Duke Exeter is in Dukedoms of England Alphabetically.
There have been two creations of Duke Exeter:
1st. 29th September 1397. John Holland 1st Duke Exeter. Forfeit. 29th March 1461. 29th March 1461 Battle of Towton.
2nd. 18th November 1416. Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter. Extinct. 31st December 1426.
Summary
29th September 1397. John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 45] created. See Richard II Rewards his Supporters.
16th January 1400. John Holland 1st Duke Exeter forfeit. See Epiphany Rising.
1416. Son John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 20] restored.
5th August 1447. Son Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 17] succeeded.
29th March 1461. Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter forfeit. See 29th March 1461 Battle of Towton.
On 29th September 1397 King Richard II [aged 30] rewarded his relations with Dukedoms, possibly for their part in downfall of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [deceased], Thomas Beauchamp 12th Earl Warwick [aged 59] and Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [deceased]...
His older half-brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 45] was created 1st Duke Exeter. Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter [aged 34] by marriage Duchess Exeter.
His nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 23] was created 1st Duke Surrey.
His first cousin once-removed Margaret was created 1st Duchess Norfolk - for life only. On the same day her grandson Thomas [aged 29] was also created Duke of Norfolk - see below.
His second cousin once removed Thomas Mowbray 1st Duke of Norfolk was created 1st Duke Norfolk. Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk [aged 31] by marriage Duchess Norfolk.
His first cousin Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 24] was created 1st Duke Albemarle. Beatrice Burgundy Countess Rutland and Cork [aged 24] by marriage Duchess Albemarle.
His illegitimate first cousin John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 24] was created 1st Marquess Somerset, 1st Marquess Dorset. Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 12] by marriage Marchioness Somerset, Marchioness Dorset.
Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 33] was created 1st Earl of Westmoreland. Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 18] by marriage Countess of Westmoreland.
On 16th January 1400 John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 48] was executed at Pleshey Castle [Map]. Duke Exeter, Earl Huntingdon forfeit. Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton [aged 53] arranged for the children of her dead brother Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel, who had been executed on the orders of John Holland 1st Duke Exeter three years before, to witness the execution.
In 1416 John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 20] was restored 2nd Duke Exeter, 2nd Earl Huntingdon.
On 6th March 1427 John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 31] and Anne Stafford Duchess Exeter were married. She by marriage Duchess Exeter. She the daughter of Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford and Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford [aged 44]. He the son of John Holland 1st Duke Exeter and Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter. They were second cousins. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 20th January 1433 John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 37] and Beatrice Aviz Duchess Exeter [aged 51] were married. She by marriage Duchess Exeter. She the illegitmate daughter of King John I of Portugal [aged 81] and Ines Peres. He the son of John Holland 1st Duke Exeter and Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter. They were half fifth cousins. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England.
After 25th October 1439 John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 44] and Anne Montagu Duchess Exeter [aged 39] were married. She by marriage Duchess Exeter. She the daughter of John Montagu 3rd Earl Salisbury and Maud Francis Countess of Salisbury. He the son of John Holland 1st Duke Exeter and Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter. They were half third cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
On 5th August 1447 John Holland 2nd Duke Exeter [aged 52] died at Stepney [Map]. He was buried at the Church of St Katharine's by the Tower, Tower Hill [Map]. His son Henry [aged 17] succeeded 3rd Duke Exeter, 3rd Earl Huntingdon. Anne York Duchess Exeter [aged 7] by marriage Duchess Exeter.
On 29th March 1461 the Battle of Towton was a decisive victory for King Edward IV of England [aged 18] bringing to an end the first war of the Wars of the Roses. Said to be the bloodiest battle on English soil 28000 were killed mainly during the rout that followed the battle.
The Yorkist army was commanded by King Edward IV of England with John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk [aged 45], William Neville 1st Earl Kent [aged 56], William Hastings 1st Baron Hastings [aged 30] (knighted), Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 45], Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex [aged 57], John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 23] and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 61].
The Lancastrian army suffered significant casualties including Richard Percy [aged 35], Ralph Bigod Lord Morley [aged 50], John Bigod [aged 28], Robert Cromwell [aged 71], Ralph Eure [aged 49], John Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 51], John Beaumont [aged 33], Thomas Dethick [aged 61], Everard Simon Digby, William Plumpton [aged 25] and William Welles [aged 51] who were killed.
Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39] was killed. Earl of Northumberland, Baron Percy of Alnwick, Baron Percy of Topcliffe forfeit.
Ralph Dacre 1st Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 49] was killed. He was buried at the nearby Saxton church where his chest tomb is extant. Baron Dacre Gilsland extinct.
Lionel Welles 6th Baron Welles [aged 55] was killed. His son Richard [aged 33] succeeded 7th Baron Welles.
The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 25], Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30], Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Andrew Trollope.
Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter was attainted after the battle; Duke Exeter, Earl Huntingdon forfeit.
Those who fought for the Lancaster included William Tailboys 7th Baron Kyme [aged 46], William Plumpton, John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 60], William Norreys [aged 20], Thomas Grey 1st Baron Grey of Richemont [aged 43], Robert Hungerford 3rd Baron Hungerford 1st Baron Moleyns [aged 30], John Talbot 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 12], Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby, Richard Woodville 1st Earl Rivers [aged 56], James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 40], John Butler 6th Earl Ormonde [aged 39], William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont [aged 22], Henry Roos and Thomas Tresham [aged 41]. Cardinal John Morton [aged 41] were captured.
John Heron of Ford Castle Northumberland [aged 45], Robert Dethick [aged 86], Andrew Trollope and his son David Trollope were killed.
Summary
18th November 1416. Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter [aged 39] created.
31st December 1426. Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter extinct.
On 18th November 1416 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter [aged 39] was created 1st Duke Exeter by King Henry V of England [aged 30] for the remainder of his natural life for 'his service to the king and the realm on both sides of the seas'. At the time the only other dukes were the King's brothers.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 31st December 1426 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter [aged 49] died at Greenwich, Kent [Map]. Some sources say 27th December 1426 and 1st January 1427. Duke Exeter and Earl Dorset extinct.