Henry V of England of the influential John of Gaunt, and great-grandson of Edward III of England. At the time of his birth, Richard II, his first cousin once removed, was king. Henry's grandfather, John of Gaunt, was the king's guardian. As he was not close to the line of succession to the throne, Henry's date of birth was not officially documented; and for many years it was disputed whether he was born in 1386 or 1387. However, records indicate that his younger brother Thomas was born in the autumn of 1387 and that his parents were at Monmouth in 1386 but not in
John of Gaunt a British race for Thoroughbred horses run annually in June. Fakenham in Norfolk has the full name of Fakenham Lancaster as a tribute to him as Duke of Lancaster. Anya Seton's best-selling 1954 novel "Katherine" depicts John's long-term affair with and eventual marriage to Katherine Swynford. John of Gaunt is a major character in Garry O'Connor's "Chaucer's Triumph: Including the Case of Cecilia Chaumpaigne, the Seduction of Katherine Swynford, the Murder of Her Husband, the Interment of John of Gaunt and Other Offices of the Flesh in the Year 1399" (2007). John of Gaunt is a recurring character in Jeri