John OFGaunt

John OF Gaunt, or Ghent, Duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward III. of England, was born in 1340. As Earl of Richmond he married Blanche of Lancaster, and became by her father of Henry IV. On her death he took as his second wife Constance, natural daughter of Pedro the Cruel of Castile and Leon, and claimed that throne in her right, but was defeated by Henry of Trastamare. He served with his brother, the Black Prince, in the French wars, and on the death of the latter appears to have acted virtually as regent. In 1378 he led an expedition into Brittany without much success, and he made a plucky attempt on the death of Henry of Castile to seize the crown, but after much bloodshed accepted a pecuniary compensation, his eldest daughter, Philippa, marrying the King of Portugal, whilst a younger one, Katherine, became the wife of the Prince of the Asturias, ultimately Henry III. of Castile. In 1396 John married Katherine Swynford (sister-in-law, perhaps, of Chaucer), by whom he had already had several illegitimate children, who were ennobled by the king. He died in 1399.