Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset

Who was Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset?

Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset was the eldest son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and the grandson of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford.

Henry succeeded his father as Earl of Somerset on 16 March 1410. During his minority, his mother, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Somerset held his lands for him until he reached the age of 15. When Henry was seventeen, he was placed under the command of Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, his uncle, at the Siege of Rouen during the Hundred Years' War where he, as well as a number of other nobles, met his demise, although the exact reasons of his death are unknown. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset.