“ Coming to the family of Courtenay the title of marquess of Exeter was borne by Henry Courtenay (c. 1496–1538) , earl of Devon, who was made a marquess in 1525. A grandson of Edward IV., Courtenay was a prominent figure at the court of Henry VIII. until Thomas Cromwell rose to power, when his high birth, his great wealth and his independent position made him an object of suspicion. Some slight discontent in the west of England gave the occasion for his arrest, and he was tried and beheaded on the 9th of December 1538. A few days later he was declared a traitor and his titles were forfeited ”

“ John’s mother, Joan (d. 1385) , a descendant of Edward I., married for her third husband Edward the Black Prince, by whom she was the mother of Richard II., and her son John was thus the king’s half-brother, a relationship to which he owed his high station at the English court. He married Elizabeth (d. 1426) , a daughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and was constantly in Richard’s train until 1385, when his murder of Ralph Stafford disturbed these friendly relations. ”