English Royal Acestry through Joan Beaufort

Those of you who are scholars of the Wars of the Roses will recognize the family name - Beaufort, as Margaret Beaufort¹, was a pivotal player on the Lancastrian side and the mother of the first Tudor King, Henry VII.

Joan Beaufort², Queen of Scotland, was Margaret’s aunt, the daughter of John Beaufort, 1^st Earl of Somerset³. Margaret was the only daughter of John’s second son, John, the 3^rd Earl of Somerset⁴. The Beaufort’s were descended from John of Gaunt, King Edward III’s 3^rd son, and thus Joan is a direct descendant of Edward III.

In a previous article, I showed how I am descended from Scottish Royalty through Alexander Gordon of Strathaven. In that article, I reviewed the evidence that George Gordon the 2^nd Earl of Huntly and the Princess Annabella Stewart, were the parents of Alexander Gordon, the 3^rd Earl of Huntly and hence grandfather of Alexander Gordon of Strathaven, my 12^th great grandfather.

If my interpretation of the evidence is correct, and the Princess Annabella is my 14^th great grandmother, then Joan Beaufort who was the Princess’ mother is my 15^th great grandmother, and through her I am a direct descendant of Edward III.

While the evidence of the 3^rd Earl’s parentage is strong, it is not 100% conclusive. However, there is more conclusive evidence that Joan Beaufort is my direct ancestor.

Alexander Gordon, the 3^rd Earl, married Lady Jean Stewart, and she was the mother of Alexander Gordon of Strathaven^5,6. Lady Jean’s parents were John Stewart, 1^st Earl of Atholl and his wife Margaret Douglas⁷.

John Stewart, 1^st Earl of Athol

14th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFFMFFFFFFMF

John Stewart, Earl of Athol, was born about 1440, the eldest child of Sir James Stewart⁸, the Black Knight of Lorn and Joan Beaufort. Sir James had married Joan after the assassination of James I. So technically, if the Princess Annabella, was his mother, Alexander Gordon, the 3^rd Earl had married his first cousin, when he married Jean Stewart. This was not uncommon, but would have required a papal dispensation.

John was created Earl of Atholl about 1457, the first earl of the eighth creation of the title.

He was killed at the Battle of Flodden⁹, in 1513 and was buried in Dunkeld Cathedral.

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots

15th Great Grandmother – FFFMFFFMFFFFFFFMM

So, in conclusion, Joan Beaufort was the grandmother of both Alexander Gordon (probably), 3^rd Earl of Huntly and his wife the Lady Jean Stewart, and therefore my 15^th great grandmother, through both her daughter Princess Annabella (probably) and her son John Stewart.

As mentioned earlier, the Beaufort’s were descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the 3^rd son of Edward III.

Joan was a daughter of John Beaufort, 1^st Earl of Somerset, and Margaret Holland. She was born about 1404. Her mother Margaret Holland was the daughter of Sir Thomas Holland, the 2nd Earl of Kent and his wife Alice FitzAlan. Both of her parents were descended from Plantagenet royalty in their own right¹⁰.

Joan probably met her future husband James I of Scotland while he was a prisoner in England. Their marriage in 1424 was part of the political settlement around the release of James I under the Treaty of London, dated 4^th December 1423.

Joan married James I on 12^th February 1424 at St. Mary Overie Church in Southwark¹¹ (now Southwark Cathedral), and James and Joan were crowned at Scone Abbey¹² on 21^st May 1424.

James and Joan had 8 children including the future James II and Annabella, who married George Gordon, 2^nd Earl of Huntly and was my14^th great grandmother. When her husband was assassinated in 1437, although wounded, Joan managed to escape the assassins.

In July 1439, Joan married James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne, after obtaining a papal dispensation for consanguinity¹³ and affinity¹⁴. After the marriage she was styled Queen Dowager Joan of Scotland.

James and Joan had 3 sons including John Stewart, the 1^st Earl of Atholl, who was my 14^th great grandfather.

Joan died in 1445 at Dunbar Castle and was buried beside her first husband, James I.

John Beaufort, 1^st Earl of Somerset

16th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFFMFFFFFFFMMF

Joan’s father John Beaufort, was the 1^st Earl of Somerset¹⁵. He was born about 1373, the second son of John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford, who he later married in 1396.

As an illegitimate son John was not eligible to inherit from his father, and even when the Beaufort children were declared legitimate by Parliament, shortly after their parent’s marriage, they were explicitly excluded from the royal succession. John and his siblings took the name Beaufort (more strictly de Beaufort) as this was John’s birthplace.

John was created Earl of Somerset soon after being legitimised, and sometime later in the year he was created a Knight of the Garter^16,17, the order of Knights founded by his grandfather, Edward III.

John married Margaret Holland the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2^nd Earl of Kent. They had 6 children, including Joan, who married King James I.

In 1399, John’s half-brother, Henry Bolingbroke¹⁸, deposed their cousin Richard II and became Henry IV of England. John prospered under Henry and was appointed Constable of England in 1404. He died in 1410 and is buried in St. Michael’s Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster

17th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFFMFFFFFFFMMFF

John of Gaunt¹⁹ was the fourth son of King Edward III of England by his wife Philippa of Hainaut, and he was born on 6^th March 1440 in Ghent in Flanders, modern day Belgium. The name by which he is known, of Gaunt, is an anglicised version of his birthplace, Ghent. While he never became King himself, his son Henry Bolingbroke became Henry IV, when he usurped his cousin Richard II, the son of Edward, The Black Prince.

John’s first wife, Blanche of Lancaster was also his 3^rd cousin, both were great-great grandchildren of King Henry III. They were married in 1359 at Reading Abbey. On the death of his father-in-law, in 1361, John received half of his lands and the title of Earl of Lancaster. A year later John received the title, Duke of Lancaster, from his father.

John and Blanche had seven children, only 3 surviving to adulthood, although his eldest son Henry became king, as King Henry IV on the usurpation of his cousin Richard II.

Blanche died in 1368, and in 1371 John remarried to Infanta Constance of Castille, daughter of King Peter of castille, giving John a claim to the throne of Castille on the death of his father-in-law, which he pursued militarily in 1386. The campaign was an ignominious failure and in 1387 he renounced his claim.

During his second marriage, John entered into an extra-marital relationship with Katherine Swynford, the daughter of an ordinary knight, Sir Paon de Roet²⁰, who had come to England from Hainault as part of John’s mother’s retinue.

John and Katherine had four sons, who while born illegitimate were later legitimised when Katherine became John’s third wife. Their children took the name of Beaufort.

John was a patron of Geoffrey Chaucer, who had married Katherine’s sister Philippa in 1366, so when John and Katherine were married in 1396, they became brothers-in-law.

During Richard II’s minority, John was the senior member of the Regency Council, and in March 1390 Richard formally invested him with the Duchy of Aquitaine, thus providing him with the overseas territory he had long desired.

John died of natural causes on 3^rd February 1399 at Leicester Castle. He was buried beside his 1^st wife Blanche in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral, adjacent to the high altar.

John and Katherine were my 17^th great grandparents, which means that King Edward III (and his wife Philippa of Hainaut) were my 18^th great grandparents.

References

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