Blanche of Lancaster

Blanche of Lancaster, born on 25 March 1342, was a member of the House of Plantagenet and the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, the first Duke of Lancaster. As the first wife of John of Gaunt, she was the mother of King Henry IV and the grandmother of King Henry V of England. She was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lindsey and was the younger sister of Maud, Countess of Leicester. Upon the death of her sister, who left no surviving children, Blanche inherited her father’s titles and estates.

Blanche married John of Gaunt on 19 May 1359 at Reading Abbey, and the marriage resulted in seven children, three of whom survived infancy. Her husband became Earl of Lancaster and later Duke of Lancaster, titles that carried significant influence. Described as ‘young and pretty’ by Jean Froissart and lauded for her beauty in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Book of the Duchess’, Blanche’s marriage to Gaunt is thought to have been a happy one, evidenced by Gaunt’s decision to be buried alongside her. She died on 12 September 1368 at Tutbury Castle, and her funeral was a significant event attended by the upper nobility and clergy.