Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
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Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390 – February 23, 1447) was the fifth son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun.
The place of his birth is unknown, but he was named after his maternal grandfather, Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. He was created Duke of Gloucester in 1414, and upon the death of his brother, King Henry V of England in 1422, became regent of the kingdom and protector to his young nephew, King Henry VI.
In about 1422 he married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland, daughter of William VI. Through this marriage Gloucester assumed the title "Count of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault", and briefly fought to retain these titles when they were contested by Jacqueline's uncle, former husband, and cousin Philip III, Duke of Burgundy.
The marriage was annulled in 1428, and Jacqueline died (disinherited) in 1436. Meanwhile, Gloucester remarried, his second wife being his former mistress, Eleanor Cobham. In 1441, Eleanor was tried and convicted of practising witchcraft against the king in an attempt to retain power for her husband. She died in prison. There were no surviving children from either of Gloucester's marriages. He did, however, have an illegitimate daughter, Antigone, who married Henry Grey, 2nd earl (or count) of Tancarville, and left issue.
Following his wife's conviction, Gloucester himself was arrested on a charge of treason. He died, or was assassinated, at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, a few days later. His name lives on in "Duke Humfrey's Library", part of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, to which the Duke donated the nucleus of its collection.
| Preceded by: The Earl of Arundel and Surrey |
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1415–1447 |
Succeeded by: The Lord Saye and Sele |
| Preceded by: The Duke of York |
Justice in Eyre south of the Trent 1415–1447 |
Succeeded by: The Duke of York |
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Duke of Gloucester | Succeeded by: Extinct |
