THE RED PRINCE

Who was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster?

The third surviving son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault, John of Gaunt was born in Ghent, Flanders, in 1340. He served as a commander in the Hundred Years War against France and through his marriage to his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, John inherited the dukedom of Lancaster. Together they had three surviving children, Philippa, Elizabeth and Henry of Bolingbroke, before Blanche’s early death in 1368. Three years later, John married Constance of Castile, and through this marriage he attempted to lay claim to the kingship of Castile and Leon.

One of the most powerful and influential men in England, John effectively became regent during the minority of his young nephew, King Richard II, who ascended the throne in 1377. The Peasants Revolt broke out in 1381, triggered by a poll tax implemented by John – who was already unpopular in the capital – to pay for the costly Hundred Years War. During the revolt, the rebels destroyed the Savoy Palace, which was the duke’s London residence.

Two years after Constance’s death in 1394, John married his long-term mistress, Katherine Swynford, with whom he had four children. He was the founder of the House of Lancaster and his son would ultimately depose Richard and becoming King Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. Through his children, John was also the ancestor of the Houses of York and Tudor – the Tudor dynasty, founded by King Henry VII, claimed its legitimacy through Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, who was a great-grandaughter of John and Katherine.