Marquess John BEAUFORT, 1st Earl of Somerset

1373 - 1410  (37 years)

• Name	John BEAUFORT  [1]
  Prefix	Marquess
  Suffix	1st Earl of Somerset
  Birth	1373	Chateau de Beaufort, Goudet, Haute-Loire, France   [1]
  Christening	1373	ChÃteau de Beaufort, Maine-et-Loire, France, France   [1]
  Gender	Male
  FamilySearch ID	9HTZ-YQ8
  MilitaryService	[2]
  	Captain of Calais
  MilitaryService	1397  [2]
  	Lord High Admiral of England
  Royal House	[2]
  	Plantagenet
  Occupation	1397	Dover, Kent, England   [2]
  	Constable of Dover Castle
  Title (Nobility)	10 Feb 1397  [2]
  	1st Earl of Somerset
  _UID	B453B522A9694386B78246990561DEC0D51A
  Burial	1410	Canterbury, City of Canterbury, Kent, England,   [1]
  Death	16 Mar 1410	St. Catherine's Hospital by the Tower, London, England   [1]
  Person ID	I2046	Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
  Last Modified	24 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	John "Of Gaunt" OF GAUNT, Prince Of England,   b. 6 Mar 1340, Gent, East Flanders, Belgium d. 3 Feb 1399, Leicester Castle, Leicestershire, England (Age 58 years)
  Mother	Catherine De ROET, Duchess of Lancaster,   b. 1350, Of Picardy, Somme, France d. 10 May 1403, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	13 Jan 1396	Lincolnshire, England
  	NOTE MARRIED
  Family ID	F12007	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret De HOLLAND, Duchess of Clarence,   b. 1385, Upholland, Lancashire, England d. 30 Dec 1439, Bermondsey, Surrey, England (Age 54 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1401	Lanarkshire, Scotland   [2]
  Children	1. Henry BEAUFORT, 2nd Earl of Somerset,   b. 1401, Lancashire, England d. 4 Dec 1418, Westminster, Middlesex, England (Age 17 years)   2. John BEAUFORT,, 1st Duke of Somerset and Earl of Kendal,   b. 25 Mar 1404, Westminster Palace, Westminster, London, England d. 27 May 1444, Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England (Age 40 years)   3. Thomas BEAUFORT, Count of Perche,   b. 1405, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 3 Oct 1431, Louviers, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. (Age 26 years)   4. Duke Edmund De BEAUFORT, 2nd Duke of Somerset,   b. 25 Mar 1406, East Barnet, London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England, d. 22 May 1455, Slain At Battle Of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England (Age 49 years)   5. Joan BEAUFORT, Queen Consort of Scotland,   b. 27 Dec 1407, Palace of Westminster, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 15 Jul 1445, Dunbar Castle, Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, Scotland (Age 37 years)   6. Margaret BEAUFORT, Countess of Devon,   b. 1408, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. Nov 1449, Colcombe Castle, Colyton, , Devonshire, England (Age 41 years)
  Family ID	F1011	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	4 Oct 2024

  
  

• Photos

  John Beaufort Earl of Somerfet

  
  

• Notes

  The Life Summary of John When John Beaufort 1st Earl of Somerset was born on 29 January 1371, in Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, England, his father, John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, was 30 and his mother, Katherine de Roet Duchess of Lancaster, was 20. He had at least 3 sons and 2 daughters with Margaret Holland Duchess of Clarence. He registered for military service in 1397. In 1404, at the age of 33, his occupation is listed as lord high constable of England. He died on 16 March 1410, in London, England, at the age of 39, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England. John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG (c. 1373-16 March 1410) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the first of the four children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he married in 1396. Beaufort's surname probably reflects his father's lordship of Beaufort in Champagne, France. The Beaufort children were declared legitimate twice by parliament during the reign of King Richard II of England, in 1390 and 1397, as well as by Pope Boniface IX in September 1396. Even though they were the grandchildren of Edward III and next in the line of succession after their father's legitimate children by his first two wives, the Beauforts were barred from succession to the throne by their half-brother Henry IV. Early life Between May and September 1390, Beaufort saw military service in North Africa in the Barbary Crusade led by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. In 1394, he was in Lithuania serving with the Teutonic Knights. John was created Earl of Somerset on 10 February 1397, just a few days after the legitimation of the Beaufort children was recognized by Parliament. The same month, he was also appointed Admiral of the Irish fleet, as well as Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. In May, his admiralty was extended to include the northern fleet. That summer, the new earl became one of the noblemen who helped Richard II free himself from the power of the Lords Appellant. As a reward, he was created Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset on 29 September, and sometime later that year he was made a Knight of the Garter and appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine. In addition, two days before his elevation as a Marquess he married the king's niece, Margaret Holland, sister of Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, another of the counter-appellants. John remained in the king's favour even after his older half-brother Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) was banished from England in 1398. Later career After Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, the new king rescinded the titles that had been given to the counter-appellants, and thus John Beaufort became merely Earl of Somerset again. Nevertheless, he proved loyal to his half-brother's reign, serving in various military commands and on some important diplomatic missions. It was Beaufort who was given the confiscated estates of the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr in 1400, although he would not have been able to take possession of these estates unless he had lived until after 1415. In 1404, he was named Constable of England. Family John Beaufort and his wife Margaret Holland, the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan, had six children. His granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort married Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, the son of Dowager Queen Catherine of Valois by Owen Tudor. Somerset died in the Hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower. He was buried in St Michael's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral. His children included the following: 1.) Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (1401-25 November 1418) 2.) John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (baptized 25 March 1404-27 May 1444), father of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, grandfather of King Henry VII of England 2.) Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (1404-15 July 1445) married James I, King of Scots. 5.) Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche (1405-3 October 1431) 6) Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1406-22 May 1455) 7.) Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon (1409-1449) married Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon. Titles, styles, honours and arms Arms As a legitimated grandson of the sovereign, Beaufort bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a bordure gobony argent and azure. The family emblem featuring the portcullis was shown on the reverse of British pennies minted between 1971 and 2008. According to genealogists, a few of Beaufort's notable descendants include British actor Benedict Cumberbatch and codebreaker Alan Turing. Coincidentally, Cumberbatch portrayed Turing in the film The Imitation Game.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 2 Jan 2023), entry for Joan Beaufort, person ID M72D-PDF. (Reliability: 3). [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 2 Jan 2023), entry for John de Beaufort, person ID 9HTZ-YQ8. (Reliability: 3).