See also
| Husband: | Thomas + of WOODSTOCK (1354-1397) | |
| Wife: | Eleanor + of BOHUN (1366-1399) | |
| Children: | Humphrey of WOODSTOCK (1381- ) | |
| Anne + of GLOUCESTER (1383-1438) | ||
| Joan of WOODSTOCK (1384- ) | ||
| Isabel of WOODSTOCK (1385- ) | ||
| Philippe of WOODSTOCK (1388- ) | ||
| Marriage | 1374 | |
| Name: | Thomas + of WOODSTOCK | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Edward III + (1312-1377) | |
| Mother: | Philippa + of HAINAULT (1314-1369) | |
| Birth | 7 Jan 1354 | Palace Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Duke of Gloucester | |
| Title | Prince of England | |
| Death | 8 Sep 1397 (age 43) | Calais, Pas-de-Calais, France |
| Burial | ||
| Name: | Eleanor + of BOHUN | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | Humphrey + of BOHUN (1342-1372) | |
| Mother: | Joan + FITZALAN (1347-1419) | |
| Birth | 1366 | Hereford, Herefordshire, England |
| Occupation | Lady of Bohun | |
| Title | Lady of Bohun | |
| Title | Countess of Essex | |
| Title | Countess of Buckingham | |
| Title | Duchess of Gloucester | |
| Title | Ducess of Aumale | |
| Death | 3 Oct 1399 (age 32-33) | Aldgate, Middlesex, England |
| Burial | Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England | |
| Name: | Humphrey of WOODSTOCK | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 1381 | |
| Name: | Anne + of GLOUCESTER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse 1: | Thomas STAFFORD (1368-1392) | |
| Spouse 2: | Edmund STAFFORD (1378-1403) | |
| Spouse 3: | William + BOURCHIER (1374-1420) | |
| Birth | 30 Apr 1383 | Phesy, Essex,England |
| Baptism | 6 May 1383 (age 0) | Pleshey, Essex, England |
| Occupation | Countess of Stafford | |
| Death | 16 Oct 1438 (age 55) | |
| Name: | Joan of WOODSTOCK | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 1384 | |
| Name: | Isabel of WOODSTOCK | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 12 Mar 1385 | |
| Name: | Philippe of WOODSTOCK | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 1388 | |
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Buckingham, 1st Earl of Essex, Duke of Aumale, KG (7 January 1355 – 8 or 9 September 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 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] Campaign in BrittanyThomas of Woodstock commanded one of the largest campaigns of the period, directed against Brittany and the opponents of England's ally John IV, Duke of Brittany. Due to concerns about the safety of a longer shipping route to Brittany itself, the army was ferried to the English continental stronghold of Calais in July 1380. As Woodstock marched his 5,000 men east of Paris they were confronted by the Duke of Burgundy's army at Troyes, but the French had learned from Crécy and Poitiers not to offer a pitched battle to the English, so the two armies eventually marched away. French defensive operations were then thrown into disarray by the death of Charles V a few days later. Woodstock's chevauchée continued westwards largely unopposed, and in November 1380 he laid siege to Nantes and its vital bridge over the Loire towards Aquitaine. However, he found himself unable to form an effective stranglehold and urgent plans were put in place for Sir Thomas Felton to bring 2,000 reinforcements from England. By January, though, it had become apparent that the Duke of Brittany was reconciled to the new French King and, with the alliance collapsing and dysentery ravaging his men, Woodstock abandoned the siege and accepted a 50,000 franc pay off from the Duke of Brittany.
[edit] Dispute with King Richard IIThomas of Woodstock was the leader of the Lords Appellant, a group of powerful nobles whose ambition to wrest power from Thomas' nephew, King Richard II of England, culminated in a successful rebellion in 1388, which significantly weakened the king's power. Richard II managed to dispose of the Lords Appellant in 1397, and Thomas was imprisoned in Calais to await trial for treason.
The Murder of Thomas of Woodstock.During that time, he was murdered by Nicholas Colfox, presumably on behalf of Richard II, causing an outcry amongst the nobility of England which is considered by many to have added to Richard's unpopularity.
[edit] HeirsThomas of Woodstock and his wife had one son and four daughters. As he was attainded as a traitor, his dukedom of Gloucester was forfeit. The title of Earl of Buckingham was inherited by his son, Humphrey, who however died only two years later in 1399. Thomas of Woodstock's eldest daughter, Anne of Gloucester, married into the powerful Stafford family, who were Earls of Stafford. Her son, Humphrey Stafford was created Buckingham in 1444 and also inherited part of the de Bohun estates.
The other part of these estates - including the Earldom of Hereford -, which had belonged to Mary de Bohun and had then become incorporated into the holdings of the House of Lancaster, became a matter of contention in the latter 15h century. The House of Lancaster had ruled England as Kings from 1399 to 1461. When Henry VI was deposed by Edward IV of the House of York, Edward appropriated that half into the Crown property. Humphrey's grandon Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham however claimed those lands should have been devolved to him instead. Unsucessful under Edward, he was awarded these lands by Richard III, pending approval of Parliament. This was probably one of the Buckingham's motives in supporting Richard's accession as King.[1]
Anne later married William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu.[2] Anne and William established a long American line of descendants.[citation needed]
[edit] In History and LiteratureThomas of Woodstock's murder plays a prominent part in the opening scene of William Shakespeare's play Richard II.
He also is the subject of Thomas of Woodstock, another Elizabethan drama by an anonymous playwright. Because of its stylistic affinities to Shakespearea's play, it is also called Richard the Second Part One.
Eleanor de Bohun (c. 1366 – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress with her sister Mary de Bohun, of their father Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Her mother was Lady Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.
In 1376 she married Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester. Thomas was the youngest son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Following their marriage, the couple went to reside in Pleshey Castle, Essex. Eleanor and her husband had the tutelage of her younger sister, Mary, whom was being instructed in religious doctrine. This was being done in the hope that she would enter a convent, thus leaving her share of the considerable Bohun inheritance to Eleanor and Thomas.[1]
[edit] IssueTogether Eleanor and Thomas had five children:
1.Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (c. 1381 - 2 September 1399)
2.Anne of Gloucester (c. 1383 - 1438) married (1st) Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford; (2nd) Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford; and (3rd) William Bourchier
3.Joan (1384 - 16 August 1400) married Gilbert Talbot, 5th Lord Talbot (1383–1419). Died in childbirth.
4.Isabel (12 March 1385/1386 - April 1402)
5.Philippe (c. 1388) Died young
[edit] Order of the GarterEleanor de Bohun was invested as a Lady Companion, Order of the Garter in 1384. She became a nun sometime after 1397 at Barking Abbey. She died on 3 October 1399 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.