Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter

Arms of Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter: England, a bordure of France

Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter (27 June 1430 – September 1475) was a Lancastrian leader during the English Wars of the Roses. He was the only son of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, and his first wife, Lady Anne Stafford. His maternal grandparents were Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, and Anne of Gloucester.

He inherited the Dukedom of Exeter when his father died in 1447. A great-grandson of John of Gaunt, he might have had a plausible claim to the throne after the death of Henry VI. However, he was cruel, savagely temperamental and unpredictable, and so had little support.

Exeter was for a time Constable of the Tower of London, and afterwards the rack there came to be called "the Duke of Exeter's daughter".^[1]

In the Wars of the Roses, however, he remained an enemy of the House of York, despite the fact that his wife was a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. He was a commander at the great Lancastrian victories at Wakefield and the Second Battle of St Albans. He was imprisoned at Wallingford Castle in 1455.

He was also a commander at the Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton. He fled to Scotland after the battle, and then joined Queen Margaret in her exile in France. He was attainted in 1461, and his estates were given to his wife, who separated from him in 1464. During the brief period of Henry VI's restoration he was able to regain many of his estates and posts.

At the Battle of Barnet, Exeter commanded the Lancastrian left flank. He was badly wounded and left for dead, but survived. Afterwards he was imprisoned, and Anne divorced him in 1472. He "volunteered" to serve on Edward's 1475 expedition to France. On the return voyage he fell overboard and drowned. Some say he was in fact thrown overboard at the king's command.

Family

Before 30 July 1447, he married Anne of York, the second child and eldest surviving daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Lady Cecily Neville.^[2] She was an older sister of Edward IV and Richard III.

He had one legitimate child:^[2]

• Lady Anne Holland (1461^[3] – between 26 August 1467 and 6 June 1474), who married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset.

Since Henry had no legitimate male issue the disposition of his estates became a complex matter for his widow, the dowager Duchess of Exeter.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter

16. Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand               8. Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent8                       17. Maud le Zouche               4. John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter                             18. Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent               9. Lady Joan, 4th Countess of Kent                       19. Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell               2. John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter                                   20. Edward III of England (=28)               10. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster                       21. Philippa of Hainault (=29)               5. Lady Elizabeth of Lancaster                             22. Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster               11. Lady Blanche of Lancaster                       23. Lady Isabel de Beaumont               1. Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter                                         24. Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford               12. Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford                       25. Margaret de Audley, 2nd Baroness Audley               6. Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford                             26. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick               13. Lady Philippa de Beauchamp                       27. Lady Katherine de Mortimer               3. Lady Anne Stafford                                   28. Edward III of England (=20)               14. Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester                       29. Philippa of Hainault (=21)               7. Lady Anne of Gloucester                             30. Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford               15. Lady Eleanor de Bohun                       31. Lady Joan de Bohun

References

1. However, Stubbs says it was named after the 2nd duke, who was also constable of the Tower, in his The Constitutional History of England in Its Origin and Development, vol. 3, p. 302
2. Douglas Richardson. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, Genealogical Publishing, 2005. pg 299-301. Google eBook
3. Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Digby 57, fol. 2*r

• Griffiths, Ralph A. (1968). "Local Rivalries and National Politics: the Percies, the Nevilles, and the Duke of Exeter, 1452-55". Speculum. Speculum, Vol. 43, No. 4. 43 (4): 589–632. doi:10.2307/2855323. JSTOR 2855323.
• Pugh, T.B. (1990). "Richard, duke of York, and the rebellion of Henry Holand, duke of Exeter, in May 1454". Historical Research. 63 (152): 248–62. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.1990.tb00888.x.