Born on 8 September 1372,[1] Thomas Holland was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (1350–1397), and Alice FitzAlan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 3rd Earl of Arundel.His father was a maternal half-brother of King Richard II, and the younger Thomas had two brothers and six sisters.In reward he received a share of the forfeited estates, and on 29 September 1397 was created Duke of Surrey.In the end he had to forfeit the honours and estates he had gained after the arrests of Gloucester and Arundel, in particular the Dukedom of Surrey, although he retained the Earldom of Kent.Early in 1400, Kent, along with his uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon (no longer Duke of Exeter), plotted to kill King Henry IV and free King Richard II from prison and return him to the throne.