John de Holand, 2nd Duke of Exeter ★

Born March 29, 1395, at Dartington, Devonshire, England. He married March 6, 1427, to Lady Anne Stafford. He died August 5, 1447, at Stepney, Middlesex, England.

Family Background

John Holland was born March 29, 1395, at Dartington, Devonshire, son of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, and Elizabeth of Lancaster — making him nephew of Henry IV, first cousin of Henry V, and first cousin once removed of Henry VI.

Childhood and His Father's Execution

John's father was attainted and executed in 1400 for conspiring against Henry IV, forfeiting the family's estates and titles and leaving the young John's prospects deeply uncertain under the shadow of his father's treason.

Restoration Under Henry V

John earned his way back into royal favor through military service, distinguishing himself in the 1415 Agincourt campaign; in 1416 he was restored in blood and to his father's earldom of Huntingdon and made a Knight of the Garter, completing his transformation from disgraced heir to trusted royal servant.

Military Career and Captivity

Over the following years John held a series of important commands in France and was made Constable of the Tower of London in 1420, before his fortunes turned sharply at the Battle of Baugé in 1421, where he was captured by the French and held prisoner for four years until his release in 1425. His later career saw him rise to High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine in 1435, the king's lieutenant in Aquitaine by 1439, and Count of Ivry in France under John, Duke of Bedford; he finally recovered his father's dukedom of Exeter on January 6, 1444.

Marriages

John married three times: Lady Anne Stafford, widow of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, on March 6, 1427, with whom he had Henry Holland, later 3rd Duke of Exeter, and a daughter Anne, before her death in 1432; Beatrice of Portugal on January 20, 1433; and finally Lady Anne Montagu, daughter of John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury.

Death

John Holland died August 5, 1447, at Stepney, Middlesex, at age fifty-two, and was buried at St Katharine's by the Tower; his effigy survives today in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London. His son Henry succeeded him as 3rd Duke of Exeter.