Blanche of Lancaster
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Blanche of Lancaster was a member of the English royal House of Plantagenet and the daughter of the kingdoms wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt, the mother of King Henry IV, Blanche is said to have been born on 25 March 1345, although the year 1347 has also been suggested. She was the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She and her elder sister Maud, Countess of Leicester, were born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lindsey, Maud married Ralph de Stafford and then William I, Duke of Bavaria, however, Maud did not have children so her younger sister inherited their fathers titles and estates. On 19 May 1359, at Reading Abbey, Reading, Berkshire, Blanche married her cousin, John of Gaunt. The whole royal family was present at the wedding, and the King gave Blanche expensive gifts of jewellery, the title Duke of Lancaster became extinct upon her fathers death without male heirs in 1361. However, John of Gaunt became Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lincoln, the Duchy of Lancaster was later bestowed on Gaunt. The influence associated with the titles would lead him to become Lord High Steward of England, Jean Froissart described Blanche as jone et jolie. Gaunt and Blanches marriage is believed to have been happy. Blanche and Gaunt had seven children, three of whom survived infancy, Blanche died at Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire, on 12 September 1368 while her husband was overseas. She was 23 years of age at the time of her death and it is believed that she may have died after contracting the Black Death, which was rife in Europe at that time. Her funeral at St. Pauls Cathedral in London was preceded by a magnificent cortege attended by most of the upper nobility, John of Gaunt held annual commemorations of her death for the rest of his life and established a joint chantry foundation on his own death. In 1373, Jean Froissart wrote a poem, Le Joli Buisson de Jonece. The poem tells the story of the poets dream, wandering a wood, the poet discovers a knight clothed in black, and inquires of the knights sorrow. The knight, perhaps representing Gaunt, is mourning a terrible tragedy, in 1374, six years after her death, John of Gaunt commissioned a double tomb for himself and Blanche from the mason Henry Yevele. The magnificent monument in the choir of St Pauls was completed by Yevele in 1380, with the assistance of Thomas Wrek, Gaunt himself died in 1399, and was laid to rest beside Blanche. The two effigies were notable for having their hands joined. An adjacent chantry chapel was added between 1399 and 1403, Blanche and John of Gaunt together had seven children, Philippa of Lancaster, wife of John I of Portugal
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Henry IV of England
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Henry IV, also known as Henry of Bolingbroke, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1399 to 1413, and asserted the claim of his grandfather, Edward III, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, one of Henrys elder sisters, Philippa of Lancaster, married John I of Portugal, and the other, Elizabeth, was the mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. His younger half-sister Catherine, the daughter of his fathers second wife and he also had four half-siblings by Katherine Swynford, originally his sisters governess, then his fathers longstanding mistress, and later his third wife. These four children were given the surname Beaufort after a castle their father held in Champagne, Henrys relationship with his stepmother, Katherine Swynford, was a positive one, but his relationship with the Beauforts varied. In youth he seems to have close to all of them. His brother-in-law Ralph Neville remained one of his strongest supporters, and so did his eldest half-brother John Beaufort, Thomas Swynford, a son from Katherines first marriage to Sir Hugh Swynford, was another loyal companion. Thomas was Constable of Pontefract Castle, where King Richard II is said to have died, Henrys half-sister Joan Beaufort through his fathers relationship with Katherine Swynford was the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III. Joan had married Ralph Neville, the 1st Earl of Westmorland, when their daughter Cecily married Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York, and had several offspring, including Edward IV and Richard III, Joan became the grandmother of two York kings of England. Henry experienced a rather more inconsistent relationship with King Richard II than his father had, first cousins and childhood playmates, they were admitted together to the Order of the Garter in 1377, but Henry participated in the Lords Appellants rebellion against the king in 1387. After regaining power, Richard did not punish Henry, although he did execute or exile many of the rebellious barons. In fact, Richard elevated Henry from Earl of Derby to Duke of Hereford, Henry spent the full year of 1390 supporting the unsuccessful siege of Vilnius by Teutonic Knights with his 300 fellow knights. During this campaign he bought 300 captured Lithuanian princes and then took them back to England. Henrys second expedition to Lithuania in 1392 illustrates the benefits to the Order of these guest crusaders. His small army consisted of over 100 men, including longbow archers and six minstrels, despite the efforts of Henry and his English crusaders, two years of attacks on Vilnius proved fruitless. In 1392–93 Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he made offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, later he vowed to lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the infidel, but he died before this could be accomplished. The relationship between Henry Bolingbroke and the king met with a second crisis, in 1398, a remark by Bolingbroke regarding Richard IIs rule was interpreted as treason by Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. The two dukes agreed to undergo a duel of honour at Gosford Green near Caludon Castle, Mowbrays home in Coventry, yet before the duel could take place, Richard II decided to banish Henry from the kingdom to avoid further bloodshed. Mowbray himself was exiled for life, John of Gaunt died in 1399
33.
Wars of the Roses
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The conflict lasted through many sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487, however, there was fighting before and after this period between the houses. With the Duke of Yorks passing, the transferred to his heir, Edward. His son reigned for 86 days as Edward V, but Parliament then decided that Edward and his brother Richard were illegitimate and offered the crown to Edward IVs younger brother, the two young princes disappeared within the confines of the Tower of London. The final victory went to a claimant of the Lancastrian party, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, after assuming the throne as Henry VII, he married Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter and heir of Edward IV, thereby uniting the two claims. The House of Tudor ruled the Kingdom of England until 1603, with the death of Elizabeth I, granddaughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The name Wars of the Roses refers to the badges associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. Wars of the Roses came into use in the nineteenth century. Badges were not always distinct, at the Battle of Barnet, Edwards sun was very similar to the Earl of Oxfords Vere star, which caused fateful confusion. Another example, Henry Tudors forces at Bosworth fought under the banner of a red dragon, although the names of the rival houses derive from the cities of York and Lancaster, the corresponding duchies had little to do with these cities. Although minor armed clashes had occurred previously between supporters of York and Lancaster, the first open fighting broke out in 1455 at the First Battle of St Albans, several prominent Lancastrians died at the hands of the Yorkists. Although peace was restored, the Lancastrians were inspired by Margaret of Anjou to contest Yorks influence. Fighting resumed more violently in 1459, York and his supporters were forced to flee the country, but one of his most prominent supporters, the Earl of Warwick, invaded England from Calais and captured Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton. York returned to the country and became Protector of England, but was dissuaded from claiming the throne, Margaret and the remaining Lancastrian nobles gathered their army in the north of England. When York moved north to engage them, he and his second son Edmund were killed at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460. The Lancastrian army advanced south and released Henry at the Second Battle of St Albans, but failed to occupy London, Yorks eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, was proclaimed King Edward IV. He gathered the Yorkist armies and won a victory at the Battle of Towton in March 1461. After Lancastrian revolts in the north were suppressed in 1464 and Henry was captured once again, Edward fell out with his chief supporter and adviser, the Earl of Warwick after Edwards unpopular and secretly conducted marriage with the widow of a Lancastrian supporter, Elizabeth Woodville. Within a few years, it clear that Edward was favoring his wifes family
34.
Henry V of England
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Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 36 in 1422. He was the second English monarch who came from the House of Lancaster, after his fathers death in 1413, Henry assumed control of the country and embarked on war with France in the ongoing Hundred Years War between the two nations. His military successes culminated in his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt and he was the son of 20-year-old Henry of Bolingbroke, and 16-year-old Mary de Bohun. He was also the grandson of the influential John of Gaunt, at the time of his birth, Richard II of England, his cousin once removed, was king. As he was not close to the line of succession to the throne and his grandfather, John of Gaunt, was the guardian of the king at that time. Upon the exile of Henrys father in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge, the young Henry accompanied King Richard to Ireland, and while in the royal service, he visited Trim Castle in County Meath, the ancient meeting place of the Irish Parliament. He was created Prince of Wales at his fathers coronation, and Duke of Lancaster on 10 November 1399 and his other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. A contemporary record notes that during that year Henry spent time at The Queens College, Oxford, under the care of his uncle Henry Beaufort, from 1400 to 1404, he carried out the duties of High Sheriff of Cornwall. It was there that the prince was almost killed by an arrow that became stuck in his face. An ordinary soldier might have died from such a wound, the operation was successful, but it left Henry with permanent scars, evidence of his experience in battle. The Welsh revolt of Owain Glyndŵr absorbed Henrys energies until 1408, then, as a result of the kings ill health, Henry began to take a wider share in politics. From January 1410, helped by his uncles Henry Beaufort and Thomas Beaufort – legitimised sons of John of Gaunt – he had control of the government. Both in foreign and domestic policy he differed from the king, the quarrel of father and son was political only, though it is probable that the Beauforts had discussed the abdication of Henry IV, and their opponents certainly endeavoured to defame the prince. It may be that the tradition of Henrys riotous youth, immortalised by Shakespeare, is due to political enmity. Henrys record of involvement in war and politics, even in his youth, the most famous incident, his quarrel with the chief justice, has no contemporary authority and was first related by Sir Thomas Elyot in 1531. The story of Falstaff originated in Henrys early friendship with Sir John Oldcastle, shakespeares Falstaff was originally named Oldcastle, following his main source, The Famous Victories of Henry V. However, his descendants objected, and the name was changed. That friendship, and the political opposition to Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. If so, their disappointment may account for the statements of ecclesiastical writers like Thomas Walsingham that Henry, after Henry IV died on 20 March 1413, Henry V succeeded him and was crowned on 9 April 1413 at Westminster Abbey, London, Kingdom of England
35.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
36.
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
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Edward of Westminster, also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury, making him the heir apparent to the English throne to die in battle. Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster, London, the son of King Henry VI of England and his wife. At the time, there was strife between Henrys supporters and those of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, who had a claim to the throne and challenged the authority of Henrys officers of state. Henry was suffering from illness, and there were widespread rumours that the prince was the result of an affair between his mother and one of her loyal supporters. Edward was invested as Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 1454, in 1460, King Henry was captured by the supporters of the Duke of York at the Battle of Northampton and taken to London. Queen Margaret and Edward had meanwhile fled through Cheshire, by Margarets later account, she induced outlaws and pillagers to aid her by pledging them to recognise the seven-year-old Edward as rightful heir to the crown. They subsequently reached safety in Wales and journeyed to Scotland, where Margaret raised support, after York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, the large army which Margaret had gathered advanced south. They defeated the army of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, one of Yorks most prominent supporters, Warwick brought the captive King Henry in the train of his army, and he was found abandoned on the battlefield. Two of Warwicks knights, William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville, and Sir Thomas Kyriell, the day after the battle, Margaret asked Edward what death the two knights should suffer. Edward readily replied that their heads should be cut off, Margaret hesitated to advance on London with her unruly army, and subsequently retreated. They were routed at the Battle of Towton a few weeks later, Margaret and Edward fled once again, to Scotland. For the next three years, Margaret inspired several revolts in the northernmost counties of England, but was forced to sail to France. After several years in exile, Margaret took the best opportunity that presented itself, King Louis XI of France wanted to start a war with Burgundy, allies of the Yorkist King Edward IV. He believed if he allied himself to restoring Lancastrian rule they would help him conquer Burgundy, as a compliment to his new allies Louis made young Edward godfather to his son Charles. Prince Edward was married to Anne Neville, Warwicks younger daughter, in December 1470, Warwick returned to England and deposed Edward IV, with the help of Edward IVs younger brother, the Duke of Clarence. Edward IV fled into exile to Burgundy with his youngest brother the Duke of Gloucester, Edward and Margaret lingered behind in France until April 1471. However, Edward IV had already raised an army, returned to England, on the same day Margaret and Edward landed in England, Edward IV defeated and killed Warwick at the Battle of Barnet
37.
House of York
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The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became Kings of England in the late 15th century and it is based on these descents that they claimed the English crown. Compared with the House of Lancaster, it had a claim to the throne of England according to cognatic primogeniture. The reign of this dynasty ended with the death of Richard III of England in 1485 and it became extinct in the male line with the death of Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick in 1499. Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was the founder of the House of York, but it was through the marriage of his younger son, Richard to Anne Mortimer that the Yorkist faction in the Wars of the Roses made its claim on the throne. The other party in the Wars of the Roses, the Lancasters, were descendants of Edmunds elder brother, Edmund had two sons, Edward, and Richard of Conisburgh. Edward succeeded to the dukedom in 1402, but was killed at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, Richard married Anne Mortimer, a great-granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, the second son of Edward III. Furthermore, Annes son Richard also became heir general to the earldom of March, after her brother, Edmund, 5th Earl. Richard of Conisburgh was executed following his involvement in the Southampton Plot to depose Henry V of England in favour of the Earl of March, the dukedom of York therefore passed to his son, Richard Plantagenet. Through his mother, Richard Plantagenet also inherited the lands of the earldom of March, although he served as Protector of the Realm during Henry VIs period of incapacity in 1453-54, his reforms were reversed by Somersets party once the king had recovered. The Wars of the Roses began the year, with the First Battle of St Albans. Initially, Richard aimed only to purge his Lancastrian political opponents from positions of influence over the king and it was not until October 1460 that he claimed the throne for the House of York. In that year the Yorkists had captured the king at the battle of Northampton, Richard and his second son Edmund were killed at the battle of Wakefield on 30 December. Richards claim to the throne was inherited by his son Edward, with the support of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, Edward, already showing great promise as a leader of men, defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. While Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou were campaigning in the north, Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out. The early reign of Edward IV was marred by Lancastrian plotting, Warwick himself changed sides, and supported Margaret of Anjou and the kings jealous brother George, Duke of Clarence, in briefly restoring Henry in 1470-71. However, Edward regained his throne, and the House of Lancaster was wiped out with the death of Henry VI himself, in the Tower of London in 1471
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Philippa of Lancaster
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Philippa of Lancaster was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 by marriage to King John I. Born into the family of England, her marriage secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Born on 31 March 1360, Philippa was the oldest child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Philippa spent her infancy moving around the various properties owned by her family with her mother and her wet-nurse, Maud. Here, she was raised and educated alongside her two siblings, Elizabeth, who was three years younger, and Henry, six years younger, who would later become King Henry IV. Philippas mother died of plague in 1369, the affair and eventual marriage was considered scandalous, and in the future Philippa would protect herself against such embarrassment. Katherine seems to have been liked by Philippa and her Lancastrian siblings. Katherine had close ties with Geoffrey Chaucer, since her sister, John of Gaunt became Chaucers patron, and Chaucer spent much time with the family as one of Philippas many mentors and teachers. She was remarkably well educated for a female at the time and studied science under Friar John, poetry under Jean Froissart and she was well read in the works of Greek and Roman scholars such as Pliny and Herodotus and was diligent in her study of religion. Philippa became Queen consort of Portugal through her marriage to King John I and this marriage was the final step in the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance against the Franco-Castillian axis. The couple were blessed by the church in the Cathedral of Porto on 2 February 1387, the Portuguese court celebrated the union for fifteen days. Philippa married King John I by proxy, and in keeping with a unique Portuguese tradition, the stand-in for King John I was João Rodrigues de Sá. Philippa was considered to be plain, and King João I already had a mistress, Inês Peres Esteves. Their son Afonso was ten when Philippa and John married, Philippa allowed Afonso and his sister Beatrice to be raised in the Portuguese court. Their mother left the court at Philippas command to live in a convent, as the de facto King of Castile, it was feared that John of Gaunt could challenge King Johns claim to the newly installed dynasty. Surviving letters show that Philippa often wrote to the English court from Portugal, on one instance, Philippa intervened in court politics on behalf of followers of the dethroned Richard II when they appealed for her help after her brother, Henry IV, had usurped the English throne. On another occasion, she persuaded the reluctant Earl of Arundel to marry her husbands illegitimate daughter Beatrice, Philippas main political contribution, however, was in her own court. Upon the end of the Portuguese involvement in wars with Castile and the Moors, the Portuguese economy was failing. Philippa knew that the conquest and control of Ceuta would be lucrative for Portugal with the control of the African and Indian spice trade
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Henry VII of England
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Henry VII was King of England from seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, and the first monarch of the House of Tudor. He ruled the Principality of Wales until 29 November 1489 and was Lord of Ireland, Henry won the throne when his forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle and he cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III. Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the civil war and his supportive stance of the islands wool industry and stand off with the Low Countries had long lasting benefits to all the British Isles economy. However, the capriciousness and lack of due process that many would tarnish his legacy and were soon ended upon Henry VIIs death. According to the contemporary historian Polydore Vergil, simple greed underscored the means by which royal control was over-asserted in Henrys final years, Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457 to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. His father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, died three months before his birth, Henrys paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, originally from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, had been a page in the court of Henry V. He rose to one of the Squires to the Body to the King after military service at the Battle of Agincourt. Owen is said to have married the widow of Henry V. One of their sons was Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, Edmund was created Earl of Richmond in 1452, and formally declared legitimate by Parliament. Henrys main claim to the English throne derived from his mother through the House of Beaufort, Henrys mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Katherine was Gaunts mistress for about 25 years, when married in 1396, they already had four children. Thus Henrys claim was somewhat tenuous, it was from a woman, in theory, the Portuguese and Castilian royal families had a better claim as descendants of Catherine of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt and his second wife Constance of Castile. Gaunts nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunts children by Katherine Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397, in 1407, Henry IV, who was Gaunts son by his first wife, issued new Letters Patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings, but also declaring them ineligible for the throne. Henry IVs action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it further weakened Henrys claim. Henry also made political capital out of his Welsh ancestry, for example in attracting military support. He came from an old, established Anglesey family that claimed descent from Cadwaladr and he took it, as well as the standard of St George, on his procession through London after the victory at Bosworth. A contemporary writer and Henrys biographer, Bernard André, also much of Henrys Welsh descent
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House of Tudor
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The House of Tudor was a royal house of Welsh and English origin, descended in the male line from the Tudors of Penmynydd. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including their ancestral Wales, the Tudors succeeded the House of Plantaganet as rulers of the Kingdom of England, and were succeeded by the House of Stuart. The first monarch, Henry VII, descended through his mother from a branch of the English royal House of Lancaster. The Tudor family rose to power in the wake of the Wars of the Roses and his victory was reinforced by his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, symbolically uniting the former warring factions under a new dynasty. They also maintained the nominal English claim to the Kingdom of France, although none of them made substance of it, after him, his daughter Mary I lost control of all territory in France permanently with the fall of Calais in 1558. In total, five Tudor monarchs ruled their domains for just over a century, Henry VIII was the only male-line male heir of Henry VII to live to the age of maturity. Issues around the royal succession became major political themes during the Tudor era, the House of Stuart, descended from Henry VIIIs sister Margaret, came to power in 1603 when the direct Tudor line failed, as Elizabeth I died without a legitimate heir. The church retroactively declared the Beauforts legitimate by way of a bull the same year. A subsequent proclamation by John of Gaunts legitimate son, Henry IV, also recognised the Beauforts legitimacy, nevertheless, the Beauforts remained closely allied with Gaunts legitimate descendants from his first marriage, the House of Lancaster. On 1 November 1455, John Beauforts granddaughter, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, married Henry VIs half-brother Edmund Tudor and it was his father, Owen Tudor, who abandoned the Welsh patronymic naming practice and adopted a fixed surname. When he did, he did not choose, as was generally the custom, his fathers name, Maredudd, Owen Tudor was one of the bodyguards for the queen dowager Catherine of Valois, whose husband, Henry V, had died in 1422. Evidence suggests that the two were married in 1429. The two sons born of the marriage, Edmund and Jasper, were among the most loyal supporters of the House of Lancaster in its struggle against the House of York, Edmund died on 3 November 1456. On 28 January 1457, his widow Margaret Beaufort, who had just attained her fourteenth birthday, gave birth to a son, Henry Tudor, at her brother-in-laws Pembroke Castle. Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, spent his childhood at Raglan Castle, the home of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, a leading Yorkist. Following the murder of Henry VI and death of his son, Edward, in 1471, concerned for his young nephews life, Jasper Tudor took Henry to Brittany for safety. Lady Margaret remained in England and remarried, living quietly while advancing the Lancastrian cause, capitalizing on the growing unpopularity of Richard III, she was able to forge an alliance with discontented Yorkists in support of her son. Two years after Richard III was crowned, Henry and Jasper sailed from the mouth of the Seine to the Milford Haven Waterway, upon this victory, Henry Tudor proclaimed himself King Henry VII
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Eton College
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Eton College /iːtən/ is an English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years and it was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor, making it the 18th oldest Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference school. Eton is one of the seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Eton has educated 19 British prime ministers and generations of the aristocracy and has referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The school is headed by a Provost and Fellows, who appoint the Head Master and it contains 25 boys houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155. Almost all of the pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to Oxford or Cambridge. The Head Master is a member of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. David Cameron was the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school, about 20% of pupils at Eton receive financial support, through a range of bursaries and scholarships. In early 2014, this figure had risen to 263 pupils receiving the equivalent of around 60% of school fee assistance, Eton has been described as the most famous public school in the world, and been referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The Good Schools Guide called the school the number one public school, adding that The teaching. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group, Eton today is a larger school than it has been for much of its history. In 1678, there were 207 boys, in the late 18th century, there were about 300, while today, the total has risen to over 1,300. Eton College was founded by King Henry VI as a charity school to free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to Kings College, Cambridge. Henry took Winchester College as his model, visiting on many occasions, borrowing its Statutes and removing its Headmaster, when Henry VI founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, including much valuable land. He persuaded the then Pope, Eugene IV, to grant him a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England, the school also came into possession of one of Englands Apocalypse manuscripts. Legend has it that Edwards mistress, Jane Shore, intervened on the schools behalf and she was able to save a good part of the school, although the royal bequest and the number of staff were much reduced. Construction of the chapel, originally intended to be slightly over twice as long, only the Quire of the intended building was completed. Etons first Headmaster, William Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford and previously Head Master of Winchester College, as the school suffered reduced income while still under construction, the completion and further development of the school has since depended to some extent on wealthy benefactors
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King's College, Cambridge
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Kings College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Formally The Kings College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, Kings was founded in 1441 by Henry VI, soon after he had founded its sister college in Eton. However, the Kings plans for the college were disrupted by the Wars of the Roses and resultant scarcity of funds, and his eventual deposition. Little progress was made on the project until in 1508 Henry VII began to take an interest in the college, the building of the colleges chapel, begun in 1446, was finally finished in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII. Kings College Chapel is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late Gothic English architecture and it has the worlds largest fan-vault, and the chapels stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. The building is seen as emblematic of Cambridge, the chapels choir, composed of male students at Kings and choristers from the nearby Kings College School, is one of the most accomplished and renowned in the world. Every year on Christmas Eve the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide, on 12 February 1441 King Henry VI issued letters patent founding a college at Cambridge for a rector and twelve poor scholars. This college was to be named after Saint Nicholas, upon whose saint day Henry had been born, William Millington, a fellow of Clare College was installed as the rector. Henry directed the publication of the colleges first governing statutes in 1443 and his original modest plan for the college was abandoned, and provision was instead made for community of seventy fellows and scholars headed by a provost. Henry had belatedly learned of William of Wykehams 1379 twin foundation of New College, Oxford and Winchester College, the King had in fact founded Eton College on 11 October 1440, but up until 1443 Kings and Eton had been unconnected. However, that year the relationship between the two was remodelled upon Wykehams successful institutions and the sizes of the colleges scaled up to surpass Wykehams. A second royal charter which re-founded the now much larger Kings College was issued on 12 July 1443, members of Kings were to be recruited entirely from Eton. Membership of Kings was a vocation for life, scholars were eligible for election to the fellowship after three years of probation, irrespective of whether they had achieved a degree or not. In fact, undergraduates at Kings – unlike those other colleges – did not even have to pass university examinations to achieve their BA degree. The gateway and south range of Old Court had already been built, Henrys grand design for the new college buildings survives in the 1448 Founders Will which describes his vision in detail. Behind the hall and buttery was to be another courtyard, the first stone of the chapel was laid by the King on St James Day,25 July 1446. However, within a decade Henrys engagement in the Wars of the Roses meant that funds began to dry up, work proceeded sporadically until a generation later in 1508 when the Founders nephew Henry VII was prevailed upon to finish the shell of the building. The interior had to wait a further generation until completion by 1544 with the aid of Henry VIII, the chapel would be the only part of Henry VIs Founders Will to be realised
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Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589
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Seal (emblem)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates as the seal impression. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the matrix is in intaglio. The design on the impression will reverse that of the matrix and this will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were carved in relief, called cameo in this context. The process is essentially that of a mould and these pendent seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached. Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as seal or L. S. to be the equivalent of, i. e. an equally effective substitute for. In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the study of seals is known as sigillography or sphragistics. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of importance in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used and these could be rolled along to create an impression on clay, and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck, many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings, including some with the names of kings, have been found, recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of stone and ivory. By the Middle Minoan age a new set for seal forms, motifs, hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring. These were a luxury art form and became keenly collected. His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great, who deposited it in a temple in Rome, engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century
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Blanche of Artois
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Blanche of Artois was a member of the Capetian House of Artois who, as queen dowager, held regency over the Kingdom of Navarre and the County of Champagne. She was first married to Henry I of Navarre, after death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter. She passed on the regency of Navarre to Philip III of France, her cousin and her daughters prospective father-in-law and she later shared the government of Champagne with her second husband, the English prince Edmund Crouchback, until her daughter reached the age of majority. Blanche was the child and only daughter of Robert I, Count of Artois. A fraternal niece of King Louis IX of France, Blanche was probably born in 1248, by February 1269, having received a papal dispensation, she was married to King Theobald II of Navarres brother Henry. The ceremony took place in Melun near Paris and her brother-in-law, in turn, was married to her cousin, Isabella of France. Henry was governing his brothers realm when King Theobald and Queen Isabella left to join the Seventh Crusade, when the King died in December 1270, followed by his widow within a few months, Blanches husband became King of Navarre and Count of Champagne. King Henry and Queen Blanche were a couple with a son, Theobald. In 1273, however, they lost their son in an accident, a daughter named Joan, born the same year, remained the royal couples only child and was recognized as heir presumptive by the King and the Estates. The following year, on 22 July, King Henry himself died, the death of two kings within five years and accession of an infant queen, the first woman to rule Navarre and Champagne alike, triggered a political crisis. Now queen dowager, Blanche became regent for her daughter and her regency in Champagne was preceded by several long regencies of widowed mothers, but this was the first regency for a female ruler. The neighbouring kingdoms of Castile and Aragon moved to exploit the precarious situation, both Alfonso X of Castile and Peter III of Aragon wanted to secure Navarre for their respective houses either by marriage with Joan or by force. While Peter contemplated a marriage with a cousin of Joan, Alfonso moved his army to Navarre, the citizens loyally defended the city, for which Queen Blanche thanked them by granting special privileges. Blanche remained in Pamplona at least until 14 April, but then fled the kingdom, taking Joan with her, in reality, she sought protection from her cousin, King Philip III of France. In November, she paid homage to him for her daughters French possessions, the almost immediate departure of both the monarch and the regent only complicated the situation in Navarre. In May 1275, Queen Blanche signed the Treaty of Orléans, the elder died within a year, and Philip was left as both heir to the French throne and Joans bridegroom. Blanche administered Joans territories from Paris, appointing governors for Navarre, later this role was taken over by Joans prospective father-in-law, while Blanche retained the administration of Champagne and Brie. Between 28 July and 29 October 1276, in Paris, Blanche became the wife of Edmund Crouchback
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Henry I of Navarre
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Henry the Fat was King of Navarre and Count of Champagne and Brie from 1270 until his death. Henry was the youngest son of Theobald I of Navarre and Margaret of Bourbon, during the reign of his childless older brother Theobald II he held the regency during many of Theobalds numerous absences. In 1269, Henry married Blanche of Artois, daughter of the then-reigning King Louis IX of Frances brother Count Robert I of Artois and he was thus in the Angevin circle in international politics. Recognized as heir presumptive during his brothers reign, Henry succeeded to the thrones of the Kingdom of Navarre, Henry Is proclamation at Pamplona, however, did not take place till the following year,1 March 1271, and his coronation was delayed until May 1273. His first act was the swear to uphold the Fueros of Navarre, Henry came to the throne at the height of an economic boom in Navarre that was not happening elsewhere in Iberia at as great a rate. But by the Treaty of Paris, the English had been ceded rights in Gascony that effectively cut off Navarrese access to the ocean, Henry allowed the Pamplonese burg of Navarrería to disentangle itself from the union of San Cernin and San Nicolás, effected in 1266. He also granted privileges to the towns of Estella, Los Arcos and his relations with the nobility were, on the whole, friendly, though he was prepared to maintain the peace of his realm at nearly any cost. Henry initially sought to recover territory lost to Castile by assisting the revolt of King Alfonso X of Castiles brother Philip in 1270 and he eventually declined, preferring to establish an alliance with Castile through the marriage of his son Theobald to Alfonso Xs daughter Violant in September 1272. This failed with the death of the young Theobald after he fell from a battlement at the castle of Estella in 1273, Henry did not long outlive his son. He was suffocated, according to the generally received accounts, by his own fat and his only legitimate child, a one-year-old daughter named Joan, succeeded him under the regency of her mother Blanche. Joans 1284 marriage to Philip the Fair, the future King of France, in the same year united the crown of Navarre to that of France and saw Champagne devolve to the French royal domain. In the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, a contemporary, sees Henrys spirit outside the gates of Purgatory. Henry is not named directly, but is referred to as the kindly-faced, medieval Lands Project, Henry I, King of Navarre
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Joan I of Navarre
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Joan I, the daughter of King Henry I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois, reigned as queen regnant of Navarre and also served as queen consort to Philip IV of France. Joan was born in Bar-sur-Seine, Champagne on 14 January 1273 as a princess of the House of Blois, the following year, upon the death of her father, she became Countess of Champagne and queen regnant of Navarre. Her mother, Blanche, was her guardian and regent in Navarre and her mother arrived in France in 1274, and by the Treaty of Orléans in 1275, Joan was betrothed to one of Philips sons. Blanche therefore placed her daughter and the government of Navarre under the protection of the King of France, after this, Joan was brought up with Philip. It is, in fact, uncertain whether she ever resided in Navarre during her childhood, at the age of 11, Joan married the future Philip IV of France on 16 August 1284, becoming queen consort of France in 1285 a year later. Their three surviving sons would all rule as kings of France, in turn, and their surviving daughter. Joan was described as having been plump and plain, whereas her beautiful daughter Isabella resembled her father more in physical appearance, as regards her character, Joan was bold, courageous, and enterprising. Having grown up together, the couple was close to each other. His emotional dependence on her is suggested as a reason to why she never visited Navarre, in 1294, Philip appointed her regent of France should his son succeed him being still a minor. However, he is not believed to have entrusted her with influence over the affairs of France, unless they concerned her own domains Navarre, queen Joan founded the famous College of Navarre in Paris in 1305. Queen Joan I of Navarre and countess of Champagne and Brie was declared to be of legal majority upon her marriage in 1284, and did homage for Champagne and Brie to her father-in-law in Paris. Joan never visited the Kingdom of Navarre, which was ruled in her name by French governors appointed first by her father-in-law, from afar, edicts were issued in her name, coins struck in her image, and she gave her protection to chapels and convents. She never came closer to Navarre than to Carcasonne in 1300, Joan was much more directly active as countess of Champagne. While being a county rather than a kingdom, Champagne was much richer, in 1297, she raised and led an army against the Count of Bar when he rebelled against her by invading Champagne. This was explicitly in the absence of her spouse, and she brought the count to prison before she joined her spouse. She also personally acted in her process against Bishop Guichard of Troyes, Joan died in 1305, allegedly in childbirth, though one chronicler accused her husband of having killed her. Her personal physician was the inventor Guido da Vigevano, the Queens Regnant of Navarre, Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512
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Kingdom of England 
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Kingdom of Castille 
Kingdom of Portugal
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