French troops had arrived at Compiègne by 1October and as Philip and his court waited for the numbers to swell, news of Lancaster's conquests came in. Believing that Lancaster was heading for Paris, the French changed the assembly point for any men not already committed to Compiègne to Orléans, and reinforced them with some of those already mustered, to block this. After Lancaster turned south to head back to Gascony, those Frenchmen already at or heading towards Orléans were redirected to Compiègne; French planning collapsed into chaos. Duke of Lancaster In 1345, while Grosmont was in France, his father died. The younger Henry was now Earl of Lancaster – the wealthiest and most powerful peer of the realm. He also inherited the Barony of Halton. After he participated in the Siege of Calais in 1347, the king honoured Lancaster by including him as a founding member and the second knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348. In the same year Alice de Lacy died and her life holdings (which she had retained after Thomas of Lancaster was executed), including the Honour of Bolingbroke and Bolingbroke Castle, passed to Grosmont. In 1351 Edward bestowed an even greater honour on Lancaster when he created him Duke of Lancaster. The title of duke was of relatively new origin in England; only one other English ducal title had previously existed. In addition to this, the dukedom was given palatinate powers over the county of Lancashire, which entitled Grosmont to administer it virtually independently of the crown. This grant was quite exceptional in English history; only two other counties palatine existed: Durham, which was an ancient episcopal palatinate, and Chester, which was held by the crown. It is a sign of Edward's high regard for Lancaster that he bestowed such extensive privileges on him. The two men were second cousins through their great-grandfather King Henry III and practically coeval (Edward was born in 1312), so it is natural to assume that a strong sense of camaraderie existed between them. Another factor that might have influenced the King's decision was the fact that Henry had no male heir, so the grant of the earldom was effectively made for Grosmont's lifetime only, and not expected to be hereditary. 1350–1352 Grosmont was present at the naval victory at the Battle of Winchelsea in 1350, where he allegedly saved the lives of the Edward, the Black Prince,