Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter

Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter ( * 1377, † December 31, 1426 ) was the third of four children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his mistress, Catherine Swynford. He was legitimized in 1390 and again in 1397.

He embarked on a military career and was named after the accession of his half-brother Henry IV Knight of the Garter. 1402 he was Constable of Ludlow, 1403 admiral of the northern fleet, 1407 Captain of Calais and 1408 Admiral for life.

On 31 January 1410 when he was appointed Lord Chancellor, a position which he held until January 5, 1412. King Henry had problems with the clergy during this time. Then he turned again to military affairs. In July 1411 he was appointed Earl of Dorset.

When Henry V. became king, Thomas Beaufort was in 1413 to the Lieutenant of Aquitaine and in 1415 Captain of Harfleur. He spent the next year just there as lieutenant of Normandy. Finally, he was appointed in 1416 to the Duke of Exeter for life. He returned to England in 1417, when the king dwelt in Normandy, but had to contend with problems in Scotland.

In 1418 he returned with a large army back to Normandy and took part in the sieges of Evreux, Ivry and Rouen. After the fall of Rouen in 1419, he was appointed Captain of the city and captured several smaller Norman towns. Also in 1419, he captured after a six-month siege of the fortress of Château- Gaillard, which is located half way from Paris and Rouen.

In 1420 he helped in the drafting of the Treaty of Troyes, before he was in 1421 at the Battle of Baugé where his nephew Thomas of Lancaster was taken prisoner.

From 1422, after the death of Henry V, he was one of the men. Government affairs for the not yet mature King Henry VI led.

He was Margaret Neville, daughter of Sir Thomas Neville of Horneby married. Their only child, Henry Beaufort, died young.