Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent, KB (26 October 141622 May 1490), English administrator, nobleman and magnate, was the son of Sir John Grey, KG and Constance Holland. His main residence was at

Wrest Wrest are a Scottish folk rock band, formed in 2017. Singer and guitarist Stewart Douglas hails from Falkirk, whilst the remaining members are from Dumfries; the band is now based in Edinburgh. The band is unsigned and release their own music ...

near Silsoe,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

Lineage

Through Constance Holland, he was great-grandson 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 surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

, the third son of

King Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, and thus grand-nephew of

King Henry IV of England Henry IV ( – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the 1388 ...

. Grey succeeded his grandfather

Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn Reynold Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Ruthyn (c. 1362 – 30 September 1440), a powerful Welsh marcher lord, succeeded to the title on his father's death in July 1388. Lineage Reginald Grey was the eldest son of Reynold Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Rut ...

in 1440. He married Lady Katherine Percy, who was also a great-granddaughter of

John of Gaunt 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 surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

by his third wife,

Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403) was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter of a knight from County of Hainaut, Ha ...

, and also a descendant of

through his second son,

Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368), was an English prince, Earl of Ulster ''jure uxoris'' from 1347, Duke of Clarence from 1362, Guardian of England in 1345–46, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1361–66, Kni ...

Knighthood

Edmund Grey was knighted following service in

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

in October 1440. He attended the royal council between 1456 and 1458. Active militarily in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, he especially played a decisive role in the Battle of Northampton by switching his allegiance from the Lancastrian to the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, th ...

cause. For this action he was rewarded by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

with a grant of the manor of

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825. Histor ...

, ownership of which had come into dispute between Grey, Ralph Lord Cromwell and Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter.

Treasurer of England

Edmund Grey's appointment as

treasurer of England The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord Hig ...

was enacted at Westminster on 24 June 1463 but Walter Blount succeeded him in November 1464. Edmund also held other high offices under Edward IV and

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

. On 5 July 1483, he was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

. In 1485, he was constable of Northampton Castle.

Earldom

He was created

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...

on 30 May 1465, shortly after the marriage of his eldest son, Anthony, to the king's sister-in-law, Joan Woodville (she is sometimes known as Eleanor Woodville) He was then appointed chief justice of the county of Meryonnyth, North WalesCalendar of the

Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a regis ...

: Edward IV 1461-1467; p. 286, 467, (London, 1897). and constable of Harlech. After the death of their first son, the second, George, became his heir and eventually George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent.

Posterity

His children by Katherine Percy included: * Anthony Grey (died in his father's lifetime), married Eleanor Woodville sister of

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile; c. 1437Karen Lindsey, ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived'', p. xviii, Perseus Books, 1995. – 8 June 1492), known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of Engla ...

. There were no children * George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, married

Anne Woodville Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier (c. 1438 – 30 July 1489) was an English noblewoman. She was a younger sister of Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville to whom she served as a lady-in-waiting. Anne was married twice; first to William Bour ...

then Katherine Herbert, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke * Elizabeth Grey, married Sir Robert Greystoke * Anne Grey, married John Grey, 8th Baron Grey of Wilton

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of 1416 births 1490 deaths Lord high treasurers of England Earls of Kent (1465 creation) People of the Tudor period

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

Barons Grey of Ruthin Medieval English knights Knights Bachelor Knights of the Bath