Calendars. 29. Which charter was read in full parliament, and delivered to the said duke, father of the said John, and his said brothers and sister; the tenor of which charter follows:

Richard, by the grace of God, king of England and France and lord of Ireland, to our most beloved kinsmen the noble John, knight, Henry, cleric, Thomas, donzel, and our beloved noblewoman Joan Beaufort, lady-in-waiting, our most beloved cousins born of our uncle that noble man John duke of Lancaster, our lieges, greeting and the goodwill of our royal majesty. While inwardly considering how endlessly and with how many honours of parental and sincere affection of our aforementioned uncle and of his mature counsel we are on all sides blessed, we have judged it appropriate and worthy that in consideration of his merits, and in contemplation of the grace of persons, we should endow you, who are resplendent with probity and virtuous life and conduct, and are born of royal stock and divinely marked with many virtues and gifts, with the protection of grace and favour by special prerogative. Thus it is that, yielding to the prayers of our said uncle, your father, we grant to you who, so it is claimed, have suffered such defect of birth, that, notwithstanding this defect, which, together with its various consequences, we wish to be fully included in these presents, you may nevertheless receive all honours, dignities, preferments, estates, degrees, and public and private offices, both perpetual and temporal, and feudal and noble rights, by whatsoever name they are called, such as duchies, lordships, earldoms, baronies, or whatsoever other fiefs they be, whether they be dependent upon or held of us mediately or intermediately, which may be preferred, promoted, elected, taken up and allowed, and received, retained, performed and exercised prudently, freely and lawfully, as if you were born in wedlock, notwithstanding any statutes or customs of our kingdom of England decreed or observed to the contrary; and we dispense you [from this defect] by the tenor of these presents, by the plenitude of our royal power and with the assent of our parliament; and we restore you and each of you to legitimacy.