John Plantagent, King of Navarre and Duke of Clarence (b.1421: d.1484)

Based off what was discussed here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=374024

John Plantagenet, King of Navarre and Duke of Clarence (b.1421: d.1484)

John Plantagenet is ultimately the more successful of the royal twins. This would seem somewhat surprising, as he was the younger twin, and the weaker one. Born with a noticeably smaller physique, he would only grow to 5 ft. 1.5 inches, though he would also be recorded as a good soldier and an excellent fighter.

In the last days of 1421, on the 12th of December, Catherine de Valois gave birth to the royal twins Henry and John Plantagenet. As the elder, the infant Henry was created the Duke of Clarence, a title only barely unused after the death of his uncle Thomas of Lancaster in March of that year. The children seemed to be in good health and thus Henry V felt safe to continue to his conquest of France. He had to retrieve the French situation after the disastrous defeat to the Scottish allies to the Dauphin that had killed Thomas of Lancaster.

In this time, his children were raised separately from each other. Henry was sent firstly to the estates of his uncle, the Duke of Bedford. The reasoning was to keep him in a relatively safety while his father finalised his conquest in France. However, he soon was moved to London, where he was feted as the future King of England. He eventually found his court mostly at Windsor Castle, where he was allowed to live with his mother until her sudden departure in 1424.

John, meanwhile, was moved to the estates of Clarence, where he would live in the family of Margaret Holland and her Beaufort children. He would remain in their care for the next few months, where his former aunt (by marriage) treated the child like another of her own. But the little Duke would be removed from this family environment in August of 1422, when his father died. The infant was returned to court, where he could be part of the coronation of his brother.

After their father’s death, there was much debate as to the caretakers of the two royal children. Margaret Holland sent word that she would be glad to care for the Prince John again, even at her own expense (and obviously his own) if it would please the regency. But eventually, the two were sent to new homes. The Prince John, Duke of Clarence moved first to Nottingham Castle, where he stayed with his grandmother (by marriage), the Queen Dowager Joan of Navarre. He stayed in her care for 2 years. After this time, he was returned to the English court, where he lived with his brother for three years. However, after some discussion he was moved into the household of John Holland, an associate of his father and a newly married man. The cousin of his first caretaker, John Holland would treat the young boy as a son and the Duke of Clarence would be forever remember the Holland family as a kind and supportive environment.

During this period, Henry VI would move on a constant progress to ensure the country knew their king. During the period between 1424 and 1427, his time was more regimented and he would tell his brother later in his life that he was never as happy as when they were boys. But this stability was never meant to be and in 1427 he began another period of movement and disruption. In 1429 he underwent a formal second coronation, where he was presented his cousin the Duke of York, who would become a supporter of the crown in later years.

In 1432 the two boys spent a period of three months with their mother. She had first attempted to marry Edmund Beaufort, then Owen Tudor, both of whom had eventually found lovers elsewhere. She now spent her days in isolation a small Welsh Castle, where she lived with her lover, Henry Neville. An undistinguished man, they two would have three children between 1424 and 1434: Thomas Neville, Anne Neville and Charles Neville. However, their sons would find themselves early to the grave and Anne would become a nun. Her royal children, however, would enjoy meeting with their two (as of that point) brothers and Catherine found that finally being in the presence of her second son (John) was an emotional experience. She would later die in 1439 in childbirth with their fourth child, the short-lived Richard Neville.

In temperament, the boys were quite different. Henry VI of England would become known for his quiet, submissive personality and some would call him the ‘Monk King’, saying that he was more suited for a life of chastity and prayer than rule. However, he would prove a peacemaker and successfully avoided any major fights throughout his reign. The Duke of Clarence, however, was a man of slightly more rash a disposition. He had a temper and a very choice use of language, causing the only expulsion from court in Henry VI’s reign when he referred to a Lady of the Court in such a way that left all but the hardiest of people blushing.

John would finally be moved into his Clarence estates in 1434, at the age of 13. He would find a companion in his old caretakers John Holland (then the Earl of Huntingdon and the future Duke of Exeter) and Margaret Holland. John Holland would leave soon however, due to rumours his bride Beatrice of Portugal was attempting to begin an affair with the Duke of Clarence. However, Margaret Holland would spend the last 5 years in the household of the Duke of Clarence, acting as his advisor until her death in 1439. In this time, he and his brother came into their majorities in 1437.

In 1442 he contracted a marriage with Eleanor of Navarre, the second daughter of Blanche I of Navarre and the future John II of Aragon. A beautiful and refined young woman, the two would take to each other very well and the couple would have 5 children: Henry Plantagenet (b.1444), Edward Plantagenet (b.1445), Humphrey Plantagenet (b.1446), Michelle Plantagenet (b.1455) and Mary Plantagenet (b.1456), along with a stillborn daughter in 1448.

The two would fight for Eleanor’s rights to the kingdom of Navarre, particularly between 1448 and 1454, where they spent their time fighting against John of Aragon, who attempted to rule in spite of his children’s rights to the throne. In 1554, in a coup, John was ousted from Navarre and Eleanor became Eleanor I of Navarre.

John would send troops to fight for England throughout the French/English war and he was instrumental in the peace talks of 1451, in which England ended up with Calais and Gascony. He was revered as a hero for this and compared regularly to his brother, who was seen as weak and badly advised. John would later compare his brother to a feather, drifting through the winds of words.

In 1459 John, Duke of Clarence and King of Navarre, successfully brought the marriage of his eldest son to Magdalena of Valois, the youngest daughter of Charles VII of France. A known beauty, her marriage further shamed the match of Henry VI of England to Margaret of Anjou. If the younger son could marry a Queen and get an actual princess for his son, then why could the King of England himself not marry any higher than the daughter of a penniless French vassal?

Prince Henry and Magdalena would be married in 1461and would have three children: Henry II of Navarre (b.1466), Catherine Plantagenet (b.1470) and Marie Plantagenet (b.1472). Unfortunately, the young Prince Henry would die at the age of 28 (two months away from 29) in 1473 and his bride would go on to never remarry. As a result of this, she would spend the rest of her life in the Navarre court, periodically visiting her brother Louis XI of France.

As for the John Plantagenet’s other children, his second son would go onto marry Isabel Neville in 1467 and the two would have four children before her untimely death in 1476: Mary Plantagenet (b.1470: d.1471), Margaret Plantagenet (b.1473), Henry Plantagenet, future Earl of Warwick and Duke of Clarence (b.1475) and John Plantagenet (b.1476). Edward Plantagenet would then settle the issue of the Warwick inheritance by marrying Anne Neville after her sister’s death and the two would have two children: Edmund Plantagenet (b.1477: d.1484) and Anne Plantagenet (b.1480). Finally, he would marry Margaret Plantagenet, his younger brother’s widow in 1490. The two would never have any children and many suspected that the marriage was in actuality not real and the wedding had not taken place.

Edward Plantagenet’s eldest son would go on to marry Elizabeth Percy (b.1487) in 1494 and the two would have two sons and a daughter: Richard Plantagenet (b.1499), Henry Plantagenet (b.1500) and Joan Plantagenet (b.1502), along with stillborn daughters in 1505 and a stillborn son in 1511.

His younger son, John Plantagenet, would be married at the age of 4 to Anne de Mowbray and was made the Duke of Norfolk. However, the Duchess Anne died in 1481 and there was a decade long legal battle of the Duchy of Norfolk. Eventually it was agreed to that, if the young John was to die without heirs or to leave a daughter, then said inheritance was to go to the senior Howard male and said daughter was to be married to either that man or his heir, if at all possible. If not, she would be entitled to all other lands that were not directly tied to the Duchy and was free to marry at the King’s judgement. This would come to pass when, after marrying Catherine de la Pole in 1490, the only heir to the Duke of Norfolk was Blanche Plantagenet (b.1494). She would marry Edward Howard (b.1497) in 1517 and the two would have only one child: William Howard, Duke of Norfolk (b.1518).

The King of Navarre’s third son, Humphrey Plantagenet (b.1446), would marry Margaret Beaufort (b.1443) in 1458 and the two would have two children: George Plantagenet (b.1461) and Catherine Plantagenet (b.1464), along with a miscarried child in 1468. These children would marry the child and grandchild of Richard, Duke of York. George found himself matched with Margaret of Rutland in 1487 and the two would have three children: Katherine Plantagenet (b.1489: d.1490), Mary Plantagenet (b.1490: d.1499) and Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Somerset and Earl of Rutland (b.1494). Catherine would marry Margaret of Rutland’s uncle, Edward Plantagenet, Duke of York, a serial bachelor settling down after the recent death of both his father and brother (George Plantagenet) to sickness in 1481. The two would have one child before his death in 1483, the boy Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of York (b.1482: d.1540). Unfortunately, this ended the York line after Thomas failed to have children with any of his four wives.

The two Princesses of Navarre would both marry for love, with the permission of their father. Michelle would marry John of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne (b.1450) in in 1480 and the two would have four children: Germaine of Foix (b.1481), Gaston of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne (b.1483), Marie of Foix (b.1485: d.1498) and Eleanor of Foix (b.1486: d.1489). Mary of Navarre would also marry happily, to Sir George Plantagenet (b.1449: d.1481) and they would have a short-lived daughter in 1471.

In 1472, Aragon attacked Navarre in a full scale attempt to retake the country by John II. He However, with the support of England and France, John Plantagenet successfully held the country and extended the borders a little. However, this came to a detriment to his health and the King was never the same, eventually dying in 1484.

John Plantagenet left a legacy of success. He went from a second son of England to a power in the European continent, taking and expanding Navarre, holding lands for England in France and beating back the terror that was Aragon from his adopted country for 3 generations. By contrast, the serene and at time senile Henry VI seemed an embarrassment. His diplomacy was not spectacular but at the same time it was still more competent than the eternal Margaret of Anjou, who had a continual rivalry with the King of Navarre and would outlive him by 2 years.
 
Margaret Beaufort (b.1443: d.1502)

Margaret Beaufort was the only heir of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and a woman who married into the Plantagenet Dynasty twice. However, she was a strong woman in her own right and successfully achieved a matriarchal status in the royal family. Her legacy can be seen in her many descendants, who made great names for themselves.

Born in Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire in 1443, Margaret Beaufort was the only child of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe. Through her father she was the direct descendant of Edward III through his third son, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster.

At the moment of her birth, Margaret's father was preparing to go to France and lead an important military expedition for King Henry VI. Somerset negotiated with the king to ensure that, in case of his death, the rights to Margaret's wardship and marriage would belong only to his wife.

The Duke of Somerset arranged with King Henry VI that his wife would remain in full custody if he did not survive his time in France, but due to a fall out with the King shortly after returning, his daughter and heiress became the ward of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, although Margaret remained with her mother. Margaret's mother was pregnant at the time of Somerset's death, but the child did not survive and Margaret remained sole heir.

Margaret would grow close to her mother and her St. John siblings from her mother’s first marriage, particularly the pious Margaret, who would go on to become an abbess in later life. She would also enjoy the companionship of her younger brother John Welles, the product of her mother’s third marriage in 1447.

In 1450, during the collapse of the Duke of Suffolk as a power behind the throne, she was quickly married to his son John de la Pole. However, Henry VI allowed the marriage to be dissolved in 1452 and she was quickly a single girl again at the age of 10.

Marriages hat were suggested for the young heiress were many and frequent. In 1457, there was an attempt to have the 14 year old girl married to either Edward or Edmund of York, the eldest sons of Richard, Duke of York. However, the marriage proposals fell through due to the apparent disinterest of the boys and the scandalous rumours that followed them. There was also the possibility of marriage to Richard Neville (b.1550: d.1560), a short lived son of the Earl of Warwick. She was also considered a bride for the Prince of Wales at one point, though that was as a contestant in a list 100 girls long and she was eliminated very early due to the extreme age difference. Eventually, she found a partner in Humphrey Plantagenet, Prince of Navarre. The third son of John Plantagenet and nephew to the King, he brought her prestige and a name.

In 1459, at the age of 16, Margaret Beaufort was married to Humphrey Plantagenet. The two would spend the next 11 years in a state of marital bliss, or at least it seemed that way. The eldest son, George Plantagenet, was born on the 17th of July, 1461. This son was eventually followed by a daughter, Catherine, in December of 1464. What followed was one recorded miscarriage (1468). Margaret would come to be known for her refusal to ride horses for fear it was what had killed her child.

Unfortunately, Margaret’s husband, Humphrey Plantagenet, would die in 1470 due to a jousting accident. It had seemed a year of triumph, due to his being raised to the Duke of Somerset in May and the newest pregnancy of the couple. But one stray lance had taken it all and Margaret would forbid her son to partake the practice, along with her grandchildren.

In 1473, after removing herself to het country estates to mourn for her husband, Margaret again married, this time to William Stafford (b.1439: d.1482), by whom she would have her last four children: Margaret Stafford (b.1475: d.1475), Henry Stafford (b.1476: d.1480) and the twins Blanche and Joan Stafford (b.1480). Only the twin daughters would survive and only one would leave issue. Blanche would eventually become a nun, while Joan would marry Owen Tudor, Earl of Richmond in 1500 and the two would have three sons: David Tudor (b.1503), Michael Tudor (b.1508) and Richard Tudor (b.1514).

After her second husband’s death in 1482, Margaret again escaped to the country, this time to raise her youngest daughters. During this time, her elder children would be married. Catherine married the Duke of York, Edward Plantagenet, in 1480 and would have the unfortunate Thomas Plantagenet in 1482. Thomas Plantagenet would marry four times in attempts to have an heir: firstly to Cecily Grey in 1498 (ended at her death with a stillborn son in 1499), secondly to Anne Devereux in 1504 (ended with her death with a stillborn boy in 1508, which had followed a stillborn girl in 1506 and a stillborn boy in 1507), Eleanor Carey in 1511 (ended in 1537 due to both sides dissatisfaction and the lack of children. Eleanor would marry again to Sir Richard Percy in 1539 and have two sons) and finally to Gertrude Manners, who would have two stillborn sons in 1539 and 1540. His final marriage would end at his death in 1540 and his second wife would never remarry, instead becoming a nun.

Margaret’s son would also only have one surviving son, though Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Somerset and Earl of Rutland (b.1494) would be a lot more successful with his children as opposed to his cousin. Firstly married to Germaine Plantagenet of Gloucester (b.1502: d.1534) in 1516, the two would have seven living children: Margaret Plantagenet (b.1517), John Plantagenet, Duke of Somerset (b.1518), Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland (b.1519), Philippa Plantagenet (b.1521), Sir Edward Plantagenet (b.1524), Henry Plantagenet (b.1528) and Humphrey Plantagenet (b.1531), along with a short lived son in 1526 named James. He would marry secondly to Jane Stewart, the illegitimate daughter of James IV of Scotland (b.1500). The two would have six living children along with two miscarriages in 1542 and 1555: Gertrude Plantagenet (b.1537), Robert Plantagenet (b.1539), Penelope Plantagenet (b.1546), Richard Plantagenet (b.1548), William Plantagenet (b.1553) and Eleanor Plantagenet (b.1558).

After the death of William Stafford in 1482, Margaret was greeted with a proposal from her final husband, her former brother-in-law and uncle to her eldest children, Edward Plantagenet. The wedding took place in 1491, during a period in which there was a power struggle between Edward Plantagenet and the Duke of Gloucester, who felt that he should take the place of advisor to Henry VII as his brother in lieu of the Earl of Warwick, who was merely an English earl and a foreign Prince (as the son of John III and Eleanor I of Navarre). By marrying Margaret, Edward Stafford hoped to ally himself with the majority of the upper leagues of English aristocracy. However, neither party ended up in that position of power as John de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk (former husband of Margaret) ended up as the King’s advisor due to his close friendship with the King. The two were stuck with each other though and Margaret would act as a mother to Edward’s children, particularly his youngest daughter Anne, who would be firm friend’s with Margaret’s twin daughters.

Edward would die in 1498, due to generally bad living and a tendency to drink himself. No one knew what troubled the man so, though theories suggested that, having married two sisters and the wife of his brother, he was stricken with guilt. But the most likely cause is the death of his father in 1484, which was the last man Edward seemed to have respected. He would talk endlessly in later years of the corruption of his family and the purity that had been held in his father.

Margaret followed her husband to the grave three years later, surrounded by her children, stepchildren, grandchildren and step-grandchildren. She was remembered as a strong woman, who held her family tightly together. Her children and grandchildren would go on to be remembered as important people in history and she with them.
 
Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester (b.1483: d.1534)

The young Humphrey Plantagenet was the second son and one of two surviving children of Edward, Prince of Wales (b.1453: d.1482). His elder sisters, Anne (b.1473: d.1475), Joan (b.1475: d.1480) and Ursula (b.1481: d.1490), were all short-lived and it was expected that Humphrey would follow. But, surprisingly, the young boy thrived and in 1488 was created the Duke of Gloucester. Future honours for martial success would follow and he was a fine young knight at the age of 16.

He married for the first time in 1498, to Charlotte of Naples. The only child of the Ferdinand of Naples after her brother’s untimely death in 1503, she came to represent a claim to the kingdom of Naples and thus a success like the previous brother of a King, John Plantagenet, King of Navarre. However, despite their hopes, the kingdom would change hands between the Kings of France and Spain, eventually residing in the hand of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Charlotte of Naples would act as a senior lady of the court until her death in 1506, holding banquets and generally leading the court so that her friend, Queen Anna (daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon) could retire early, due to her extreme timid nature. However, this does not mean she neglected her wifely duties and at the time of her death she had delivered her husband three daughters and a son: Catherine of Gloucester (b.1501: d.1502), Germaine of Gloucester (b.1502), Philippa of Gloucester (b.1504) and John Plantagenet, future Duke of Gloucester and Titular King of Naples (b.1505).

Of their daughters, Germaine would marry the best, finding a partner in Edmund Plantagenet, who would become Duke of Somerset. The two would have eight children: Margaret Plantagenet (b.1517), John Plantagenet, Duke of Somerset (b.1518), Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland (b.1519), Philippa Plantagenet (b.1521), Sir Edward Plantagenet (b.1524), James Plantagenet (b.1526: d.1527), Henry Plantagenet (b.1528), Humphrey Plantagenet (b.1531). The Somerset line would stay strong until 1698, when the last Duke would die young without a direct heir, leading to twenty years of legal battles between his possible heirs and ending with Sir Francis Banner becoming the Duke of Somerset.

Philippa of Gloucester, meanwhile, would marry Sir Lionel Butler (b.1490) and the two would have two sons and three daughters: Henry Butler (b.1522), Jane Butler (b.1525), Charlotte Butler (b.1529), Nicolas Butler (b.1531) and Ursula Butler (b.1540). However histories of this part of the royal family are few and vague, though Nicolas may have become a mayor for a town in Wales. It is known, however, that a Germaine Butler was married to James Douglas, a Scottish heir in 1598 and claimed to have the blood of English King’s, though it is possible this was a descendant to James Butler, the cousin of Lionel Butler and thus not a descendant of the Lancastrian Kings.

The Duke of Gloucester’s only son by Charlotte of Naples was married in 1537, to the second daughter of the Duke of Guise, Louise of Guise. They would have three children: Louis, Duke of Gloucester (b.1540), George of Gloucester (b.1543: d.1559) and Isabelle of Gloucester (b.1550). Through Isabelle, who married the Duke of Orleans in 1571, the family line would become the Kings of France and Louis would briefly reside in Naples as the King in 1583, which ended in 1599, when his family were ousted and his eldest son, John Plantagenet, was killed in battle. However, the line did not die out and his bride, the young Maria de Medici married his younger brother Henri in 1600.

However, the marriage of Charlotte of Naples was not the only one Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester would make. After his wife’s death he fell madly in love with the young Anne of Montpensier (b.1495) in 1509 and the two were quickly married. However, the young bride was taken a year later by childbed fever and her young twins, Henry of Gloucester (b.1510: d.1519) and Charlotte of Gloucester (b.1510: d.1525), would die fairly young and without issue.

In 1511 Humphrey married for the third and final time, to the spinster daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Catherine of Aragon. At 25, most marriage offers for Catherine had ended and she was beginning her training for the church when, in 1511, Humphrey asked for her hand in marriage. The two would have a fairy happy union and would produce six children, only one of which would survive childhood: Margaret of Gloucester (b.1512: d.1520), Henry of Gloucester (b.1513: d.1515), Arthur of Gloucester (b.1514: d.1514), Mary of Gloucester (b.1515: d.1517), Ferdinand of Gloucester (b.1516: d.1516) and the only one to survive, Isabel of Gloucester (b.1517). However, Catherine would become known for her piety and her devotion to the Queen Blanche I of England, who was her grandniece.

Humphrey of Gloucester would die in 1522 of heart problems, leaving his wife and their young daughter, along with his scores of children and grandchildren. H would be known as an ambitious man who never met the full potential he had exhibited as a young man. However, his close family would know him as a kind, strong man with a generous purse and a love of good venison.
 
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