The Duke of Gloucester

Thomas of Woodstock was the seventh son of King Edward III (r. 1327–77), he was created Duke of Gloucester in 1385 and soon became the leader of a party opposed to Richard II (r. 1377-1399), his young nephew.

As the son of King Edward III, Thomas was born rich and he had all sorts of minor wealth, but his father saw to it that in one step, that of marriage, he became one of the richest men in the Kingdom. As was the Sovereign's prerogative in those days to dispose of estates and their female owners where there was no male heir, Edward III arranged the marriage of his son with Elinor Bohun. Her family’s wealth and estates originated from the days of the conquest of England in 1066. Elinor was one of two daughters of the last Bohun. By 1380, Thomas had charge of his wife's estates and also of those of her sister.

In 1385 Thomas became the leader of a party opposed to Richard II, his young nephew. In 1386 Thomas and his associates (known as the appellants) took virtual control of the king’s government. In 1389 Richard gained the upper hand and worked out a compromise with his enemies, but in 1397 Richard arrested Thomas and two other leading appellants. Soon after that Thomas was murdered, possibly on orders from Richard.

At the time of his death Thomas was worth around £60,000 what represented 2% of net national income, which at the time was £3m. In 2010 his wealth would be around £22.1 billion.