Armorial of Beaufort |
|
| Country | Kingdom of England |
|---|---|
| Ancestral house | House of Plantagenet (legitimised) |
| Titles | |
| Founder | John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset |
| Current head | David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort |
| Founding | 1373 |
| Cadet branches |
|
The House of Beaufort is an English noble family, which originated in the fourteenth century and played an important role in the political struggles of the fifteenth century. The name Beaufort refers to a castle in Champagne, France (now Montmorency-Beaufort), once the possession of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, third son of King Edward III.
The family is descended from John Beaufort (1371-1410), John of Gaunt's son by his then-mistress Katherine Swynford. Gaunt later married Swynford, and their children were legitimized, but were officially barred from succeeding to the throne ('excepta regali dignitate').
The Beauforts were a powerful and wealthy family from the start, and rose to greater power when their brother became King Henry IV.
When the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses broke out in the later fifteenth century, the Beauforts were the chief supporters of Henry VI and the House of Lancaster.
Henry VII traced his claim to the English crown through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, granddaughter of John Beaufort, and great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. (Since all legitimate descendants of John of Gaunt were dead, the original exclusion of the Beaufort line was set aside.)
The Beauforts suffered heavily in the Wars of the Roses. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and all four of his sons were killed in the war, leaving no legitimate male heir. The male line was continued through Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset.
In 1682, Charles II created Henry Somerset the first Duke of Beaufort; he was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Charles Somerset.
In America, the prominent Quincy family of Massachusetts was descended from the House of Beaufort. Abigail Adams, wife of U.S. President and Founding Father John Adams, was a member of this family through her mother, Elizabeth Quincy Smith. Through her, the House of Beaufort is related to the Adams family in the United States.
The Beaufort family in the male line is today represented by David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort.
Notable Beauforts included: