John of Gaunt III's rule was becoming unpopular due to high taxation and his affair with Alice Perrers, political opinion closely associated the Duke of Lancaster with the failing government of the 1370s. Furthermore, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales were popular heroes due to their successes on the battlefield, John of Gaunt had not won equivalent military renown that could have bolstered his reputation. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera (1367), for example, his later military projects proved unsuccessful. When Edward III died in 1377 and John's ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, John's influence strengthened.
Alice Perrers King Edward, all while their relationship was a secret from his wife, Queen Philippa and the public. In 1364, aged 16, Perrers gave birth to a son later named Sir John de Southeray (c. 1364-1383). John later married Maud Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and his first wife Mary of Lancaster. A year later in 1365, Perrers gave birth to Jane (c. 1365-unknown). Jane married Richard Northland. Aged 18, Alice gave birth to her third child, Joan (c. 1366-bef January 1431). Joan married Robert Skerne, a lawyer who served as a tax official and a Member of