Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset

The Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort at Rouen, from the Chronique of Jean Chartier, c 1470-80
Duke of Somerset
Successor	Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke
Spouse(s)	Eleanor Beauchamp
Issue Eleanor Beaufort, Countess Ormonde Dame Elizabeth FitzLewis Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford, Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke Dame Anne Paston John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset Joan, Baroness St Lawrence Thomas Beaufort
Noble family	Beaufort
Father	John Beaufort, 1st Earl
Mother	Margaret Holland
Born	1406
Died	22 May 1455 (aged 48–49) First Battle of St Albans

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG (1406 – 22 May 1455), sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War. He also succeeded in the title of 4th Earl of Somerset and was created 1st Earl of Dorset and 1st Marquess of Dorset (previously held by his father and later forfeited), and Count of Mortain. He was known for his deadly rivalry with Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York.

Edmund Beaufort was the third surviving son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and Margaret Holland. His paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan. Alice was a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster.

Although he was the head of one of the greatest families in England, his inheritance was worth only 300 pounds. By contrast his rival, Richard, Duke of York, had a net worth of 5,800 pounds. His cousin King Henry VI's efforts to compensate Somerset with offices worth 3,000 pounds only served to offend many of the nobles and as his quarrel with York grew more personal, the dynastic situation got worse. Another quarrel with the Earl of Warwick over the lordships of Glamorgan and Morgannwg may have forced the leader of the younger Nevilles into York's camp.