Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester

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"Thomas of Woodstock" redirects here. For the anonymous play sometimes attributed to William Shakespeare, see Richard II, Part I.

English Royalty
House of Plantagenet
Image:Armoiries Thomas de Woodsock.png Armorial of Plantagenet
Edward III
Edward, Prince of Wales
Lionel, Duke of Clarence
John, Duke of Lancaster
Edmund, Duke of York
Thomas, Duke of Gloucester
Joan of England
Isabella, Countess of Bedford
Grandchildren
Richard II
Philippa, Countess of Ulster
Philippa, Queen of Portugal
Elizabeth, Baroness Fanhope and Milbroke
Henry IV
Catherine, Queen of Castile
Edward, Duke of York
Richard, Earl of Cambridge
Constance of York
Anne, Countess of Eu

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (January 7 1355 – September 8 (or 9), 1397) was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa. He was the fifth of the five sons of Edward III who survived to adulthood. Thomas was murdered by Nicholas Colfox in Calais in 1397 on behalf of his nephew, King Richard II of England, causing an outcry amongst the nobility of England which is considered by many to have added to Richard's unpopularity.

[edit] Early life

Thomas was born after two short-lived sons, one of whom had also been baptised Thomas. He was born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire. He married Eleanor de Bohun in 1376, and inherited the title Earl of Essex from his father-in-law, Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Woodstock's wife's younger sister, Mary de Bohun, was subsequently married to Henry "Bolingbroke," who eventually became Henry IV of England.

At the age of 22, in 1377, Woodstock was created Earl of Buckingham. In 1385 he received the title Duke of Aumale, and at about the same time was created Duke of Gloucester.

[edit] Offspring and heirs

Thomas and his wife had one son and four daughters. Following his murder (probably on the orders of his nephew, King Richard II of England), at Calais in 1397, his title was forfeit and did not pass to his son, Humphrey.

His eldest daughter, Anne of Gloucester, married into the powerful Stafford family, who were Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham, and four generations after Thomas, the disposition of the de Bohun estates may have been a motivating factor in the involvement of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in plots against the crown during the period of Richard III. She later married into the Bourchier family (the Earls of Bath) and established a long American line of descendants.