Rey Juan II de León, Rey Juan II de Castilla Juan, II

Enrique married Katherine of Lancaster Katherine (daughter of Earl of Richmond, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lancaster, Lord of Beaufort and Nogent, Earl of Lincoln, Earl of Leicester, Earl of Derby, Duke of Lancaster, Lord de Bergerac et Roche-sur-Yon, Duke of Aquitaine John de Gaunt and Reina Constanza de Castilla, Lady Companion, Order of the Garter Constanza de Castilla) was born in Bet. 6 Jun 1372 and 31 Mar 1373 in Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom; died on 02 Jun 1418 in Toledo, Toledo, Spain; was buried in Toledo, Toledo, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-99), English soldier and statesman, the fourth son of King Edward III of England, and brother of Edward, the Black Prince. John was born in March 1340 in Ghent (M.E., Gaunt), now in Belgium. In 1359 he married Blanche, daughter of Henry, duke of Lancaster; when Henry died, John became duke.John of Gaunt played an important part in the wars of the period between England and France and between England and Spain. He commanded a division of the English army, led by the Black Prince, that defeated the army of Henry (later Henry II, king of Castile and León) at Nájera in 1367. As a result of his second marriage, to Constance, daughter of Peter the Cruel (king of Castile and León), John laid claim to the throne of Castile. During the Hundred Years' War, he aided (1370-71) the Black Prince against France and established English rule over most of southern France. After a severe illness forced the return of the Black Prince to England, John took command of the English armies; by 1380 he had lost much of the territory the English had previously won. In 1386 John invaded Castile, but was defeated by John I, king of Castile and León. John of Gaunt gave up his claim to Castile and León in 1387, when his daughter married Henry, later Henry III, king of Castile and León.John of Gaunt was also prominent in English affairs. Together with Alice Perrers, his father's mistress, John dominated the English government. He was opposed by Parliament and by the Black Prince. In 1376 Parliament banished Alice Perrers and curtailed John's powers. The death of the Black Prince that year and the dissolution of Parliament, however, enabled John to regain his power. In 1377, on the death of Edward III and the accession of Richard II (John's nephew and son of the Black Prince), John gave up his control of the government and thereafter played the role of peacemaker; he also supported the king, by whom he was made (1390) duke of Aquitaine. In 1396, after the death of his second wife, John married his mistress Catherine Swynford, and Richard legitimized their children the following year. Saddened by the exile (1398) of his son, Henry of Lancaster (later King Henry IV of England), John died on February 3 of the following year.
"John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

John married Reina Constanza de Castilla, Lady Companion, Order of the Garter Constanza de Castilla in Jun 1371 in Rochefort-Sur-Mer, Charente-Maritime, France. Constanza was born in 1354 in Castro Kerez, Castille and León, Spain; died on 24 Mar 1394 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom; was buried in St. Mary's Church, Leicester, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Edward III (1312-77), king of England (1327-77), who initiated the long, drawn-out struggle with France called the Hundred Years' War.Edward was born at Windsor on November 13, 1312, the elder son of King Edward II, of the house of Plantagenet. Involved by his mother, Isabella of France, in her intrigues against his father, he was proclaimed king after the latter was forced to abdicate in 1327. During Edward's minority, England was nominally ruled by a council of regency, but the actual power was in the hands of Isabella and her paramour, Roger de Mortimer. In 1330, however, the young king staged a palace coup and took the power into his own hands. He had Mortimer hanged and confined his mother to her home.Edward began a series of wars almost directly after he had control of England. Taking advantage of civil war in Scotland in 1333, he invaded the country, defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill, England, and restored Edward de Baliol to the throne of Scotland. Baliol, however, was soon deposed, and later attempts by Edward to establish him permanently as king of Scotland were unsuccessful. In 1337 France came to the aid of Scotland. This action was the culminating point in a series of disagreements between France and England, and Edward declared war on Philip VI of France. In 1340 the English fleet destroyed a larger French fleet off Sluis, the Netherlands. The action resulted in a truce that, although occasionally disturbed, lasted for six years.War broke out again in 1346. Edward, accompanied by his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, invaded Normandy and won a great victory over France in the Battle of Crécy. He captured Calais in 1347, and a truce was reestablished. Edward returned to England, where he maintained one of the most magnificent courts in Europe. The war with France was renewed in 1355, and again the English armies were successful. The Peace of Calais, in 1360, gave England all of Aquitaine, and Edward in return renounced his claim, first made in 1328, to the French throne.Edward continued to assert his will both domestically and abroad. In 1363 he concluded an agreement with his brother-in-law, David II of Scotland, uniting the two kingdoms in the event of David's death without male issue. Three years later Edward repudiated the papacy's feudal supremacy over England, held in fief since 1213. He renewed his war with France, disavowing the Peace of Calais. This time, however, the English armies were unsuccessful. After the truce of 1375, Edward retained few of his previously vast possessions in France.The king had, by this time, become senile. He was completely in the power of an avaricious mistress, Alice Perrers, who, along with his fourth son, John of Gaunt, dominated England. Perrers was banished by Parliament in 1376, and Edward himself died at Sheen (now Richmond) on June 21, 1377. He was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II.
"Edward III," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Edward married Queen of England Phillipa De Hainaut in 24 Jan 1327 and 1328 in York, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. Phillipa (daughter of William III De Avesnes, Count Of Hainault and Countess Jeanne De Valois) was born on 24 Jun 1311 in Mons, Hainault, Belgium; died on 15 Aug 1369 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom; was buried in Westminster, London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]