William Neville , 1st Earl of Kent William Neville , 1st Earl of Kent KG ( c . 1405 – 9 January 1463 ) and " jure uxoris " 6th Baron Fauconberg , was an English nobleman and soldier . He fought during the latter part of the Hundred Years War , and during the English dynastic Wars of the Roses . Early life . Born circa 1405 , he was the second son of Ralph Neville , 1st Earl of Westmorland , and his second wife , Joan Beaufort . His mother was the legitimised daughter of John of Gaunt , 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford . John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault . William was therefore a great - grandson of Edward III . However , the terms of the legitimisation of the Beaufort family specifically excluded them and their descendants from succession to the throne . William was one of a number of the Neville sons to make a good match , marrying the Fauconberg heiress Joan Fauconberg and taking the title Lord Fauconberg — just as his nephew Richard Neville married the Warwick heiress and became Earl of Warwick . William ' s marriage took place at some point before 1422 . His wife was four years older than he was and was described as an idiot from birth . The Fauconberg estates were in North Yorkshire , a centre of power for other members of the Neville family . The Lancastrian allegiance . He seemingly had a conventional military career during the earlier part of Henry VI ' s reign . Knighted in May 1426 , he was serving on the Scottish Borders in 1435 . In 1436 he was serving with Richard , Duke of York , in France — his first contact with a man who was later to receive his allegiance . By 1439 he was a field commander in France , with Lords Talbot and Scales . At the siege of Harfleur in 1440 he was made a Knight of the Garter for his part in the campaigns of 1438 - 39 , in particular the capture and garrisoning of Meaux . The town where Henry V had died was a crucial marches town for English Normandy . They had re - supplied the town , also retaking Montargis and Gerberoy . Fauconberg fought with the relief at Meaux when Richemont seized the stronghold by storm on 12 August 1439 . The English lords forced a confrontation , but the French fled leaving twenty barges laden with supplies . As one of the three field commanders , Neville had been put on the royal council since 30 April , on Warwick ' s death , before a new Regent could emerge . In October , Fauconberg helped recapture Harfleur , expelling the French garrison ; only Dieppe remained intransigent . The field commander ' s pre - eminence was supplanted in March 1442 by the appointment of William , Lord Bourgchier , as governor - general of Normandy . In 1443 while back in England , on he took custody of Roxburgh castle on 7 March . He was granted £1 , 000 per annum ( around £1 , 000 , 000 at 2005 prices ) during peace , twice this if at war with Scotland , and until 1448 , satisfactory payment was made . However in 1449 he returned to France as part of a diplomatic mission , and in May 1449 he spent the night that the French chose to capture Pont de l ' Arche in Normandy . 120 men were taken in all . Neville was reluctant to surrender to a lowly archer , who almost killed him . While in captivity in France , he spent 2 years of his own income supporting the upkeep of the castle . In spite of a grant from Parliament in 1449 , by 1451 he was owed £4 , 109 . He was forced to settle for less . The loss of such an experienced captain was a blow to English administration . The English had already lost the Bretons for taking their salt fleet , and then in July 1449 , Somerset refused Fauconberg ' s return in a deal for Fougeres . In 1453 he was ransomed ( for 8 , 000 French ecu s ) and freed from captivity . He still had the custody of Roxburgh castle , but was impoverished by maintaining this and by his captivity in France . By now he was owed £1 , 000 by the government . He settled this by accepting a grant of 1 , 000 marks from the customs at Newcastle . Not only was this only worth about two - thirds of the original amount , there was no guarantee that he would ever get the money . As Griffths says " What is so remarkable about his tale is that the Lancastrian crown could command [ his ] loyalty " Changing sides . Until this point , he can be seen as a loyal member of the supporters of the House of Lancaster . However , at some time during the next two years , his allegiance began to change . He was a member of the council of Richard , Duke of York , during Henry VI ' s second period of madness . Although he was with the Lancastrian nobility at the First Battle of St Albans ( 1455 ) , he was appointed by York to be joint Constable of Windsor Castle after the battle . We cannot know why he changed sides . Perhaps York ( short of support among the nobility ) tried to gain Fauconberg ' s allegiance . As a member of the Neville clan , Fauconberg had good family reasons for siding with York , who was after all , his brother - in - law . Warwick ( Fauconberg ' s nephew ) begins his rise to fame after 1455 , and Fauconberg would be associated with Warwick for the next five years . His treatment over the custody of Roxburgh Castle must have rankled . In the years 1455 – 1460 , Fauconberg consolidated his position as a member of the Yorkist camp and strengthened his position as an ally of Warwick . In 1457 he joined Warwick ( appointed Captain of Calais ) as his deputy . Warwick used Calais as a base for what was essentially piracy , and Fauconberg seems to have been happy to assist . He was in England in 1458 , and in May he was briefly imprisoned in London — but he was bailed by Warwick and returned to Calais . The spoils of victory . The rewards of victory followed . He was made a member of the King ' s Council and appointed Lieutenant of the North . On 1 November he was created Earl of Kent and appointed Steward of the Royal Household . In July 1462 he was appointed Lord Admiral , and in August that year he was granted 46 manors in the west country . Edward IV relied on him for both land and naval warfare . Following the victory at Towton , he took part in the gradual establishment of royal control in Northumberland , heading a garrison of 120 men at Newcastle in the summer of 1461 , and taking part in the siege of Alnwick in November 1462 . Between these dates he was back in Calais , raiding the Breton coast in August 1462 , then burning Le Conquet near Brest , and raiding the Ile de Re . He died on 9 January 1463 , and was buried at Guisborough Priory in the heart of his Fauconberg lands . He was survived by his wife , who died in 1490 at the age of 84 ( thus living through the reigns of all the English kings of the fifteenth century ) . He had 3 daughters and one son from his marriage , and one acknowledged illegitimate son , Thomas Neville . Known as the Bastard of Fauconberg , he was to lead a revolt later in Edward IV ' s reign . William Neville is an under - rated figure in the rise to power of the Yorkist regime . More successful as a military leader than the more famous Richard Neville , 16th Earl of Warwick , his reputation is summed up in Goodman ' s words : " No other veteran of the Anglo - French Wars won such distinction in the Wars of the Roses "