HENRY of Lancaster, Earl of Lancaster (1281?–1345), second son of Edmund, earl of Lancaster, called Crouchback [see Lancaster, Edmund, Earl of], the second son of Henry III, was born about 1281, his mother being Edmund's second wife, Blanche of Artois, queen-dowager of Navarre. In the winter of 1292–3 he and his elder brother, Thomas, earl of Lancaster [see Thomas, 1278–1322], were the constant companions of John of Brabant (afterwards duke), who was then residing in England. On the death of his father in 1296 he inherited the castles and lordships of Monmouth, Kidwelly, and Carwathlan, together with all that his father held on the Welsh side of the Severn. He served with Edward I in Flanders in 1297 and 1298, and was a captain in the third division of the army which invaded Scotland in the summer of 1298, being then a knight. At Falkirk he rode a horse given him by the king. On his return from the expedition he married Maud, daughter and heiress of Sir Patrick Chaworth. He was summoned to parliament as baron in February 1299, and in that year, in 1300, 1303, and 1305 served in Scotland. In the letter of the barons to Boniface VIII in 1301 he is described as Lord of Monmouth. At the coronation of Edward II on 25 Feb. 1308 he carried the rod with the dove. In 1315 he, in common with the other lords of the Welsh marches, joined the Earl of Hereford in putting down the rebellion of Llewelyn Bren, and in 1318 was ordered to bring his Welsh retainers to Newcastle to serve against the Scots. He was opposed to the Despensers, for the greediness of the younger threatened the lords marchers generally; but he does not seem to have had any violent feelings against the king, and was not involved in his brother's treason. In 1324 he was created Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester, and steward of England, dignities which had been held by his brother. It is evident that he was indignant at his brother's fate, and was resolved to avenge it, and was not appeased by these honours. He assumed the arms of his brother instead of his own, as though, so the king's friends said, he denied that they were condemned by the late earl's attainder. Moreover, he built a cross for his brother's soul outside the town of Leicester. The Bishop of Hereford [see Adam of Orlton] wrote to ask him to plead for him with the king, and he replied in a letter full of sympathy and encouragement. This became known to the king, who, in May 1324, was anxious to convict him of treason, and called on him to answer for these offences. He defended himself successfully, and the matter was dropped, for he was regarded as the foremost man in the kingdom. When the queen (Isabella) landed with an armed force in September 1326 he at once joined her, marched with her to Bristol, took part in declaring the king's son guardian of the kingdom, and on the next day (27 Oct.) sat in judgment on and condemned the elder Despenser. He was then sent into Wales to pursue the king, and took him and the younger Despenser [see under Edward II]. He assisted at the trial of Despenser at Hereford on 24 Nov., and, having been charged with the custody of the king, took him to Kenilworth, for he was appointed constable of the castle on 27 Nov. Other castles and honours, formerly held by Earl Thomas, were put in his charge before the end of the year. He was one of the commissioners sent to inform the king of his deposition. Edward remained in his keeping until 5 April 1327, and found him a humane gaoler.
Lancaster knighted the young king at his coronation, was his nominal guardian, and the chief member of the council of government. On 23 April he obtained a writ acknowledging that the king had received his homage for all the lands held by the late earl, and ordering the payment to him of certain back rents (Fœdera, ii. 704). In the Scottish war of this year Lancaster was sent with the Earl of Kent and other lords to Newcastle to strengthen the border. They were unable to check the ravages of Douglas, and were forced to remain inactive while he wasted the country almost to the walls of the town. Lancaster attended the parliament held at Leicester in November, and prevailed on the clergy in convocation to make a grant. In spite of the high place which he held in the council and as guardian of the king, he found himself without power, and was denied access to the king by the queen-dowager and Mortimer. The latter's conduct was bringing disgrace on the country,
