Katherine Swynford

Who was Katherine Swynford?

Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, a son of King Edward III. She had been the Duke's lover for many years before their marriage. The couple's children, born before the marriage, were later legitimated during the reign of the Duke's nephew, King Richard II of England, although with the provision that not they nor their descendants could ever claim the throne of England.

Their descendants were members of the Beaufort family, which played a major role in the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII, who became King of England in 1485, derived his claim to the throne from his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort, who was a great-granddaughter of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. His legal claim to the throne, however, was by his marriage to Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, and heir to the throne in the absence of her brothers, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, known throughout history as the Princes in the Tower.