John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter KG (18 March 1395 – 5 August 1447) was an
EnglishEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman and military commander during the
Hundred Years' WarThe Hundred Years' War was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings. The two primary contenders were the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known...
.
He was the second son of
John Holland, 1st Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter , also Earl of Huntingdon, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester and then for conspiring against Henry IV....
and
Elizabeth PlantagenetElizabeth Plantagenet was the third child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. Some sources list her as having been born after 1 January 1363 but prior to 21 February 1363. On 24 June 1380, at Kenilworth Castle, she married John Hastings, 3rd Earl of...
. His maternal grandparents were
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of LancasterJohn of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Aquitaine was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He got his name "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent , then Gaunt in English...
and
Blanche of LancasterBlanche of Lancaster Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and the mother of King Henry IV of England.-Lineage:...
.
He was thus a half-nephew of
Richard II of EnglandRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, a nephew of
Henry IVHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, at that time, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke...
, and a first cousin of
Henry VHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death. From an unassuming start his military successes in the Hundred Years' War, culminating with his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saw him come close to uniting the realms of England and France under his rule.-Early life:Henry was born...
.
Holland was just a boy when his father conspired against Henry IV and was attainted and executed.
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter KG (18 March 1395 – 5 August 1447) was an
EnglishEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman and military commander during the
Hundred Years' WarThe Hundred Years' War was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings. The two primary contenders were the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known...
.
Family
He was the second son of
John Holland, 1st Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter , also Earl of Huntingdon, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester and then for conspiring against Henry IV....
and
Elizabeth PlantagenetElizabeth Plantagenet was the third child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. Some sources list her as having been born after 1 January 1363 but prior to 21 February 1363. On 24 June 1380, at Kenilworth Castle, she married John Hastings, 3rd Earl of...
. His maternal grandparents were
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of LancasterJohn of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Aquitaine was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He got his name "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent , then Gaunt in English...
and
Blanche of LancasterBlanche of Lancaster Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and the mother of King Henry IV of England.-Lineage:...
.
He was thus a half-nephew of
Richard II of EnglandRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, a nephew of
Henry IVHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, at that time, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke...
, and a first cousin of
Henry VHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death. From an unassuming start his military successes in the Hundred Years' War, culminating with his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saw him come close to uniting the realms of England and France under his rule.-Early life:Henry was born...
.
Life account
Holland was just a boy when his father conspired against Henry IV and was attainted and executed. Nevertheless, he was given a chance to serve Henry V in the 1415 campaign in France, where he distinguished himself at
AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a much larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday 25 October 1415 , in northern France...
.
The next year Holland was restored in blood and to his father's earldom of Huntingdon, and was made a Knight of the Garter. (His older brother Richard had died in 1400.)
Over the next five years he held various important commands with the English forces in France, until he was captured by the French in 1421 at the
Battle of BaugéThe Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...
. He spent four years in captivity, not being released until 1425.
On March 6, 1427, he married Lady Anne Stafford (d. September 20, 1432), daughter of
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of StaffordEdmund Stafford was the son of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and Philippa de Beauchamp.He married Anne of Gloucester, widow of his brother Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford...
. By her he had one child:
- Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter was a Lancastrian leader during the English Wars of the Roses. He was the only son of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter and his first wife Lady Anne Stafford. His maternal grandparents were Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and Anne of Gloucester.He inherited...
(1430–1475)
He married secondly
Beatrice of PortugalBeatriz of Portugal , LG was a natural daughter of John I of Portugal and Inês Pires. She was a sister of Afonso, Duke of Braganza and half-sister of Edward of Portugal, Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, Henry the Navigator, Isabella of Portugal, Infante João, Lord of Reguengos and Fernando, the...
on January 20, 1433; then finally, he married Anne Montagu (d. November 28, 1457), daughter of
John Montacute, 3rd Earl of SalisburyJohn Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury was an English nobleman, one of the few who remained loyal to Richard II after Henry IV became king.-Early life:...
.
By his third marriage he also had one child:
- Anne Holland (d. December 26, 1486, married first Sir John Neville (d. 1450), son of Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, the marriage unconsummated; married second John Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby
John Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby , was an English nobleman and soldier.The younger son of Sir John Neville, Lord Neville and Elizabeth Holland....
; married third James Douglas, 9th Earl of DouglasJames Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale , was a Scottish nobleman, last of the 'Black' earls of Douglas. He was a twin, the older by a few minutes, the younger was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray....
In 1435 he was appointed admiral of
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, and
AquitaineAquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 26 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. In the Middle Ages it was a kingdom and later a duchy, with boundaries considerably larger...
, and in 1439 he was made the king's lieutenant in Aquitaine, and later governor of Aquitaine.
Holland recovered his father's dukedom of Exeter in 1439, and was given precedence just below the Duke of York. He was succeeded as duke by his son
HenryHenry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter was a Lancastrian leader during the English Wars of the Roses. He was the only son of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter and his first wife Lady Anne Stafford. His maternal grandparents were Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and Anne of Gloucester.He inherited...
.