Being a Plantagenent descendant isn't that special after all

I love being a Plantagenet descendant. I've said so before.

Wait. What? "...somewhere between 80 and 95 per cent of the living English-descended population of England shares some ancestry with the Plantagenet kings of the 14th century and before..."

That quote is attributed to British author Ian Mortimer in his 2006 book, The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation. Yes, 12 years ago. And I only came across it now in a 2015 (Yes, three years ago. I know!) item, 5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Plantagenents on History Extra, the website of British History magazine and BBC World Histories magazine. 

I knew I'm one of millions of descendants, but between 80 and 95 per cent? Wow. 

Those five things? I knew three of the five things. Despite the many books I've read about my Plantagenets. 

But it turns out that being a Plantagenet isn't that special after all. 

Ian Mortimer's book is now on my "must read" list. 

The never ending story continues....







© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2018 All rights reserved

The Ancients -- Edward III

(first published in early 2017) 

This is a post I've meant to get to. But yesterday I caught the November 2016 episode of the UK Who Do You Think You Are with Danny Dyer of EastEnders (no, I don't watch it). When the very entertaining episode aired it, was hailed by many, including The Guardian (!) as the best WDYTYA episode ever.

Anyway, it turns out that cockney Danny Dyer and I both descend from Edward III (1312-1377), along with millions of others, but still....another one of those Plantagenets. Edward III is my 20th great grandfather, and Danny's 22nd great grandfather. We share another direct ancestor, Henry "Hotspur" Percy (1364-1403), but that's another story for another blog post down the road. Danny is also a direct descendant of Thomas Cromwell, but I'm not, so back to Edward III.

Edward was only 14 when he ascended to the throne.

My descent from Edward is through his youngest son, Thomas of Woodstock (1355-1397)

Back to Danny. Watch the WDYTYA episode. It's a gem.

The never ending story continues.....



© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

About those English nobility linkages of mine

It was a few years ago over a heritage society lunch that I learned from someone who became a great genealogy friend that I descend from English nobility, royalty, several Magna Carta barons and sureties and Crusaders. This is a story that I didn't touch on when I wrote here about my Nova Scotia Newcomb ancestors.

The connection comes through my 13th great grandmother, Alice Gascoigne (abt 1521-abt 1559) who married John Newcomen (abt 1520-1589) of Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire in about 1547. Newcomen was the original spelling of Newcomb.

Alice's grandmother was Lady Margaret Percy (1446-1486), daughter of the third Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy (1421-1461), described in this Wikipedia article as an English magnate. Lady Margaret married Sir William Gascoigne (1450-1487). The Gascoignes came to England at the time of the Norman invasion, from the Gascon region of France, and were Yorkshire landowners and more. The Percys are an ancient English family whose eldest sons have held the title of Duke of Northumberland since 1766. Women from some of England's most noble families, including Nevil, Mortimer, Stafford and Plantagenet (there's my John of Gaunt crush again coming through again) married into the Percy family for centuries.

It is through these families and others that I can trace several of my direct ancestors to Magna Carta barons and sureties. The Magna Carta came about of course because of the very bad behaviour of my 24th great grandfather, King John (1166-1216), who was not a nice man.

But never mind all that, and much more yet to be told. I like to think that I'm distantly related to the English actor Chris Gascoyne who plays Coronation Street's messed up Peter Barlow. I have a soft spot for him.

The never ending story continues .....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

On this day: Cecily Nevill was born

by Edward Harding, 1792
from Wikipedia

Cecily Nevill (using the spelling of the day), my 17th great aunt, was born on 3 May 1415 in Raby Castle to Ralph Nevill, the Earl of Westmorland (1365-1425 and Lady Joan Beaufort (1379-1440).

Cecily was the wife of Richard of York, mother of Edward IV and Richard III (my dear cousin Richard of the car park), and aunt of Warwick the Kingmaker.

Cecily and Richard had 13 children in total. She shares her birthday with her daughter Margaret of York (1446-1503), who married Charles I, Duke of Burgundy.

She was called the Rose of Raby and Proud Cis at times during her life. From what I've read, Cecily strikes me as a strong woman, one not to be messed with. Read more about her remarkable life.

The never ending story continues .....

© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

The Ancients -- John of Gaunt

Over the holidays, much of what you hear or read in the news tends to be less hard and sometimes much more interesting. On the weekend, a widely reported news item noted that Benedict Cumberbatch and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are 16th cousins 1x removed and share a common ancestor, John of Gaunt, who is Cumberbatch's 17th great grandfather.

Well, hello cousin Benedict! John of Gaunt (1340-1399), first Duke of Lancaster, is my 18th great grandfather. As Duke of Lancaster, he led the Lancastrian forces against his Yorkist cousins in the Wars of the Roses. Yes, John is another of my Plantagenet ancestors, and today's royal family are also his direct descendants.

John fathered at least eight children by three different mothers, including my direct ancestor, John Beaufort (abt 1373-1410), whose mother was Katherine Swynford (abt 1350-1403). Katherine is another of my fascinations. She bore John four children. They married in 1396, and their children were later legitimized by Richard II and the Pope, but were barred from inheriting the English succession.

John of Gaunt was buried with his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster at Old St. Paul's Cathedral, which was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. Read more about Benedict Cumberbatch's and my great grandfather here.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

Ancestors come to life through Shakespeare

Like most of us, I read my share of Shakespearean plays a long time ago in school. I've also seen several productions of those plays. Since I  learned a few years ago that I'm descended from Plantagenets, Nevilles, Mortimers and more, I watch these plays with a new appreciation, since, as I wrote here, the Plantagenets have long held my fascination.

Henry VI (1421-1471)
 National Portrait Gallery

Last week, I watched the first of three episodes of The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses. These wars went on in many battles for 30 years between two Plantagenet lines: the Yorks (the white rose) and the Lancasters (the red rose), who both wanted the crown of England. Read more. Several of the key participants in the Wars of the Roses were descended from Edward III (1312-1377), my 19th great grandfather.

This series is, as it says here, epic, and brings my ancestors to life. Several of the major characters are my aunts, uncles and cousins many times removed, beginning with the title character in the first episode, Henry VI, Part I, who is my 1/2 2nd cousin, 17 times removed. Yes, that's a bit of a remote connection, I'll grant you. But he's still my ancestor, and I'll claim him.

Other ancestors of mine in Henry VI, Part I include:

• Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447)
• Richard of York (1411-1460) and his wife, Cecily Nevill (1415-1495), who were the parents of Edward IV and Richard III
• Cecily's brother Richard, known as Warwick the Kingmaker (1428-1471)
• Henry Beaufort, the Bishop of Winchester (abt 1375-1447)
• Henry's brother Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (abt 1377-1426)
• Their nephew Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset (1406-1455)
• Edmund Mortimer (1391-1425)
• William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (1396-1450)

Tonight, Henry VI, Part II, the second part of this series airs. I can't wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Richard III in this and next week's final episode, Richard III. This Richard is of course, my dear cousin Richard of the car park.

The never ending story continues.....





© Margaret Dougherty 2016 All rights reserved

On this day: Richard III was born

I have a lifelong interest in the Plantagenet kings that began long before I found that I'm descended from multiple Plantagenets. I've read many books about the individual Plantagenet kings and the family.

Richard III was born on 2 Oct 1452 at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire to Richard, Duke of York (1411-1460) and Lady Cecily Neville (1415-1495). He was their second youngest of nine children, and is my 1st cousin 17 times removed. Richard was the last Plantagenet king. I call him my dear cousin Richard of the car park.

Happy birthday to cousin Richard!

Now, Richard III may or may not have been a nice man. I've read many books on that topic. I've seen a couple of productions of Shakespeare's Richard III, including one that was set in Nazi Germany (quite over the top), as if to further drive the point home that he was not a nice man.

Did he kill his young nephews in the Tower of London, personally? Did he order their murders? Also a much debated topic. Did he have a more than an uncle-ly relationship with his niece, Elizabeth of York (1466-1503) who subsequently became the consort of Henry Tudor (1457-1509)? That also has been debated in many books.

I can't begin to set out all of the pros and cons for Richard being a nice man here. I'd like the think that he was, er, misunderstood.


In 2009, while browsing a Charing Cross bookstore when last in London, I came across a book that I'd been wanting to read. It is the ultimate coffee table book: Derek Wilson's The Plantangenets -- the Kings that Made Britain. But it weighed a ton, and my suitcase was already going to be perilously close to exceeding the allowable weight, so I had to leave it there. A few months later in Toronto, I was thrilled to find the same book on sale, and so I bought it, because it was meant to be. I can open it to any page, and be instantly engrossed in a story about one of my ancestors.

When Richard III died in battle at Bosworth on 22 Aug 1485 ending the Wars of the Roses, Henry Tudor ascended the throne to rule as Henry VII. Here's a great BBC History Extra post about Bosworth.

The never ending story continues....