Baronial conflict and the establishment of Parliament All subsequent English monarchs were descendants of the Angevin line via John, who had five legitimate children with
Isabella: •
Henry III – King of England for most of the 13th-century •
Richard –
King of the Romans in the
Holy Roman Empire •
Joan – queen consort of
Alexander II of Scotland •
Isabella – wife of the Holy Roman Emperor,
Frederick II •
Eleanor – wife of
William Marshal's son (also named
William), and later the English rebel
Simon de Montfort. John also had illegitimate children with several mistresses. These children probably included nine sons called
Richard, Oliver, Henry, Osbert Gifford, Geoffrey, John FitzJohn or Courcy, Odo or Eudes FitzRoy, Ivo, Henry, Richard the constable of
Wallingford Castle and three daughters called
Joan, Matilda the abbess of Barking and Isabella la Blanche. Joan was the best known of these, since she married Prince
Llewelyn the Great of Wales. of
Henry III in
Westminster Abbey,
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, was appointed regent for the nine-year-old King Henry on King John's death. Thereafter, support for Louis declined, and he renounced his claims in the
Treaty of Lambeth after Marshal's victories at the battles of
Lincoln and
Sandwich in 1217. Consequently, he named his first son Edward and built the existing magnificent shrine for the Confessor. In early 1225, a great council approved a tax of £40,000 to dispatch an army, which quickly retook Gascony. During an assembly feudal prerogatives of the king were challenged by the barons, bishops and magnates who demanded that the king reissue Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest in exchange for support. Henry declared that the charters were issued of his own "spontaneous and free will" and confirmed them with the royal seal, giving the new
Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest of 1225 much more authority than any previous versions. •
Edward I (1239–1307) •
Margaret of England (1240–1275). Her three children predeceased her husband,
Alexander III of Scotland; consequently, the crown of Scotland became vacant on the death of their only grandchild,
Margaret, Maid of Norway in 1290. •
Beatrice, Countess of Richmond (1242–1275). She initially married John de Montfort of Dreux, and later married
John II, Duke of Brittany. •
Edmund Crouchback (1245–1296), who was granted the titles and estates of
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and the
earldom of Leicester after Henry defeated Montfort in the
Second Barons' War. Henry later granted Edmund the earldoms of
Lancaster and
Ferrers. From 1276, through his second wife Edmund was
Count of Champagne and Brie. Later Lancastrians would attempt to use Henry IV's maternal descent from Edmund to legitimise his claim to the throne, spuriously claiming that Edmund was the eldest son of Henry III but had not become king due to deformity. Through his second marriage to
Blanche, the widow of
Henry I of Navarre, Edmund was at the centre of European aristocracy. Blanche's daughter,
Joan, was
queen regnant of Navarre and queen consort of France through her marriage to
Philip IV. Edmund's son
Thomas became the most powerful nobleman in England, adding to his inheritance the earldoms of
Lincoln and
Salisbury through his marriage to the heiress of
Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. • Four others who died as children: Richard (1247–1256), John (1250–1256), William (c. 1251/1252–1256),
Katherine (c. 1252/3–1257) and Henry (no recorded dates). Henry was bankrupted by his military expenditure and general extravagance. The pope offered Henry's brother
Richard the
Kingdom of Sicily, but the military cost of displacing the incumbent
Emperor Frederick was prohibitive.
Matthew Paris wrote that Richard stated: "You might as well say, 'I make you a present of the moon – step up to the sky and take it down'." Instead, Henry purchased the kingdom for his son Edmund, which angered many powerful barons. The barons led by Henry's brother-in-law Simon de Montfort forced him to agree to the
Provisions of Oxford, under which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms. In France, with the
Treaty of Paris, Henry formally surrendered the territory of his Angevin ancestors to
Louis IX of France, receiving in return the title duke of Aquitaine and the territory of Gascony as a vassal of the French king. Edward escaped, raised an army and defeated and killed de Montfort at the
Battle of Evesham in 1265. Savage retribution was inflicted upon the rebels, and authority restored to Henry. With the realm now peaceful, Edward left England to join Louis IX on the
Ninth Crusade; he was one of the last crusaders. Louis died before Edward's arrival, but Edward decided to continue. The result was disappointing; Edward's small force only enabled him to capture
Acre and launch a handful of raids. After surviving an assassination attempt, Edward left for Sicily later in the year, never to participate in a crusade again. When Henry III died, Edward acceded to the throne; the barons swore allegiance to him even though he did not return for two years. •
Eleanor, Countess of Bar (1264/69−1298) • Three daughters (Joan, Alice, and Juliana/Katherine) and two sons (John and Henry) born between 1265 and 1271. They died between 1265 and 1274 with little historical trace. •
Joan, Countess of Gloucester (1272–1307) •
Alphonso, Earl of Chester (1273–1284) •
Margaret, Duchess of Brabant (1275–1333) •
Mary of Woodstock (1278–1332), who became a
nun • Isabella (1279–1279) •
Elizabeth, firstly Countess of Holland and on widowhood, secondly Countess of Hereford (1282–1316). Among her eleven children were the earls of
Hereford,
Essex, and
Northampton, and the countesses of
Ormond and
Devon. •
Edward II • Two other daughters (Beatrice and Blanche), who died as children. Following Eleanor's death in 1290, Edward married
Margaret of France, daughter of
Philip III of France, in 1299. Edward and Margaret had two sons, who both lived to adulthood, and a daughter who died as a child: •
Thomas (1300–1338), whose daughter
Margaret inherited his estates. Margaret's grandson,
Thomas Mowbray, was the first
duke of Norfolk, but Richard II exiled him and stripped him of his titles. •
Edmund, Earl of Kent (1301 to 1330). Edmund's loyalty to his half-brother, Edward II, resulted in his execution by order of the rebel Mortimer and his lover, Edward's queen, Isabella. His daughter, Joan, inherited his estates and married her own cousin,
Edward the Black Prince; together, they had
Richard, who later became the English king. • Eleanor (1306–1311). Evidence for Edward's involvement in legal reform is hard to find but his reign saw a major programme of legal change. Much of the drive and determination is likely to have come from the king and his experience of the baronial reform movement of the late 1250s and early 1260s. With the
Statutes of Mortmain, Edward imposed his authority over the Church; the statutes prohibited land donation to the Church, asserted the rights of the Crown at the expense of traditional feudal privileges, promoted the uniform administration of justice, raised income and codified the legal system. His military campaigns left him in heavy debt and when
Philip IV of France confiscated the Duchy of
Gascony in 1294, Edward needed funds to wage war in France. When Edward summoned a precedent-setting
assembly in order to raise more taxes for military finance, he included lesser landowners and merchants. The resulting parliament included barons, clergy, knights, and burgesses for the first time. He was not unpopular initially but faced three challenges: discontent over the financing of wars; his household spending; and the role of his
favourite Piers Gaveston. When Parliament decided that Gaveston should be exiled the king was left with no choice but to comply. Edward engineered Gaveston's return, but was forced to agree to the appointment of
Ordainers, led by his cousin
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, to reform the royal household with Piers Gaveston exiled again. Edward II abdicated on condition that his son would inherit the throne rather than Mortimer. Although there is no historical record of the cause of death, he is popularly believed to have been murdered at Berkeley Castle by having a red-hot poker thrust into his bowels. A coup by Edward III ended four years of control by Isabella and Mortimer. Mortimer was executed. Though removed from power, Isabella was treated well, and lived in luxury for the next 27 years. In response, Edward proclaimed himself king of France to encourage the Flemish to rise in open rebellion against the French king. The conflict, later known as the Hundred Years' War, included a significant English naval victory at the
Battle of Sluys, The Plantagenets continued to interfere, and
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Black Prince's brother, married Peter's daughter
Constance, claiming the Crown of Castile in her name. He invaded with an army of 5,000 men; however, fighting was inconclusive, before Gaunt agreed to a treaty with
King Juan of Castile. Terms of the treaty included the marriage of John of Gaunt's daughter
Katherine to Juan's son,
Enrique.
Charles V of France maintained the terms of the treaty of Brétigny but encouraged others in Aquitaine to challenge the authority of the Plantagenets in Aquitaine. John of Gaunt assumed leadership in France with limited success, and peace negotiations over several years were inconclusive. •
Edward (1330–1376)married his cousin
Joan of Kent, a granddaughter of Edward I, with whom he had two sons: :* Edward (1365–1371/2) :*
Richard (1367–1400) •
Isabella (1332–1382)married
Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, and had two daughters: :*
Marie :*
Philippa •
Joan (1335–1348), an early victim of the
Black Death. • William (1334/6–1337) •
Lionel (1338–1368)had one daughter with
Elizabeth de Burgh: :*
Philippa (1355–1378/81)through Philippa, the House of York, by
cognatic kinship, asserted that its claim to the throne was superior to the House of Lancaster's. Philippa's granddaughter and heir,
Anne Mortimer, married
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, the Duke of York's heir. The
earls of Northumberland and Clifford, significant supporters of the Lancasters during the Wars of the Roses, were descendants of Philippa through her other daughter,
Elizabeth Mortimer. •
John of Gaunt (1340–1399)married
Blanche of Lancaster, the heiress to the duchy of Lancaster and a direct descendant of Henry III, and had seven children with her: :*
Philippa (1360–1415)married
John I of Portugal. :* John (c. 1362/1364)died as an infant. :*
Elizabeth (1364–1426)married
John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke;
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter; and
John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope; respectively. :* Edward of Lancaster (1365–1365) :* John of Lancaster (1366)died as an infant. :*
Henry (1367–1413) :* Isabella of Lancaster (b. 1368)died as a child. :After Blanche's death in 1369, John married
Constance of Castile, trying unsuccessfully to obtain the throne of Castile. The marriage produced two children: :*
Catherine of Lancaster (1372–1418)married
Henry III of Castile, with whom she was a great-grandmother of
Catherine of Aragon, first wife of
Henry VIII of England. :* John (1374–1375) :Constance died in 1394, after which John married
Katherine Swynford on 13 January 1396. Their four children were born before they married. The pope legitimised them in 1396, as did Richard II by charter, on the condition that their children could not ascend the throne: :*
John (c. 1371/1372–1410)grandfather of
Margaret Beaufort,
Henry VII's mother. :*
Henry (1375–1447) :*
Thomas (1377–1427) :*
Joan (1379–1440)Joan's son,
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and her grandson,
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, were leading supporters of the House of York. •
Edmund (1341–1402)founder of the House of York. He had three children with
Isabella of Castile: :*
Edward (1373–1415)killed at the
Battle of Agincourt. :*
Constance (1374–1416) :*
Richard(1375–1415) • Blanche (1342)died as a child. •
Mary of Waltham (1344–1362)married
John V, Duke of Brittany. No issue. •
Margaret (1346–1361)married
John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. No issue. • Joan (b. 1351) •
Thomas (1355–1397)murdered or executed for treason by order of Richard II; his daughter,
Anne, married
Edmund Stafford. Edward's long reign had forged a new identity, reinforced by
Middle English beginning to establish itself as the spoken and written language of government. As a result, he is considered by the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to be culturally the first
English Plantagenet king. The king's uncle
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester;
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel; and
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick; became known as the
Lords Appellant when they sought to impeach five of the king's favourites and restrain what was increasingly seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. Later they were joined by
Henry Bolingbroke, the son and heir of John of Gaunt, and
Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. Initially, they were successful in establishing a commission to govern England for one year, but they were forced to rebel against Richard, defeating an army under
Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, at the skirmish of
Radcot Bridge. Richard was reduced to a figurehead with little power. As a result of the
Merciless Parliament, de Vere and
Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk, who had fled abroad, were sentenced to death in their absence.
Alexander Neville, Archbishop of York, had all his possessions confiscated. Several of Richard's council were executed. On John of Gaunt's return from Spain, Richard was able to re-establish his power, having Gloucester murdered in captivity in Calais. Warwick was stripped of his title. Bolingbroke and Mowbray were exiled. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard disinherited John's son, Henry, who invaded England in response with a small force that quickly grew in numbers. Meeting little resistance, Henry deposed Richard to have himself crowned Henry IV of England. Richard died in captivity early the next year, probably murdered, bringing an end to the main Plantagenet line. None of Henry's heirs were free from challenge on the grounds of not being the true heir of Richard II and that the Lancastrian dynasty had gained the throne by an act of
usurpation. ==House of Lancaster==