983445 i.
Constance Holland.1966890. John Holland Duke
of Exeter(336)
(179) was born after 1350 in Upholland, Lancastershire. He died on
Jan 9 1400 in Pleshey Castle, Essex. John Holland, Duke of Exeter, owed his
position in life to the fact that subsequent to his father's death, his mother
married Edward, the Black Prince, heir to the throne of England. He was thus
the half brother of King Richard II, with whose fortunes and disasters he was
closely linked.
He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1381 and was that year with the King in
the Tower (then a royal residence) when the Commons rose, as was his brother
Thomas (No. XXX), but neither went out to Mile End with the King. The following
December he was appointed by the King to go to Calais to meet his bride, Anne
of Luxemburg, and to escort her to England.
Holland was capable of great physical violence and in 1384 (according to Walshingham's
Historia Anglicana) he ordered butchered a Carmelite Friar that the King and
the Duke of Lancaster had entrusted to his custody. The following year, on the
way to attack Scotland with King Richard, one of Holland's archers was slain
by Ralph Stafford, son of Hugh, Earl Stafford, after a quarrel. Holland wanted
revenge and the evening after the event rode out to confront Ralph Stafford,
who was coming to see him to make amends. When they crossed on the rode, Holland
murdered him. Earl Stafford, naturally demanded vengeance, and the King ordered
Holland's lands seized. His mother, who was, of course, also the King's mother,
implored his pardon and when the King refused, she is said to have died from
grief. Finally, it was arranged that Holland would fund, in perpetuity, three
chaplains to say mass for the soul of Ralph Stafford.
He soon had restitution of his property and in 1386 married Elizabeth Plantagenet,
daughter of John of Gaunt and sister of the future King Henry IV. At this time
he received a considerable grant of land from the King and was sent to Spain
as constable for his father-in-law, who was pursuing his claims to the throne
of Castile. In Spain Holland's feats of valor on the battlefield and his skill
in jousting was highly praised by the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart.
On his return to England in 1387 he was created Earl of Huntingdon at the request
of the Commons of the "Admirable Parliament" and an "immense"
grant of lands was made to him. In 1389 he was made Constable of England for
life and soon afterwards was made admiral of the fleet in the western seas and
constable of Tintagel castle and of Brest, in Brittany, then in English hands.
In 1394 he was made Constable of Conway Castle and the same year he undertook
a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but was back in England by the following year
and it is unclear that he ever reached the Holy Land.
In 1397 he took an active part in the King's quarrel with the Duke of Gloucester
(No. XXX), the King's uncle, who was murdered at Calais, and Richard Fitzalan,
4th Earl of Arundel (No. XXX) who executed after a sham trial. For his support
he was created Duke of Exeter, granted the furniture out of the forfeited Castle
of Arundel, and his post of Chamberlain of England, which he already held for
life, was made hereditary in his family. At this time his London residence was
Pultney House, where he lived and entertained in great style.
He accompanied the King's disastrous expedition to Ireland in 1399 and on his
return, was sent to negotiate with Henry, Earl of Derby, his brother-in-law,
who was attempting to depose the King. Upon Henry's accession in October 1399,
Holland was called to account before Parliament for his part in the murder of
the Duke of Gloucester. His lands and titles that had been granted after the
Duke's arrest were forfeited. He thus reverted to the title of Earl of Huntingdon.
The following year he entered into a conspiracy to restore Richard II to the
throne, with Thomas Despencer and his nephew Thomas, Earl of Kent. The plot failed
and he fled through Essex but was captured at Pleshey by the Countess of Hereford.
There he was beheaded in the presence of Thoams Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, whose
father had been judicially murdered with Holland's connivance.
His head was exposed at Pleshey until the King, on his sister's (Huntingdon's
widow) appeal, ordered it buried with the rest of his remains. He was married
to Elizabeth Plantagenet on Jun 24 1386 in Plymouth, Devonshire.
1966891. Elizabeth Plantagenet
(336)(179)
was born before Feb 21 1362. She died in 1425. She died on Nov 24 1425.
Children were:
983445 i.
Constance Holland.
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