Beaufort family
Encyclopedia
The House of Beaufort is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 noble family, which originated in the fourteenth century and played an important role in the political struggles of the fifteenth century.
The name Beaufort refers to a castle in Champagne
Champagne, France
Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (now Montmorency-Beaufort), once the possession of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

, third son of King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

.

The family is descended from John Beaufort (1371-1410), John of Gaunt's son by his then-mistress Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster , née Roet , was the daughter of Sir Payne Roet , originally a Flemish herald from County of Hainaut, later...

. Gaunt later married Swynford, and their children were legitimized, but were
officially barred from succeeding to the throne ('excepta regali dignitate').

The Beauforts were a powerful and wealthy family from the start, and rose to greater power when their brother became King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

.

When the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...

 broke out in the later fifteenth century, the Beauforts were the chief supporters of Henry VI
Henry VI of England
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. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...

 and the House of Lancaster
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...

.

Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

 traced his claim to the English crown through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, granddaughter of John Beaufort, and great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. (Since all legitimate descendants of John of Gaunt were dead, the original exclusion of the Beaufort line was set aside.)

The Beauforts suffered heavily in the Wars of the Roses. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...

 and all four of his sons were killed in the war, leaving no legitimate male heir. The male line was continued through Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester was the legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset and Joan Hill.-Biography:He was born around 1460 to Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset and Joan Hill...

, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, since the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died...

.

In 1682, Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 created Henry Somerset
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC was an English peer. He was styled Lord Herbert from 1646 until 3 April 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester....

 the first Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the...

; he was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Charles Somerset.

In America, the prominent Quincy family of Massachusetts was descended from the House of Beaufort. Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...

, wife of U.S. President and Founding Father John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

, was a member of this family through her mother, Elizabeth Quincy Smith. Through her, the House of Beaufort is related to the Adams family in the United States.

The Beaufort family in the male line is today represented by David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort
David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort is a British peer. He was nominated to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1988.-Early life:...

.

Notable Beauforts included:
  • John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
    John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
    John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, later his wife...

     (c. 1371–1410).
    • Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset
      Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset
      Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset was the eldest son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and the grandson of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford....

       (c. 1401–1418).
    • John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset
      John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset
      John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, KG was an English noble and military commander.-Family:Baptised on 25 March 1404, he was the second son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland, and succeeded his elder brother Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset to become the 3rd Earl of...

       (c. 1404–1444).
      • Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), mother of King Henry VII of England
        Henry VII of England
        Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

    • Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
      Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
      Joan Beaufort was the Queen Consort of Scotland from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I of Scotland. During part of the minority of her son James II , she served as the Regent of Scotland....

       (c. 1404–1445)
    • Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche
      Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche
      Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche was a member of the Beaufort family and an English commander during the Hundred Years' War.He was the third son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and his wife, Margaret Holland....

       (c. 1405–1431)
    • Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
      Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
      Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...

       (c. 1406–1455).
      • Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
        Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
        Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, since the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died...

         (1436–1464).
      • Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford
        Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford
        Margaret Beaufort was a daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp.Her maternal grandparents were Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and his first wife Elizabeth Beauchamp, 4th Baroness Lisle...

         (c. 1427–1474)
      • Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset
        Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset
        Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, 6th Earl of Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, 3rd Earl of Dorset was an English nobleman and military commander during the Wars of the Roses....

         (c. 1438–1471).
      • John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset
        John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset
        John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset, Earl of Dorset was a member of the Beaufort family during the Wars of the Roses.He was the third son of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and his wife, Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick...

         (c. 1455–1471)
    • Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon
      Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon
      Margaret Beaufort was a daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland.She was a younger sister of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset, John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche, Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland and Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of...

       (1409–1449)
  • Henry Beaufort (c. 1375-1447), Cardinal Bishop of Winchester
  • Thomas Beaufort  (c. 1377–1426), Duke of Exeter
  • Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
    Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
    Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland was the third or fourth child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his mistress, later wife, Katherine Swynford; and, in her widowhood, a powerful landowner in the North of England.-Early life and marriages:She was likely born at the Swynford manor of...

    (c. 1379–1440)
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