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He
was the only child of Henry V by his marriage to Katherine of Valois,
and if ever a King was unsuited to his position that King was certainly
Henry. He was only nine months old when he succeeded his father as King
of England, and six weeks later he also succeeded his grandfather, Charles
VI, as King of France in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes. Henry
was the only King in England’s history to be crowned in both England
and France. As
a child Henry was in the care of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
among others, not taking up personal rule till 1437. A pious studious
boy, Henry asked nothing more than a life of prayer and contemplation,
which was an impossibility given his position as king in the 15th century.
Henry was married by proxy, in 1444, with the actual marriage
taking place in April 1445 at Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire. Henry’s
bride was Margaret of Anjou, a French princess, and from the point of
view of his country’s well-being, this marriage was nothing short of
a disaster. Margaret brought no dowry, indeed France had demanded and
been secretly granted the return of the provinces of Anjou and Maine
as part of the marriage agreement. When this fact came out, the common
people of England were furious. Not a good beginning to the King’s marriage.
It
was soon obvious that Margaret intended to rule through Henry, and that
Henry was content to allow this. Together they formed a court party
with favourites such as Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and William
de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. Had any one of these proved capable of
fair and just rule all would have been well, but unfortunately, they
were not. The one man in the country who should have occupied a prominent
position, the Duke of York, was given no public office. Left
to himself Henry would have been content to live a quiet life but his
wife’s policies made this impossible, and Henry’s first bout of insanity
and complete breakdown in 1453 only compounded the difficulties. For
some few months Margaret, pregnant with her long awaited heir, tried
to arrange a regency with herself at its head, but in this she was frustrated.
York became Protector and the Queen was sidelined. At Christmas 1454
when Henry recovered his senses, Margaret immediately brought his son
to him for his fatherly blessing. Unfortunately, according to reports
he was so surprised that he thought the child “must be the son of the
Holy Spirit.” Now
that he had regained his senses, Henry set aside many of the reforms
put in place by the Duke of York, and dismissed the Duke himself from
office, which meant that the misrule of his favourites started up again,
unchecked. Richard of York had gone north in disgust that once more
his work had been put to one side, and it was becoming increasingly
obvious that the only way to regain and keep any say in the government
of the country would be through confrontation. Both Henry, egged on
by Margaret, and York were gathering supporters. For some time York
attempted to make a peace with the King, but with Margaret at his side
Henry was now convinced that York intended to take the throne for himself. The
1st battle of St Albans took place on 21 May 1455. York tried to the
last to prevent bloodshed, but Henry was in an uncharacteristic warlike
stance and shrugged off all efforts to make peace. The battle was a
victory for York, Henry was taken back to London by the Yorkist lords
and once more the Duke of York ruled in the King’s name. This situation
lasted until February 1456, when once again Henry shrugged off York’s
control and the misrule continued. Now both sides knew that war was
inevitable. In 1459 Henry moved to rid himself of the threat once and
for all. The Yorkists were trapped at Ludlow and forced to flee and
Henry, or rather Queen Margaret, was now once more in command. This
lasted until June 1460 when the Yorkists returned and Henry was once
again taken into the hands of the Yorkists after the Battle of Northampton.
This time York’s patience was at an end. He claimed the throne by right
of descent from his mother’s line, which was senior to that of Henry
and Parliament settled the question. Henry would remain King for life,
and after him York or his son would have the throne. Surprisingly Henry
agreed to this plan, not withstanding that it disinherited his son.
Margaret,
of course, was furious and vehemently protested against the plan. Once
again she raised an army, and at the battle of Wakefield in December
1460 Richard of York was killed. No one could have realised that Henry
now faced an even greater adversary, since York’s heir was to be the
outstanding battle commander of his age, and
even though Margaret regained control of the king after the 2nd
battle of St Albans, their troubles were just beginning. Edward of York
was offered the throne in March 1461 and secured his crown at the battle
of Towton a few weeks later. This forced Henry and his family into exile.
Henry spent many months at Kirkcudbright Abbey in Scotland leading the
life of prayer and meditation that he loved. In
1464 he was back in England, but his armies were being constantly beaten
and for many months he was forced to move from refuge to refuge. Finally
he was betrayed, handed over to Edward IV and taken to London by the
Earl of Warwick. Warwick showed no pity for the deposed King, but led
him into London with his feet tied to his horse’s saddle. Edward had
Henry confined to the Tower and there he remained in honourable confinement
until 1470 when, in a reverse of fortunes after Warwick`s defection,
he was once more proclaimed king. His second reign lasted only six months.
Edward reclaimed the throne in April 1471, reinforcing his return with
victories at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. At the last of these
Henry’s heir was killed on the field and Edward’s return to London spelt
the end for Henry. On May 27th he died, or was killed, in the Tower.
His body was taken to Chertsey Abbey for burial and here it remained
until 1485 when on the orders of Richard III it was re-interred in St
George’s Chapel, Windsor. The
daughter of Richard, Earl of Cambridge and Anne Mortimer, she was Richard,
Duke of York’s only sibling. Isabel married, as her first husband, Sir
Thomas Grey in 1413, but this marriage was annulled, and Isabel married
Henry, Earl of Essex. Marriage to Henry secured a staunch ally for her
brother Richard of York in the Wars of the Roses. Isabel and Essex had
ten children, their sons proving as staunch for the house of York as
their parents. Isabel died in 1484 and was buried in Beeleigh Abbey.
Some years later she was reburied in Little Easton Church in Essex. The
youngest daughter of Richard of York and Cecily Neville. As the only
unmarried sister of Edward IV, Margaret’s marriage needed
to be arranged for the benefit of the country. Warwick wanted
to use the marriage as a tie to France, but King Edward preferred to
arrange an alliance with Burgundy and in consequence Margaret was married
to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1468. During her brother Edward’s
exile it was in Burgundy that he sought sanctuary and Margaret later
used her influence to persuade her husband to give aid to her brother.
She was also one of those who put pressure on George of Clarence to
return to his family allegiance in 1471. Margaret
seems to have been extremely popular with her husband’s people. After
Charles’ death at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, she chose to remain in
Burgundy and continued to support her step-daughter, the Duchess Mary.
Mary’s later riding accident which led to her tragically early death
ensured that Margaret remained in Burgundy to oversee the upbringing
of the children of her step-daughter and Maximilian of Austria - a task
Margaret carried out with great devotion. Margaret’s
only visit to her homeland was in 1480. Her brother George’s execution
and Richard’s death at the battle of Bosworth gave her great grief and
for the remainder of her life she was an inveterate plotter against
the Tudor dynasty. Condemned by Henry VII and his historians for her
“malice”, this “diabolical duchess” made her court a refuge for Yorkist
sympathisers. She was deeply
implicated in both the Simnel and Warbeck conspiracies. Margaret died
in 1503, greatly mourned by the people of Burgundy and she was buried
in the church of the Cordeliers, Malines. The
daughter of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, Margaret was
later the dearly loved friend of Queen Katherine of Aragon and Lady
Governess to her daughter Mary (later Mary I). She remained loyal to
both Katherine and Mary after their fall from grace. Henry
VIII restored her to one of her father’s earldoms in 1515, making her
Countess of Salisbury, a title she did not share with her husband, Sir
Richard Pole. (No relation to the de la Pole family.] Margaret was the mother of five children. In
1538 her eldest son, Henry, like so many with Yorkist blood before him,
was accused of treason, and executed. Her second son, Reginald, was
a Roman Catholic priest, and this gave Henry VIII the opportunity to
accuse more of the family members of treason. Margaret was one of these.
In spite of her age and spirited defence, she was condemned and executed
in a particularly brutal fashion in 1541. She is buried in the Chapel
of St Peter ad Vincula, in the Tower of London.
In the 20th century she was canonised as a saint of
the Roman Catholic church and is known under her married name, St Margaret
Pole. The
second son of Edmund, Duke of York and Isabella of Castile, he was the
father of Richard, Duke of York. His marriage to Anne Mortimer, made
him brother- in-law to the Earl of March, whose claim to the throne
had been recognised when he was acknowledged as Richard II`s heir, before that king’s forced abdication.
In 1415 Cambridge was involved
in a plot to replace King Henry V with the Earl of March, a plot which
was soon discovered. Richard
was executed in August 1415 and buried in the chapel of Gods House,
Southampton. The
only son of Richard, Earl of Cambridge and Anne Mortimer, he was given
as ward to Ralph Neville of Westmorland after his father’s execution.
He was married to Ralph’s youngest daughter Cecily in 1425. As Henry
VI’s closest male heir, Richard was the unacknowledged heir to the throne.
In actual fact, with descent from Edward III’s second son he had a superior
claim on seniority to that of Henry himself, though this was a claim
that Richard never made till driven to it in self-defence. An able,
honourable man, he served his King and England with loyalty and distinction
for many years. Henry’s
marriage to Margaret of Anjou was a disaster for Richard. The new queen
was convinced that he was a threat to Lancaster and tried in every way
possible to marginalise him. Twice during Henry’s bouts of madness Richard
filled the role of Protector, ruling with fairness and wisdom, but by
1455 it was obvious that the situation was heading towards conflict.
This led to the first battle of St Albans in May of the same year, a
crucial victory for the Yorkist forces, since some of the most powerful
Lancastrian supporters were killed in the battle. For a time an uneasy
peace was maintained, but this ended at the battle of Ludford Bridge
in 1459, when Richard and his supporters were forced into exile. On
his return from exile, Richard finally lost patience and came to realise
that the only chance of safety for his family was to claim the throne.
Parliament attempted to find a less radical solution but admitted that
Richard’s claim was good, and made the decision that Henry should remain
king for life, with York and his sons his heirs. Queen Margaret of Anjou
would under no circumstances accept this solution and by December 1460
had raised a large force in the north with which to harry Richard’s
lands. York and his brother in law, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury,
at once headed north to oppose this threat, and on 30 December 1460,
the Lancastrians, having managed to lure York out of his castle
of Sandal, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Yorkists. Richard of York
was killed in the battle and after death his head was taken to York
to be exhibited over Micklegate Bar, crowned with a paper crown. Richard
of York was later buried in St Richards Priory, Pontefract where his
body remained for several years. His
son Edward ordered a magnificent reburial
in the family church at Fotheringhay. The
youngest son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, Richard’s
early childhood was spent at the family home of Fotheringhay castle.
His childhood came to an abrupt end in 1459 when he was present with
his family at Ludlow, both before and after the battle of Ludford Bridge
and later taken with his mother into the custody of his aunt Anne, Duchess
of Buckingham. Afterwards, he and his brother George were in the care
of Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury. The boys were visited
regularly by their elder brother Edward of March. After their father’s
death at Wakefield, Richard and George were sent to safety in Burgundy,
returning to England in the summer of 1461 for their brother Edward’s
coronation. At this great event Richard received the accolade of Knight
of the Bath, and in November of the same year he was created Duke of
Gloucester by his brother. He was just 9 years old. Shortly
after this he was given into the care of his cousin Richard Neville,
Earl of Warwick, to receive a knightly education and training in arms.
This period, which lasted till Richard reached 13, was spent mostly
at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire, and it was during this time that he
probably formed the friendships that were to last his whole life -
with Francis Lovell, Rob Percy and others. Richard was a man
who could inspire great loyalty in his friends, and many of these early
friendships remained strong until they were ended by death at Bosworth.
Richard
was called to court after his brother’s marriage and from that time
on was Edward’s loyal ally. It became increasingly apparent to Edward
that no matter what shortcomings George of Clarence showed in loyalty,
the younger Richard was totally trustworthy and reliable. By 1467 Warwick
was making strenuous attempts to lure both Richard and George away from
the king’s side with a plan to match the boys with his two daughters,
but Edward strictly forbade any such marriages. Richard accepted the
veto, regardless of his personal feelings in the matter. And when Edward was captured by Warwick’s brother,
the Archbishop of York, in 1469, Richard was one of the few who remained
to support the king until advised to leave with Lord Hastings for safety.
Later, when Warwick found himself unable to govern England without the
king at liberty, Richard was one of the first to rejoin his brother,
with a force of armed men. During
times of trouble Richard was constantly at his brother’s side. When
Edward was forced into exile in September 1470, Richard accompanied
him, and on their return in 1471, Richard took up his first battle command
for Edward at Barnet and Tewkesbury, leading the vanguard at both encounters
with great courage, determination and distinction. The
period after these two battles saw Richard in a struggle of a different
kind. His desire to marry Anne Neville was vehemently opposed by his
brother George and when Anne vanished from George’s care after Tewkesbury,
Richard left no stone unturned to find her. He married Anne sometime
in 1472. It has been said that this marriage was solely down to Richard’s
desire for Anne’s lands, but as the daughter and widow of proscribed
traitors, she had only as much as Edward would allow her. In
the event, it turned out to be a highly successful match. After his
marriage to Anne, Richard remained completely faithful to her, an unusual
occurrence for that time. Together
Richard and Anne took over Warwick’s estates in the north, which Edward
had granted to Richard before his marriage and as Lord of the North,
Richard ruled the area for his brother wisely, fairly and well and was
greatly respected. The early 1480’s saw Richard conducting campaigns
against the Scots on his brother’s behalf, and in the Parliament of
1482, Edward showed just how
much he valued his younger brother`s unfailing support and loyalty by
granting Richard and his heirs permanent possession of the Wardenship
of the West Marches, the Castle of Carlisle, the towns, constableship
and fees, all forfeits, fines, and revenues of the county of Cumberland,
together with the thirty miles of Scots` lands he had captured. This
great gift would make Richard, like the Duke of Burgundy, a vassal of
the King, but with his own independent palatinate. Richard’s future
seemed truly assured. Just
one year later Edward died. His last will instructed that his brother
Richard should become Protector for the new young King. The Woodvilles
did all in their power to prevent this, but they were, however, completely
out manoeuvred by Richard. It was at the outset of his time as Protector,
that Richard’s attention was drawn to the possibility that his brother’s
marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was not legal in Canon Law. The allegation
that Edward was already contracted to Lady Eleanor Butler at the time
of his marriage, was sufficient reason for the Commons to offer Richard
the crown. His Coronation, with Anne at his side, took place on 6 July,
1483. Much
has been written on the subject of Richard`s taking on the kingship.
Suffice to say that he was a man well aware of the politics of his day
and it is not difficult to imagine what might have happened to him if
Edward V had become an adult king. Edward had been raised by his mother’s family
and his ties were with the Woodvilles. Would he have been content to
let his uncle, whom his mother disliked so much, continue his life in
peace? The wars could have begun all over again. This could have influenced
Richard’s decision, but we shall never know. After
his coronation, Richard set out on a progress through his land, which
culminated in the ceremony of making his only legitimate son, Prince
of Wales, amid magnificent pageantry in York. But this happy period
was soon shattered when the Duke of Buckingham, the man who more than
any other had persuaded Richard to take the throne, rebelled. The rebellion
was dealt with speedily by Richard, but it was not to be the end of
his troubles. In April 1484, Richard and Anne’s only son died and his
parents were overcome with grief, a grief which probably contributed
to Anne’s death from consumption less than a year later at the age of twenty-nine. Richard wept at her funeral, but
that did not prevent his detractors from accusing him of causing her
death by poison. Throughout
the year Richard had been plagued with rumours that Henry Tudor was
planning to invade and in August 1485 the long expected invasion took
place. Richard faced the army of Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth
on 22 August 1485, determined to be either victorious or die as king.
In the course of the battle he was most shamefully betrayed by Lord
Stanley and his brother William, who joined the battle on the Tudor
side, and perhaps by the Earl of Northumberland who stayed out in masterly
inactivity. After
death, Richard’s body was taken to Leicester, flung over the back of
a horse and put on public display for three days, before the monks at
Greyfriars were allowed to give him burial. At the time of the dissolution
of the monasteries under Henry VIII, his grave disappeared, so Richard
III has no known resting place, though a later memorial stone commemorates
him in Leicester cathedral. The
son of William, Duke of Suffolk and Alice Chaucer, John succeeded his
father in 1450. His wife was Elizabeth, the sister of Edward IV and
Richard III, and although John`s father had been one of the favourites
of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, his marriage gave him firm ties to
the house of York. As such, he fought for the Yorkists at the 2nd battle
of St Albans in 1461 and, with the Earl of Warwick, joined Edward of York after this defeat, and
was in London when Edward was proclaimed King. After this he was one
of the nobles who joined the young king’s army marching north to confront
the Lancastrians. At the battle of Ferrybridge, he made the frontal
attack with the aim of forcing the bridge and distracting the Lancastrians,
whilst Lord Fauconberg found a way round their flank. On the following
day John took part in battle of Towton. John
was joint Commissioner of Array for Norfolk in 1469 and for both Norfolk
and Suffolk in 1470, 1472 and 1484. In 1475 he was present at Edward’s
invasion of France. He supported his brother in law, Richard’s claim
to the throne in 1483, but did not fight at the battle of Bosworth.
John and Elizabeth had a large family and most of their sons were to
suffer under the Tudors for their proximity to the throne. John died
in 1491 and is buried with his wife Elizabeth in Wingfield Church. The
eldest son of John, Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth Plantagenet, Lincoln
was a supporter of his uncle Richard III and there is some evidence
that after the death of Richard’s son, John was named as his heir. He
worked on Richard`s behalf in the north and may have fought at the battle
of Bosworth. After the battle, John made his accommodation with Henry
VII, but was prominent in the rising on behalf of Lambert Simnel in
1487, and with other Yorkist supporters against Tudor at the battle
of Stoke Field, where he was killed. The
father of John the 2nd Duke, William was a great favourite of Henry
VI and Margaret of Anjou. It was he who arranged the marriage of Henry
to Margaret, and he was the one blamed later for a marriage treaty that
agreed to hand back Anjou and Maine to France, without demanding a dowry
from Anjou. William was one of those opposed to Richard of York having
any power in the government. A
mere commoner, he was created Duke in 1448 on the insistence of Queen
Margaret, but one year later he was impeached for treason and found
guilty. In an attempt to save him from execution, Henry and Margaret
sentenced him to banishment, but the result was the same. While leaving
the country for France, William’s ship was intercepted and he was forced
aboard the “Nicholas of the Tower” where he was beheaded with a rusty
axe and his body thrown onto the beach at Dover. William is buried,
like his son John, in Wingfield Church. One
of those at Middleham serving with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Ratcliffe
fought at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, after which battle he
was knighted by Edward IV. He was a close, personal retainer of Richard
of Gloucester and as such one of those lampooned in the rhyme, “The
cat, the rat, and Lovell our dog.” Richard Ratcliffe, the “rat” fought
at the battle of Bosworth for Richard III, and was killed in the battle. He
was married to the sister of John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester but, unlike
his brother- in- law, Thomas was a Lancastrian supporter. He fought
at the battles of 1st St Albans, Wakefield, 2nd St Albans and Towton,
managing to survive them all. Later, at the battle of Hexham, he was
captured by John Neville and executed at Newcastle- upon - Tyne. Thomas
was buried in Hexham Priory. Thomas
Scott, alias Rotherham, Bishop of Rochester, then Bishop of Lincoln
was translated to the Archbishopric of York in 1480. At
the time of Edward IV’s death he held the office of Chancellor and,
being a Woodville supporter, delivered the Great Seal into the hands
of Elizabeth Woodville when she tried to take over power after Edward’s
death. Since Elizabeth had not been named Regent for her young son,
this was in fact illegal. When it was obvious that Richard of Gloucester
had won the battle for control of the new king, Rotherham panicked and
requested the Seal be given back into his care. Richard obviously had
no faith in Rotherham and immediately replaced him as Chancellor, but
during the succeeding few days Rotherham again became involved in a
plot against Richard, a plot which resulted in the execution of Lord
Hastings, and his own imprisonment. His imprisonment was short, for
in September 1483 he was present in York in his capacity as Archbishop
for the investiture of Richard’s son as Prince of Wales. Under Henry
VII Rotherham held no public office. He
died in 1500 and is buried in York Minster. Educated
at Winchester and Oxford and an accomplished diplomat, he was envoy
to Burgundy in charge of the negotiations for the marriage of Margaret
of York to Charles of Burgundy. Edward IV used him often for diplomatic
missions of this kind. John
Russell was the Archdeacon of Berkshire before moving on to become Bishop
of Rochester and was Thomas Rotherham’s successor as Bishop of Lincoln. Russell was one of the executors of Edward IV’s will. Under
Richard III he was named Chancellor and served as Speaker at the Parliament
of 1484, the only parliament of Richard III’s reign. Russell supported
Richard’s accession. At the time of
Buckingham’s rebellion he was ill, and in a letter which. Richard
wrote to him from Lincoln on his way south he castigated, “ The malice
of him that had best cause to be true, the Duke of Buckingham, the most
untrue creature living." Russell
became Chancellor of Oxford university in 1483 and continued in this
post under the Tudors. He died in 1494 and is buried in Lincoln Cathedral. |