At Last - the Royal Connection (Barker/Baucke/Turner/Ratcliffe side of the family) Part 1

Subject to verification from further checking of births/death/marriages and possibly DNA,  on Mum's mother's side of the family,  we are descended from royalty!  Our closest English monach ancestor is  KING JOHN 1 of ENGLAND (also known as John Lackland because he wasn't expected to inherit anything, being Number 4 son). But then,  millions of other people around the world, including our present royal family, are also descended from King John, so I hardly think it qualifies us for an invite to a royal wedding, nor do we qualify for any estates or titles. 

Most - or all - of our knowledge about King John came from watching Robin Hood on black and white tv in about 1964 - 65. He was Prince John then, and was plotting to take  the crown while his brother, King Richard the Lionheart  was off on crusades overseas. 

Donald Pleasence as Prince John in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1955 - 59) 

John was the youngest of Henry II's four surviving sons, but  Numbers 1,2,and 3 all eventually died, leaving our John the king, although his nephew Arthur (son of deceased brother Geoffrey) probably had a greater claim to the crown.  (Shows that it always pays to have a few spare heirs.) 

Personalitywise, he was a mixed bag, inheriting some of his father's administrative skills, but he lost Normandy and other French lands to King Phillip II of France. He was also known for his spitefulness and cruelty  and fits of rage where he would bite and gnaw his fingers in anger. He is rumoured to have murdered his young nephew Arthur who had a valid claim to the throne after the death of Richard.  John had a penchant for opulent clothes and jewels, enjoyed gambling, reading,  and hunting, and was known for his fondess for bad wine. He was relatively short at 5'5'', and had dark red hair. He was also said to be 'sinfully lustful and lacking in piety". His illegitimate daughter Joan was strategically married off at age 15 to Llywelyn the Great of Wales - but further family disputes arose when Llywelyn become challengingly powerful - endorsed by the Pope - and sided with John's French enemies against him. 

When faced with an armed revolt from his own barons, John had little choice but to sign the historic Magna Carta  in 1215 which curtailed royal power. He is most infamously known for his baggage train losing the Crown Jewels in The Wash on an incoming tide when retreating from the invasion of the French Dauphin Louis.  

King John died shortly afterwards  of dysentery in 1216.   Here's a fuller account  and analysis of his life. 

Our direct descent zig-zags through the male and female, and legitimate and illegitimate lines but eventually wends itself from us to  KING JOHN 1 of ENGLAND (my generation's 22x great-grandfather).

But wait, there's more - we actually have him as our 22x greatgrandfather two times, as  two distant descendants** of KING JOHN 1 married.   See below: 

Us

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Elaine BARKER

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Dorothy Clara BARKER born BAUCKE 

NZ, 1899 - 1987

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Elizabeth Helen (Nel) BAUCKE born TURNER 

Marden, Herefordshire, 1878  - 1959, NZ

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Catherine (Kate)TURNER born RATCLIFFE 

Staunton Coleford, Glouocestershire, 1850 - 1933, NZ

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Thomas RATCLIFFE 

Siddington, Gloucestershire, 1814 - 1892, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

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Thomas RATCLIFFE

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Rodmarton, Gloucestershire, 1776 - 1854, Siddington, Gloucestershire

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Dinah RATCLIFFE born PANTER

Hankerton, Wiltshire, 1735 - 1815, Rodmarton, Glocestershire

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Anne PAINTER born HAVILAND

Oaksey, Wiltshire 1702 - 1742, Hankerton, Wiltshire

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Myles HAVILAND

Winstone, Glocestershire, 1666 - 1753, Oaksey, Wiltshire
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John HAVILAND

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Winstone, Glocucestershire, 1628 - 1670, Winstone, Gloucestershire

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William HAVILAND

Winstone, Gloucestershire, c.1605 - c.1640, Winstone, Gloucestershire 

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John Freeman de HAVILAND

Poole, Dorset, c. 1552 - 1617, Winstone, Gloucestershire

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Matthew de HAVILAND
Channel Isles, Guernsey, 1527 - 1620,
 St Warborowes, West Lothian, Scotland
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Frances de HAVILAND born HUNGERFORD
Poole, Dorset, 1480 - 1539, Isle of Purbeck, Dorset
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Lady Margaret BLOUNT*
See her ancestral link to King John below this  chart
Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, 1465? - 1531? Down Ampney, Gloucestershire 
married
Sir John HUNGERFORD* 
Down Ampney, Gloucestershir, 1460? - 1524, Down Ampney, Gloucestershire
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Thomas HUNGERFORD
Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, 1430? - 1494, St Margarets, Westminster, London
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Sir Edmund HUNGERFORD 
Down Ampney, 1409? - 1484? Down Ampney, Gloucestershire
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Katherine  HUNGERFORD born PEVERELL 
Park Hamatethy, Cornwall, 1380? - 1438? Salisbury, Wiltshire
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Thomas PEVERELL 
Park Hamatethy, Cornwall, c.1340 - c.1422,  Penhale, Cornwall 
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Sir Hugh PEVERELL 
Peverell Manor, Sampford Peverell, Devonshire, 1300 - 1358, Peverell Manor, 
Sampford Peverell, Devonshire

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Margeret PEVERELL born de CORNWALL

Winchester, Hampshire, 1280? - 1314? 

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Sir Walter of CORNWALL 

Branell Manor, Grampound, St Austell, Cornwall, 1245 - 1313?

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Richard PLANTAGENET  (of Cornwall) 

Chilham Castle, Kent, 1210 - 1272, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire

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♔John (Lackland) KING of ENGLAND ♔ 

Beaumont Palace, Oxford, 24.12.1166 - 19.10.1216, Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire 
married 
Isabella of ANGOULEME

 - ♔ - ♔ - ♔- ♔ - ♔ - 

And here's  our second connection to KING JOHN 1: 

To recap,  each of FRANCES de HAVILAND (born HUNGERFORD)'s parents were direct descendants of RICHARD PLANTAGENET of CORNWALL, the son of KING JOHN 1. 

 FRANCES de HAVILAND born HUNGERFORD

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Sir John HUNGERFORD* 

(See above for his ancestral link to  King John 1) 

Down Ampney, Gloucestershir, 1460? - 1524, Down Ampney, Gloucestershire

married

Lady Margaret HUNGERFORD born BLOUNT*
Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, 1465? - 1531? Down Ampney, Gloucestershire 
↑
Edward (Edmund) BLOUNT 
1429 - 1468
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Sir John Edmund BLOUNT 
1385 - 1443 
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Isabel de CORNWALL 
1348 - 1424 
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Brian de CORNWALL 
1317 - 1391
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Edward de CORNWALL 
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Richard PLANTAGENET  (of Cornwall) 
1252 - 1296
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Richard PLANTAGENET
Chilham Castle, Kent, 1210 - 1272, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire
↑

♔John (Lackland) KING of ENGLAND ♔

Beaumont Palace, Oxford, 24.12.1166 - 19.10.1216, Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire 

 - ♔ - ♔ - ♔- ♔ - ♔ - 
Henry II
married 
 Eleanor of Aquitaine 

WHO'S WHO AMONG OUR DIRECT ANCESTORS: 

Eleanor of Aquitaine:  (1122 - 1204) One of the most powerful amd influential women of Middle Ages. Mother of King John I. Queen Consort of King Louis VII of France (marriage annulled 1152) and Queen Consort of King Henry II of England, and regent while her son King Richard was on crusades. Described as extrovert, lively, intelligent, strong-willed, "and admirable beauty".  She led a crusade to the Holy Land with her first husband Louis VII, and is credited with establishing many of the rituals of courtly chivalry. She is also credited to have introduced first built-in fireplaces to England after finding it so much colder than France.  She spent 16 years imprisoned under house arrest by her husband Henry II for treason, but was released upon her son (Young Henry)'s deathbed request. She retired as a nun to the abbey at Fontevraud, where she was buried upon her death in 1204.

King Henry II (1133 - 1189. Reigned 1154 - 89). First Plantagenet King. Not a popular king and hated by almost everyone. Had disputes with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, his wife (Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he imprisoned for 16 years) and four of his sons: Young Henry, Geoffrey, Richard (the Lionheart), and our ancestor, John. On the upside, he was considered to be an administrative genius, and restored firm government and various forms of justice. Apparently, as a person and as a king he was pretty unspectacular. 

King John: (1166 - 1216) See information above. Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Father of Richard Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Cornwall.

Richard Platagenet, (1209 - 1272)1st Earl of Cornwall, King of Germany, Comte de Poitou; second son of King John and Isabella of Angouleme. His older brother Henry III gave him  Cornwall for his 16th birthday. Went on Barons' Crusade to Holy Land - negotiated truce and release of prisoners. None of his legitimate children had any chidren, but he had at five children with his mistress Jeanne de Valletort Warenne, including our ancestor Walter of Cornwall (1245 - 1313). 

Here endeth Part 1 of our royal connection.  Look forward to the next instalment.