Dukes of Exeter

Dukes Of Exeter

The title Duke of Exeter was created several times in England in the later Middle Ages, when Exeter was the main town of Devon. It was first created for John Holland, the half-brother of King Richard II in 1397. That title was rescinded upon Henry IV's accession to the throne two years later, and the title was subsequently granted to Henry V's uncle, Thomas Beaufort, 1st Earl of Dorset. Following this Duke's death without heirs in 1426, the title was restored to the Holland family, which held it until the 3rd Duke was attainted in 1461 as a Lancastrian, dying in 1475.