Katherine King Popular Books

Katherine King Biography & Facts

Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, c. 1349 – 10 May 1403) was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter of a knight from Hainaut, Katherine, whose name is also spelled 'Katharine' or 'Catherine', was brought up at the English royal court, later found herself in the service of Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife of John of Gaunt. At that time, she was married to Hugh Swynford (or de Swynford), one of the Duke's knights. After the death of the Duchess, Katherine became the lady-in-waiting of her daughters, and also took care of them. After the death of Hugh Swynford, she became a member of the household of the Duke's new wife, Constance of Castile, and she was given management of the estates of her deceased husband in Lincolnshire: Coleby and Kettlethorpe. She soon became the mistress of John of Gaunt. From this connection, at least four children were born, who received the surname Beaufort after one of their father's French estates. Those four children were later recognized and legitimized by the Church. In addition, Gaunt gave his mistress several estates, and also provided her with a generous allowance. Since the relationship between Katherine and John of Gaunt caused public condemnation, in 1381 the Duke was forced to break their relationship. Katherine then settled in a rented house in Lincoln. Despite the formal break, Katherine's relationship with her former lover and the rest of his family continued to be quite cordial. In 1387, she was made a Lady of the Garter by King Richard II, and shortly thereafter she became a member of the household of Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry Bolingbroke, eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt, who later became King of England under the name of Henry IV.In the early 1390s, the love affair between Katherine and John of Gaunt resumed, and after the death of his second wife, the Duke unexpectedly married his mistress in 1396, which caused discontent among the English nobility. However, in the same year, a papal bull was received, recognizing the marriage as valid, and all the children born from the connection were legitimized. After the death of the Duke in 1399, Katherine retired to her rented house in Lincoln, where she died four years later. She was buried at Lincoln Cathedral.Katherine and John of Gaunt's descendants, the Beaufort family, played a major role in the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII, who became King of England in 1485, derived his claim to the throne from his mother, Margaret Beaufort, who was a great-granddaughter of Gaunt and Swynford. His legal claim to the throne, therefore, was through a cognatic and previously illegitimate line. Henry VII's first action was to declare himself king "by right of conquest" retroactively from 21 August 1485, the day before his army defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.Through her son, John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and her daughter, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, Katherine became the ancestor of all English (and later British) kings since Edward IV. Family Katherine's father was Paon de Roet, a herald and, later, knight (who was "probably christened as Gilles"), who came to England in the entourage of Philippa of Hainaut, who married King Edward III. Its origin is not documented. Payne's family nickname was Roe (French: Roët). On this basis, it has been suggested that he was related to the powerful family of the Lords of Le Roeulx, who owned a lordship in the County of Hainaut, whose name was spelled differently: Rouet, Roëlt, Ruet. The origin of this genus has been traced back to Charlemagne. Their possessions were mainly concentrated around the city of Le Rœulx, located 8 miles northeast of Mons. They also included the towns of Roux (located 40 miles east of Mons) and Faurœulx (20 miles south). However, according to the historian Alison Weir, there is reason to doubt this version of Paon's origin: the chronicler Jean Froissart, who himself was from Hainaut, was most likely well aware of his origin, but does not write anything about his nobility. As Paon's father, he points to a certain Jean de Roët (died 1305), son of Huon de Roët. Froissart gives no titles for any of them. At the same time, Weir notes that this version cannot be completely discarded: Paon de Roet could indeed come from a younger line of the Le Roeulx family, since the spelling of the generic names Roeulx and Roët are quite similar and they could well be interchangeable. In addition, the name Gilles, which Paon received at baptism, was quite common in the family of the Lords of Le Roeulx.Additional evidence of the possible relationship of Paon de Roet with the Lords of Le Roeulx is the heraldic similarity of the coats of arms of Paon and the Le Roeulx family. The coat of arms of the city of Le Rœulx is a golden lion on a green field with a wheel in its paw, which is a play on words: in French, roue means wheel. The same theme was adopted by Paon's family: the coat of arms of his daughter, Katherine Swynford, was three gold wheels on a red field, however, judging by the heraldic emblems on the vestments given to her by Lincoln Cathedral, on her coat of arms until 1396, when she married John of Gaunt, there were three simple silver wheels; she probably inherited this coat of arms from her father.Based on the description of his epitaph, Paon was King of Arms of Aquitaine for a time. In England, he was in the service of Queen Philippa. After the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War in 1340, he took part in the early stages of the English army, including fighting at the Battle of Crécy and the siege of Calais. Not later than 1349, Paon returned to Hainaut, where he served Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut, sister of Queen Philippa.There is no reliable information regarding Katherine's mother. According to some reports, Paon de Roet was married twice. It has been suggested that one of his wives was a relative of Queen Philippa, but there is no documentary evidence for this version. Alison Weir believes that two children were born from Paon's first wife: the eldest daughter, Isabel (also called Elizabeth) —who later became in the Noble canoness of the very influential Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church in Mons (which, according to Weir, is evidence of Paon's close connection with the ruling family of Hainaut)—, and a son, Walter. The mother of Katherine and another daughter, Philippa (who married the famous English poet Geoffrey Chaucer), was, according to Weir, Paon's second wife. Life Birth and early years Katherine's year of birth is not documented. In 1631, John Weever claimed that she was the eldest of Paon de Roet's daughters, but that would make her at least 28 years old at the time of her first marriage, which is much older than the typical age girls married. Alison Weir believes that Weever did not know about the existence of Elizabeth de Roet and the other two daughters. The auth.... Discover the Katherine King popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Katherine King books.

Best Seller Katherine King Books of 2024

  • Sister Queens synopsis, comments

    Sister Queens

    Julia Fox

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tosse...

  • Three Sisters, Three Queens synopsis, comments

    Three Sisters, Three Queens

    Philippa Gregory

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory, the littleknown story of three Tudor women who are united in sisterhood and yet compelled to be rivals when they fulfill...

  • A Black Woman Did That synopsis, comments

    A Black Woman Did That

    Malaika Adero

    A Black Woman Did That! spotlights vibrant, inspiring black women whose accomplishments have changed the world for the better.A Black Woman Did That! is a celebration of ...

  • The Tapestry synopsis, comments

    The Tapestry

    Nancy Bilyeau

    The next pageturner in the awardwinning Joanna Stafford series takes place in the heart of the Tudor court, as she risks everything to defy the most powerful men of her era.Henry V...

  • The Taming of the Queen synopsis, comments

    The Taming of the Queen

    Philippa Gregory

    By the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a novel of passion and power at the court of a medieval killer, a riveting new Tudor tale featuring King Henry VIII’s sixth wife Katery...

  • The Palace synopsis, comments

    The Palace

    Gareth Russell

    The popular and “scrupulous historian” (Daily Mail, London) Gareth Russell presents five hundred years of British historyfrom King Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth IIas seen through t...

  • The Confession of Katherine Howard synopsis, comments

    The Confession of Katherine Howard

    Suzannah Dunn

    From Suzannah Dunn, the critically acclaimed author of The Queen of Subtleties, The Sixth Wife and The Queen’s Sorrow, comes the tragic, gripping, and intensely moving story of Kat...

  • The Constant Princess synopsis, comments

    The Constant Princess

    Philippa Gregory

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory comes the remarkable story of Katherine of Aragon, Princess of Spain, daughter o...

  • Katherine synopsis, comments

    Katherine

    Anya Seton

    "Exhilarating, exuberant, and rich," Katherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed historythat of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors ...

  • Lady Katherine Knollys synopsis, comments

    Lady Katherine Knollys

    Sarah-Beth Watkins

    This fascinating book studies Katherine Knollys' life and times, including her intriguing relationship with Elizabeth I.

  • Farthing Wood - The Adventure Begins synopsis, comments

    Farthing Wood - The Adventure Begins

    Colin Dann

    There had always been otters in the stream running through Farthing Wood and that had never been a problem for the other animals before: both sets of animals were happy to leave e...

  • Firebrand synopsis, comments

    Firebrand

    Elizabeth Fremantle

    Soon to be a major motion picture, Firebrand shows the tumultuous darker side to the marriages of the notorious King of England, Henry VIII, and the wife who survived.Widowed for t...

  • The Tudor Tutor synopsis, comments

    The Tudor Tutor

    Lisa Graves & Barb Alexander

    From the bloody Wars of the Roses to Queen Elizabeth I’s iconic rule, the Tudor Dynasty was a period of sex, scandal, and intrigue. Monarchs such as Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth ...

  • We Speak Your Names synopsis, comments

    We Speak Your Names

    Pearl Cleage

    For centuries, African American women have been remaking the world, giving testament to the power of hope, courage, and resilience. But it took the inspired generosity of Oprah Win...

  • Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen synopsis, comments

    Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen

    Alison Weir

    Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir takes on what no fiction writer has done before: creating a dramatic sixbook series in which each novel covers one of King He...

  • The Passionate Tudor synopsis, comments

    The Passionate Tudor

    Alison Weir

    The New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the dramatic and poignant life of King Henry VIII’s daughterinfamously known as Bloody Marywho ruled E...

  • Breathe Again synopsis, comments

    Breathe Again

    Katherine King

    From Bestselling Romance Author Katherine King, comes a short story of rebounding after a divorce and finding that one man who breathes life back into you again.After finding out h...

  • The Lost Queen synopsis, comments

    The Lost Queen

    Signe Pike

    “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of The Gracekeepers) in the first book of an exciting historical series that reveals the untold story of Languoretha powerful and, u...

  • Death on the Trans-Siberian Express synopsis, comments

    Death on the Trans-Siberian Express

    C J Farrington

    'Quirky and colourful' Times Crime Club'An absolute delight' L C Tyler'This intriguing but charming murder mystery is packed with psychological depth and wonderfullydrawn characte...

  • The Wives of Henry VIII synopsis, comments

    The Wives of Henry VIII

    Antonia Fraser

    The New York Times bestselling history of the legendary six wives of Henry VIIIfrom the acclaimed author of  Marie Antoinette.  Under Antonia Fraser's inte...

  • Romanticise Your Life synopsis, comments

    Romanticise Your Life

    Beth McColl

    'Romanticise Your Life came at a time when I really needed it. Beth's writing has helped me to discover the joy all around me' ANNIE LORD, author of NOTES ON HEARTBREAKExploring a...

  • The Virgin Elizabeth synopsis, comments

    The Virgin Elizabeth

    Robin Maxwell

    Now available again, the third book in Robin Maxwell's acclaimed Elizabethan quartet, a Los Angeles Times bestseller called "Tense, absorbing, highly enter...

  • The Forgotten Kingdom synopsis, comments

    The Forgotten Kingdom

    Signe Pike

    From the author of The Lost Queen, hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, the author of The Gloaming) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker,...

  • Young Henry synopsis, comments

    Young Henry

    Robert Hutchinson

    Set during the same years of Henry VIII's life as The Tudors, this book charts his rise as a magnificent and ruthless monarchImmortalized as a domineering king, notorious philander...

  • The Boleyn Inheritance synopsis, comments

    The Boleyn Inheritance

    Philippa Gregory

    From “the queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) comes this New York Times bestseller featuring three very different women whose fates are each bound by a bloody curse: the legacy of ...

  • A Brief History of Henry VIII synopsis, comments

    A Brief History of Henry VIII

    Derek Wilson

    Henry VIII changed the course of English life more completely than any monarch since the Conquest. In the portraits of Holbein, Henry Tudor stands proud as one of the most powerful...

  • The Seared Lands synopsis, comments

    The Seared Lands

    Deborah A. Wolf

    The concluding novel in the Dragon's Legacy trilogy as the world descends into war and the conflicts may awaken the Earth Dragonleading to total destruction.Sulema Ja'Akari, heir t...