Katherine swynford

Katherine Swynford played the long game with John of Gaunt … and won.

One of six paintings of the influential Neville family in the Raby Castle chapel. This one is of Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford and second wife of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland and mother of Cecily Neville, the Rose of Raby.

The patina of history shrouds many famous personalities and mythical figures in mystery. The distance of time and the mastership of the artists make all of them look like, well, gods or demigods. Comparing yourself to them may be daunting, and you rarely think of them as regular people with normal needs. But they are, and I wanted to show you this. But how else could I do it if not with the help of artificial intelligence, which is pretty accessible these days, and it produces wonderful…

*A huge THANK YOU to Anne Shurtleff Stevens for transferring this very special Memorial to me of my 16th great grandmother. Daughter of Sir Ralph de Neville, Earl of Westmorland and Joan de Beaufort. Granddaughter of Sir John de Neville and Maud de Percy, John of Gaunt and Katherine de Roet. Cecily was born at Raby...

Princess Elizabeth (Freya Mavor) from the White Queen series. Dress looks like the one Marguerite (Megan Dodds) wore in Ever After

Statue of Katherine Swynford, wife of John of Gaunt. A favorite book "Katherine" by Anya Seton.

The de Roet family came to England in 1351, Katherine married the knight Hugh Swynford, of the manor of Kettlethorpe in Lincolnshire

The archway at Kettlethorpe Manor, built by Katherine, the only contemporary part of the house still extant. Katherine would have walked through this arch perhaps on her way to the church.

Sir Hugh Swynford of Kettlethorpe and Coleby in Lincolnshire married Katherine de Roet in about 1366, although Alison Weir suggests the earlier date of 1362 based on the possible ages of the couple…

Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster as te wife of Jphn the Gaunt. c. 1370