Henry Beaufort

Henry Beaufort was a legitimised son of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, bishop of Winchester and later a cardinal. He served as chancellor under Henry IV and Henry V and became one of the wealthiest and most experienced figures in the government of the young Henry VI.

Beaufort repeatedly clashed with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, over policy and control of the regency. He also financed campaigns and promoted a crusade against the Hussites. Henry Beaufort also worked as Roman Catholic Bishop of Lincoln (England) and Roman Catholic Bishop of Winchester. Henry Beaufort was born in Beaufort-en-Vallée and died in Winchester.

In Paul Doherty’s The Whyte Harte, the suspicious death of the Richard II prompts an unground movement known as the White Harte...The turbulent times of the 15th century are perfectly captured in in an Augustinian monastery; his rebellious flirtation with the heresy of Lollardism; and finally his becoming a thief, an accused traitor, and yeoman to Bishop Henry Beaufort, illegitimate grandson of ' The Black Prince', and half-brother to King Henry V. In Nathen Amin’s The House of Beaufort, the Beaufort family began with the children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, born outside marriage but later legitimised and drawn into the highest ranks of English politics. Further fictional perspectives on Henry Beaufort can be found in Paul Doherty’s The Serpent Amongst the Lilies.