19th great grandfather John of Gaunt of Pontefract, Yorkshire
John of Gaunt was born 6th March, 1340. He grew up in a nursery with his two brothers and two sisters in England under the watchful eye of his mother Phillipa. The nursery was serviced by half a dozen nurses and two governesses. He was educated from the age from five to ten in written French, some English and some Latin. There was no standard English during his time. That occurred in the late fifteenth century. At aged ten, he went to his brother Prince Edward the Black Prince, heir to the throne and Prince of Wales, in Spain and was trained in knightly warfare and regularly participated in tournaments. He was an excellent rider and horse-breeder. His horses, like all the other knights, were large and similar to Clydesdales. He participated in battles when aged 13, and served with his father King Edward III (20th great grandfather) on the Scottish frontier.
Aged 19 he married Blanche, heiress to the Duchy of Lancaster
John of Gaunt was 6'2" with blonde hair and reddish beard, portraying his Viking ancestry. He was known as the last knight, for warfare tactics changed and the knights were no longer needed
John of Gaunt was a multi billionaire
His capital value of his estates, houses, movable property (jewels and artwork) came to over $100 billion in our money today
John of Gaunt was in the vanguard of fashion and lifestyle, in values. His avowals of chivalry, courtly love, decent treatment of highborn women, loyalty to his difficult king and nephew Richard II out of respect for monarchy, his patronage of friars and poets, his personal bravery and military skills, his physical strength, his benign treatment of his mistress her became his third wife, and devotion to his progeny legitimate and illegitimate. All this put him at the forefront of the aristocracy of his day. He just resistd the coming of a new age – that of the Renaissance. But he set the model for European aristocratic behaviour that is still effective and durable among the social elites, particularly among the British, Americans and Canadians of today
Daughter Phillipa married Joao 1, King of Portugal, beginning a dynasty that eventually led to the English domination of the world
Prince Edward caught malaria in Spain and was forced to retire to his home in England where after a long and terminal illness he finally died. His wife Joan of Kent took care of him.
Slim Dusty Walk A Country Mile by Slim Dusty & John Lapsley
