Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (''probably'' 26 November 1401 – 25 November 1418) was an English nobleman who died aged 17 at the Siege of Rouen in France during the Hundred Years' War, fighting for the Lancastrian cause. As he died unmarried without issue his heir became his younger brother John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, 3rd Earl of Somerset.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, (c. 1373 – 16 March 1410) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt ( ...

(1371-1410), the eldest of the four legitimised sons of

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

(a younger son of King Edward III) by his mistress Katherine Swynford. His mother was Margaret Holland (1385-1439), a daughter of

Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (135025 April 1397) was an English nobleman and a councillor of his half-brother, King Richard II of England. Family and early life Thomas Holland was born in Upholland, Lancashire, in 1350. He was the eldest s ...

, the son of Joan "the Fair Maid of Kent", a grand-daughter of King Edward I and wife of

Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

(eldest brother of John of Gaunt) and mother of King Richard II

Career

Henry succeeded his father as

Earl of Somerset Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

on 16 March 1410. During his minority his mother held his lands for him until he reached the age of 15.

Death and succession

He died aged sixteen at the Siege of Rouen during the Hundred Years' War, where he fought under the command of his uncle

Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (c. January 137731 December 1426) was an English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, and briefly Chancellor of England. He was the third of the four children born to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, ...

.Harriss, G.L, ''Cardinal Beaufort: A Study of Lancastrian Ascendancy and Decline'' (Oxford: Clarendon, 1988), 102. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, 3rd Earl of Somerset (1404-1444).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl Of 1401 births 1418 deaths Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset Earls of Somerset