by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Edward, Prince of Wales as Knight of the Order of the Garter, illustration from the Bruges Garter Book 1453; Credit -Wikipedia

Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales was born at Woodstock Palace near Oxford in Oxfordshire, England on June 15, 1330. He was the eldest of the fourteen children of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Today, Edward of Woodstock is commonly referred to as “The Black Prince” although he was not called that in his lifetime. The first appearance of the reference occurred more than 150 years after his death. It may refer to Edward’s black shield, and/or his black armor or his brutal reputation, particularly towards the French in Aquitaine.

Edward of Woodstock was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King. The others are:

• Edward of Westminster, predeceased his father King Henry VI who was later deposed
• Edward of Middleham, predeceased his father King Richard III, two years later his father lost his crown and his life at the Battle of Bosworth Field
• Arthur Tudor, predeceased his father King Henry VII
• Henry Frederick Stuart, predeceased his father King James I
• James Francis Edward Stuart, his father King James II was deposed
• Frederick Louis, predeceased his father King George II

Edward had thirteen siblings:

• Isabella of England (1332 – 1379) married Enguerrand VII de Coucy, 1st Earl of Bedford, had issue
• Joan of England (1333/1334/1335 – 1348), died of the plague on the way to marry Pedro of Castile
• William of Hatfield (born and died 1337)
• Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338 – 1368), married (1) Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, had issue (2) Violante Visconti, no issue
• John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340 – 1399), married (1) Blanche of Lancaster, had issue including King Henry IV of England (2) Infanta Constance of Castile, had issue (3) Katherine Swynford (formerly his mistress), had issue
• Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (1341 – 1402), married (1) Infanta Isabella of Castile, had issue (2) Joan Holland, no issue
• Blanche of the Tower (born and died March 1342)
• Mary of Waltham (1344 – 1362), married John V, Duke of Brittany, no issue
• Margaret of Windsor, Countess of Pembroke (1346 – 1361), married John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, no issue
• Thomas of Windsor (1347 – 1348), died of the plague
• William of Windsor (born and died 1348), died of the plague
• Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355 – 1397), married Eleanor de Bohun, had issue

In 1333, three-year-old Edward was created Earl of Chester and four years later, he was created Duke of Cornwall, the first creation of a dukedom in England. In 1343, he was created Prince of Wales.  Marriage negotiations for a bride for Edward started when he was seven years old. His father’s first choice was a French princess, hoping that such a marriage would break up France and Scotland’s alliance, but nothing came of this possibility. Likewise, nothing came of negotiations with King Afonso IV of Portugal or John III, Duke of Brabant for the hands of their daughters.

Queen Philippa chose her almoner, philosopher Walter Burley, as Edward’s tutor. Edward was educated with a small group of companions. One of these companions, Simon de Burley,  a relative of Walter Burley, became Edward’s lifelong friend and was later trusted with the education of Edward’s son, the future King Richard II. Edward’s knightly and military training was conducted by Walter Manny, 1st Baron Manny.  Manny taught Edward the code of chivalry and the art of jousting. Edward participated in small tournaments and served as a page to his father at large tournaments.

Battle of Crécy from an illuminated manuscript of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles; Credit – Wikipedia

Best known for his military career in the Hundred Years War, Edward accompanied his father to France in the summer of 1346, participating in the Battle of Crécy, his first major battle, on August 26, 1346, where the English had a decisive victory. 16-year-old Edward, Prince of Wales commanded the vanguard with John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, and Sir John Chandos.  Edward was one of the 25 founding knights (the second knight after his father King Edward III) of the Order of the Garter in 1348. On September 19, 1356, Edward distinguished himself by winning a great victory at the Battle of Poitiers, taking King John II of France prisoner. Edward served as Lieutenant of Aquitaine from 1355 – 1372 and was created Prince of Aquitaine in 1362.

Edward, the Black Prince, is granted Aquitaine by his father King Edward III; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward married Joan, 4th Countess of Kent, his father’s first cousin, on October 10, 1361, at Windsor Castle.  Joan was the daughter and heiress of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, the younger son of King Edward I of England by his second wife Margaret of France. In 1362, Edward was invested as Prince of Aquitaine, a region of France that belonged to the English crown since the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II.  Joan and Edward then moved to Bordeaux, the capital of Aquitaine, where they spent the next nine years. Both of their children were born in France:

• Edward of Angoulême (1365 – 1372), died of the plague at the age of five
• Richard of Bordeaux, later King Richard II of England (1367 – 1400), married (1) Anne of Bohemia, no issue (2) Isabella of Valois (no issue)

Edward of Angouleme and Joan of Kent, depicted on the Wilton Diptych, 1395; Credit – Wikipedia

Richard II of England, portrait at Westminster Abbey, mid-1390s; Credit – Wikipedia

Around the time of the birth of his younger son, Edward was lured into an unsuccessful war on behalf of King Pedro of Castile.  Edward contracted an illness during this war that ailed him until he died in 1376. It was believed that he contracted dysentery, which killed more medieval soldiers than battle, but it is unlikely that he could survive a ten-year battle with dysentery. Other possible diagnoses include edema, nephritis, or cirrhosis. By 1371, Edward could no longer perform his duties as Prince of Aquitaine and returned to England. In 1372, he forced himself to attempt one final campaign, hoping to save his father’s French possessions, but the prevailing winds off the shores of France prevented the ships from landing and the campaign was aborted.

Edward’s health was now completely shattered. On June 8, 1376, a week before his forty-sixth birthday, Edward died at the Palace of Westminster. His father King Edward III died a year later, on June 21, 1377, and was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson King Richard II, the surviving son of Edward the Black Prince. Edward had requested to be buried in the crypt at Canterbury Cathedral. He was buried at Canterbury Cathedral but not in the crypt. He was buried in a tomb with a bronze effigy on the south side of the shrine of Thomas Becket behind the choir. Edward’s heraldic helmet and gauntlets were placed above his tomb. Today, replicas hang above his tomb and the originals are in a glass case nearby. The epitaph inscribed around his effigy:

Such as thou art, sometime was I.
Such as I am, such shalt thou be.
I thought little on th’our of Death
So long as I enjoyed breath.
On earth I had great riches
Land, houses, great treasure, horses, money and gold.
But now a wretched captive am I,
Deep in the ground, lo here I lie.
My beauty great, is all quite gone,
My flesh is wasted to the bone.

Tomb of Edward the Black Prince at Canterbury Cathedral; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Replicas of Edward’s heraldic helmet, gauntlets, etc. above his tomb; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited
“Edward, the black prince.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Nov. 2016. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
Joelson, Annette. England’s Princes of Wales. New York: Dorset Press, 1966. Print.
Toulouse illustrée, Histoire de. “Édouard de Woodstock.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 23 June 1330. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

Queen Victoria replica by Sir George Hayter, oil on canvas, 1863 (1838), NPG 1250 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The much-anticipated series about Queen Victoria, Victoria, will begin an eight-week run on Masterpiece on PBS stations in the United States on Sunday, January 15, 2017 and continue through March 5, 2017. Check your local PBS station for the dates and time. The series was shown on ITV in the United Kingdom from August 28, 2016 through October 9, 2016. Jenna Coleman, who was in Doctor Who for three years, plays Queen Victoria. ITV has renewed Victoria for a second season, so we can expect to see the second season sometime in the future on PBS.

• PBS: Masterpiece – Victoria

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Here at Unofficial Royalty, we have a number of Queen Victoria resources. Please check out the links below. Enjoy!

• Unofficial Royalty: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
• Unofficial Royalty: Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, The Prince Consort
• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Unofficial Royalty: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Victoria’s father, son of King George III)
• Unofficial Royalty: Victoria of Saxe-Saalfeld-Gotha, Duchess of Kent (Victoria’s mother)
• Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Wales (Victoria’s cousin who died in childbirth)
• Unofficial Royalty: Death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in childbirth and its impact on the succession to the British throne
• Unofficial Royalty: Queen Victoria’s Children and Grandchildren (articles on Queen Victoria’s nine children and their spouses and all her grandchildren and all their spouses)
• Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Family
• Unofficial Royalty: December 14 – Queen Victoria’s Dire Day
• Unofficial Royalty: Bibliography of Royal Biographies: Queen Victoria and Family

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, 15th-century drawing; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on October 3, 1390, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester was the youngest son and the fourth of the six children of King Henry IV of England and his first wife Mary de Bohun, who died before her husband became king. When Humphrey was four-years-old, his mother Mary died at the age of 25 giving birth to her last child.

Humphrey had five siblings:

• King Henry V of England (1386–1422), married Catherine of Valois, had one son King Henry VI of England
• Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence (1387–1421), married Margaret Holland, no issue
• John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389–1435), married (1) Anne of Burgundy, no issue (2) Jacquetta of Luxembourg, no issue
• Blanche of England, Countess Palatine (1392–1409) married Ludwig III, Elector Palatine, had issue
• Philippa of England (1394–1430) married Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, no issue

Humphrey’s father King Henry IV, who usurped the throne from his first cousin King Richard II of England in 1399 and became the first Lancaster king, was the eldest surviving son of John of Gaunt (third surviving son of King Edward III of England) and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. Nine-year-old Humphrey was knighted just before his father’s coronation and was made a Knight of the Garter the following year. A few months before he turned 13 years old, Humphrey saw his first battle action at the Battle of Shrewsbury where his father King Henry IV defeated a rebel army led by Henry “Harry Hotspur” Percy.

Humphrey received an excellent education and it is thought he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford.  He had a great love of learning, was a collector of books and manuscripts, and commissioned translations of classical works from Greek into Latin. When Humphrey died, he donated his collection of 281 manuscripts to the University of Oxford. The university built Duke Humfrey’s Library as a second story to the Divinity School to house his collection in 1450-80. Duke Humfrey’s Library still exists and it is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.

Duke Humfrey’s Library; By Diliff – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38962983

In 1413, Humphrey’s father Henry IV died and his brother succeeded him as King Henry V. Humphrey was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain of England in 1413 and was created Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Pembroke in 1414. During his brother’s campaigns in France, Humphrey proved to be a successful commander. During the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, Humphrey was wounded and was protected by his brother King Henry V who fought off a group of French knights.

In 1422, King Henry V, aged 35, died of dysentery, a disease that killed more soldiers than battle, leaving a nine-month-old son, King Henry VI, to inherit his throne. The baby king, seated in his mother’s lap, presided over Parliament on September 28, 1423, when the nobles swore loyalty to him. One of Henry V’s surviving brothers, John, Duke of Bedford, was appointed Regent and put in charge of the ongoing war in France. During Bedford’s absence, the government of England was headed by Henry V’s other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who was appointed Protector and Defender of the Realm.

Humphrey had two unsuccessful marriages. In February or March 1423, Humphrey married Jacqueline, Countess of Holland, Zealand, and Hainault.  Jacqueline had been previously married to Jean, Dauphin of France who died in 1417. She then married Jean IV, Duke of Brabant, who mistreated her.  Jacqueline fled to England and said she wanted her marriage annulled. She was an honored guest at the English court and was one of the godparents of the future King Henry VI.  Jacqueline received an annulment of her marriage to Jean IV, Duke of Brabant from Antipope Benedict XIII before she married Humphrey. However, the annulment was not recognized by Pope Martin V who declared Humphrey and Jacqueline’s marriage void in 1428. Even after the death of Jean IV, Humphrey and Jacqueline did not remarry.  Jacqueline returned to her homeland and married Frank II of Borssele.

Jacqueline, Countess of Holland, Zealand, and Hainault; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1428, Humphrey made a second marriage to his mistress Eleanor Cobham who had been a lady-in-waiting to Humphrey’s first wife. Eleanor consulted two astrologers Thomas Southwell and Roger Bolingbroke to predict the future. One of the predictions was that King Henry VI would suffer a life-threatening illness in July or August 1441. The astrologers were arrested for treason and heresy, and when they were interrogated, they named Eleanor as the instigator so she was also arrested and tried. Eleanor denied the charges but did admit to obtaining potions from Margery Jourdemayne, the Witch of Eye Next Westminster, who was convicted and burned as a witch. The two astrologers were also convicted, Southwell died at the Tower of London awaiting execution, and Bolingbroke was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Eleanor was also found guilty. She had to do public penance in London, divorce her husband, and was condemned to life imprisonment.

Illuminated miniature of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and his second wife Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester from the Liber Benefactorum of St Albans by Thomas Walsingham, 1431; Credit – Wikipedia

Humphrey had two illegitimate children. Their mothers may have been unknown mistresses or it is possible that Eleanor Cobham was the mother of one or both. The descendants of his illegitimate daughter Antigone of Gloucester are the only known descendants of King Henry IV still living after 1471.

• Arthur of Gloucester, died after 1447 (see the last paragraph)
• Antigone of Gloucester (born circa 1425-1428, died after 1450), married (1) Henry Grey, 2nd Earl of Tankerville, Lord of Powys, had issue; (2) John d’Amancier, no issue

After Eleanor’s trial, Humphrey withdrew from public life, but in February 1447, he was summoned to Parliament at Bury St. Edmunds. Humphrey had become the heir presumptive to the throne after the death of his older brother John, Duke of Bedford in 1435 and it was feared that if Henry VI left England, Humphrey could exercise his claim to be regent. Humphrey was hostile to the French while the English powers wanted peace. Humphrey was arrested and it appeared there would be a trial that would result in Humphrey’s disgrace or even a worse fate. However, there was no trial as five days later on February 23, 1447, Humphrey died, aged 57, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. There is some suspicion that foul play was involved, but most likely Humphrey had a stroke because he was in a coma for three days before he died. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester was buried at the Abbey Church of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England. Before his burial, his body was displayed to dispel rumors that there had been foul play involved in his death.

Plaque marking the grave of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After Humphrey died in 1447, thirty-two of his followers, including his illegitimate son Arthur of Gloucester, were arrested after being accused of holding a seditious meeting where they had agreed to kill King Henry VI and place Arthur’s father Humphrey on the throne. On July 8, 1447, Arthur and four others were tried and condemned to be hanged, disemboweled, beheaded, and quartered for plotting treason against the king. However, Arthur and the others were pardoned without further punishment. There is no trace of Arthur of Gloucester after the pardon.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• “Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Sept. 2016. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.
• Jones, Dan. The Wars of the Roses. New York: Viking, 2014. Print.
• Plantagenet ancestry: A study in colonial and medieval families, 2nd edition .. N.p.: Douglas Richardson, n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.
• Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales; 18th-century engraving; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward of Westminster was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King. The others are:

• • Edward of Woodstock (the Black Prince), predeceased his father King Edward III
  • Edward of Middleham, predeceased his father King Richard III,  two years later his father lost his crown and his life at the Battle of Bosworth Field
  • Arthur Tudor, predeceased his father King Henry VII
  • Henry Frederick Stuart, predeceased his father King James I
  • James Francis Edward Stuart, his father King James II was deposed
  • Frederick Louis, predeceased his father King George II

Edward of Westminster was born on October 13, 1453, at the Palace of Westminster in London. He was the only child of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. In 1454, Edward was created Prince of Wales.

Shortly before his son was born, Henry VU had some kind of mental breakdown. He was unable to recognize or respond to people for over a year. These attacks may have been hereditary. Henry’s maternal grandfather King Charles VI suffered similar attacks, thinking he was made of glass. Sometimes Henry had hallucinations which makes some modern medical experts think he may have had a form of schizophrenia. Porphyria, which may have afflicted King George III, has also been suggested as a cause. During Henry VI’s incapacity, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the next in line to the throne after Henry V’s son, governed as Lord Protector.

Even before Edward’s birth, factions were forming and the seeds of the Wars of the Roses were being planted. Edward’s mother, Margaret of Anjou, was an intelligent, energetic woman and realized she would have to take on most of her husband’s duties.  She aligned herself with Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Margaret believed her husband was threatened with being deposed by Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York who thought he had a better claim to the throne and would be a better king than Henry. After Henry’s recovery in 1455, the Duke of York was dismissed, and Margaret and the Duke of Somerset became all-powerful. Eventually, things came to a head between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, and war broke out.

At the First Battle of St. Albans on May 22, 1455, the Duke of Somerset was killed. Afterward, there was peace, but hostilities started again four years later. On July 10, 1460, Henry VI was captured at the Battle of Northampton and forced to recognize the Duke of York as his heir instead of his own son. Margaret rallied the Lancastrian forces and was victorious at the Battle of Wakefield on December 29, 1460. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland were both killed in the battle.

The leader of the Yorkists was now the late Duke of York’s eldest son Edward, Earl of March, the future King Edward IV. During the Second Battle of St. Albans on February 17, 1461, Henry VI’s freedom was secured and it is alleged that he laughed and sang insanely throughout the battle. The Yorkists regained the upper hand at the Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461, when Edward, Earl of March defeated the Lancastrian forces in a snowstorm. Henry fled to Scotland, and England had a new king, as Edward, Earl of March became King Edward IV from the House of York.

Henry VI returned from Scotland in 1464 and participated in an ineffective uprising. In 1465, Henry was captured and taken to the Tower of London. His wife Margaret, exiled in France, wanted to restore the throne to her husband. Coincidentally, King Edward IV had a falling out with his major supporters, his brother George, Duke of Clarence and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker. Margaret, Clarence, and Warwick formed an alliance at the urging of King Louis XI of France. Edward IV was forced into exile, and Henry VI was restored to the throne on October 30, 1470.

Margaret of Anjou was suspicious of Warwick and to ease her suspicions, Warwick betrothed his daughter Lady Anne Neville to Edward, Prince of Wales. On December 13, 1470, 17-year-old Edward and 14-year-old Anne were married in Angers Cathedral in France, and Anne became Princess of Wales. It is suspected that the marriage was never consummated.

However, once again, Edward IV got the upper hand. Edward IV returned to England in early 1471 and killed Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. The final decisive Yorkist victory was at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471, where Margaret led the Lancastrian forces and her son Edward, Prince of Wales was killed.  The only Prince of Wales to be killed in battle, he was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey where a plaque on the floor in the center of the sanctuary marks his grave.  The plaque has an inscription in Latin, translated into English says: “Here lies Edward, Prince of Wales, cruelly slain whilst but a youth. Anno Domini 1471, May 4th. Alas, the savagery of men. Thou art the sole light of thy Mother, and the last hope of thy race.”

Plaque marking the grave of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales; Credit – www.susanhigginbotham.com

Henry VI was returned to the Tower of London and died on May 21, 1471, probably murdered on orders from Edward IV.  Edward, Prince of Wales’ widow Anne Neville married Edward IV’s brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who eventually succeeded to the throne as King Richard III in 1483.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Contemporary drawing of Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward of Middleham was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King. The others are:

• Edward the Black Prince, predeceased his father King Edward III
• Edward of Westminster, his father King Henry VI was deposed and then Edward was killed in battle
• Arthur Tudor, predeceased his father King Henry VII
• Henry Frederick Stuart, predeceased his father King James I
• James Francis Edward Stuart, his father King James II was deposed
• Frederick Louis, predeceased his father King George II

Edward of Middleham was probably born in December of 1473 at Middleham Castle, near York, England. At the time of his birth, his parents were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the future King Richard III and his wife Lady Anne Neville. Edward was a sickly child and spent most of his time at Middleham Castle.

Middleham Castle; By CJW – CJW, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2831364

Two years before Edward’s birth, his paternal uncle King Edward IV had once and for all defeated King Henry VI and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses. On April 9, 1483, King Edward IV died, several weeks before his 41st birthday, and his 13-year-old son became King Edward V with his uncle (and Edward’s father) Richard, Duke of Gloucester as his Lord Protector. Richard feared that the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s wife, Elizabeth Woodville, would attempt to take control of the young king. Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, the young king’s maternal uncle, and Sir Richard Grey, the young king’s half-brother, were arrested and executed.

The Duke of Gloucester had his nephew brought to the Tower of London on May 19, 1483, to await his coronation, which never happened. The widowed Elizabeth Woodville and her children sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, fearing the Duke of Gloucester’s further actions. Elizabeth was persuaded to let her second son, Richard, Duke of York, leave sanctuary and join his lonely brother at the Tower of London. Richard joined his brother on June 16, 1483. The two boys, who were Edward’s first cousins, were seen less and less until by the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester was then informed that Edward IV’s marriage was invalid because he had previously contracted to marry Lady Eleanor Butler, who was living when the marriage to Elizabeth took place. This made Edward IV and Elizabeth’s children illegitimate and upheld Richard’s claim to the throne. The citizens of London drew up a petition asking Richard to assume the throne, which he agreed to on June 26, 1483. On July 6, 1483, Richard and his wife Anne Neville were crowned in Westminster Abbey, but their son Edward did not attend, probably due to illness.

On August 24, 1483, Edward was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.  During the summer of 1483, King Richard III and Queen Anne made a royal progress of their kingdom.  Edward joined them at Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire, England, and accompanied them to York.  On September 8, 1483, Edward’s ceremonial investiture as Prince of Wales was held at York Minster in York, England

Contemporary illumination of Richard III, his queen Anne Neville, and their son Edward the Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

King Richard III and Queen Anne were on a royal progress and had reached Nottingham when they heard the news that on April 9, 1484, Edward died of unknown causes at the age of ten at his birthplace, Middleham Castle. The Croyland Chronicle reported, “You might have seen his father and mother in a state almost bordering madness, by reason of their sudden grief.”  His burial place is unknown.  For a very long time, it was thought that an effigy on a cenotaph (empty tomb) in St. Helen and Holy Cross Church in Sheriff Hutton, England was Edward, but it is now thought to be an earlier member of the Neville family.

Edward’s mother Anne survived her son by less than a year, dying most likely of tuberculosis, on March 16, 1485, at the Palace of Westminster. Her husband King Richard III survived her by only five months, losing his crown and his life on August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited
“Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Oct. 2016. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.
Susan. “Anne Neville, queen of England.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 19 June 2016. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

On each Christmas Day at 3 PM United Kingdom time, Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas Broadcast is viewed by families across the United Kingdom, even by the Royal Family who sit down to their Christmas dinner at Sandringham House at 1:15 PM so they will be ready to watch the broadcast together. This year’s broadcast can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvSsmBDY_fk

Official Website of the British Monarchy: History of the Christmas Broadcast

Queen Elizabeth II missed Christmas services for the first time in 28 years because of a heavy cold.  A palace spokesperson said, “Her Majesty the Queen will not attend church at Sandringham this morning. The Queen continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery. Her Majesty will participate in the Royal Family Christmas celebrations during the day.”  Zara and Mike Tindall were not seen as the Royal Family made their annual walk to Christmas services.  It was announced yesterday that the Queen’s granddaughter had suffered a miscarriage.  However, her mother Princess Anne, The Princess Royal and her brother Peter Phillips and his family attended the Christmas services. Click on the links for more photos.

• BBC: Queen misses Christmas Day church service ‘because of cold’
• Daily Mail: The Queen misses traditional Christmas day church service at Sandringham for the first time in 30 years as she is ‘recovering from a heavy cold’ but the rest of the Royal family attend
• Getty Images: The Royal Family Attend Church On Christmas Day

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte are spending Christmas with the Middleton family in Bucklebury, Berkshire and attended Christmas services there.

• Daily Mail: Prince George and Princess Charlotte steal the show as their parents take them to the church in Kate’s home village of Bucklebury where Pippa is thought to be getting married in May
• Getty Images: The Middleton Family Attend Church On Christmas Day

Prince Albert, The Prince Consort; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

December 14 was the worst day of the year for Queen Victoria. On that day in 1861, her beloved husband Prince Albert had died at the age of 42. Besides the death of Prince Albert, December 14 marked several other events in Queen Victoria’s family.

• Unofficial Royalty: December 14 – Queen Victoria’s Dire Day

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by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

The effigy of Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk; Credit – Wikipedia

A granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and the mother of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, Lady Frances Brandon was the second child of the four children and eldest daughter of Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Lady Frances Brandon was born on July 16, 1517, at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, England. At the time of her birth, Hatfield House belonged to the Bishop of Ely. Her mother was making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, England when she unexpectedly went into labor, so she stopped at Hatfield House to have her baby.

Frances’ parents Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk; Credit – Wikipedia

Frances had two brothers and one sister, but only her sister survived childhood:

• Henry Brandon (1516 – 1522)
• Lady Eleanor Brandon (1519 – 1547), married Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, had two sons and one daughter, only the daughter survived
• Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln (circa 1523 – 1534)

Although Frances and her siblings were only the children of a duke, they had their mother’s royal blood. They were the grandchildren of King Henry VII of England and the nieces and nephews of King Henry VIII of England and therefore had claims to the English throne.  Frances and her siblings along with their older half-sisters Anne and Mary Brandon, grew up under the supervision of their nurse Anne Kynge at Westhrope Hall in Suffolk, England.

Frances’ father tried to arrange a marriage for her with Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, eldest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. However, the marriage proposal was rejected because Frances’ dowry was not large enough. When Frances was 12-years-old, she was betrothed to Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset. In 1533, with the permission of her uncle King Henry VIII, Frances married Henry Grey at Suffolk Place, her father’s mansion in Southwark, London. Frances’ wedding was the last public appearance of her mother Mary Tudor. Immediately after the wedding, the already seriously ill Mary went back to Westhorpe Hall where she died on June 25, 1533.

Frances and Henry’s home was Bradgate House in Leicestershire, one of the homes of the Grey family. Their first two children, a son and a daughter, both died young. They then had three daughters.

• Lady Jane Grey (1537–1554), married Lord Guildford Dudley, no children; Queen of England from July 10, 1553 – July 19, 1553, executed 1554
• Lady Catherine Grey (1540–1568), married (1) Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, marriage annulled, no children; (2) Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, had two sons
• Lady Mary Grey (1545–1578), married Thomas Keyes, no children

Three months after his wife’s death, Frances’ father Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, married his ward, 14-year-old Catherine Willoughby, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby in her own right. She had been betrothed to his son Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln, but he was too young to marry. Suffolk did not wish to risk losing Catherine’s lands, so he married her himself. Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk died in 1545. He had two sons with Catherine Willoughby, Henry, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (1535–1551) and Charles, 3rd Duke of Suffolk (c. 1537–1551), who both died of the sweating sickness within an hour of each other.

As the niece of King Henry VIII, Frances was one of the highest-ranking women at court and often took on ceremonial duties. Together with her first cousins who were almost the same age, Princess Mary (Henry VIII’s daughter, later Queen Mary I) and Lady Margaret Douglas (Margaret Tudor’s daughter), she led the funeral procession for her uncle’s third wife Jane Seymour and was among the ladies who welcomed Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves to England. Along with her younger sister Eleanor, her stepmother Catherine Willoughby, and her cousin Margaret Douglas, Frances served as a lady-in-waiting to her uncle’s sixth wife Catherine Parr. This was a great honor and it allowed Frances’ eldest daughter Jane to be introduced into the higher circles at court.

After the death of Frances’ half-brothers Henry and Charles in 1551, the title Duke of Suffolk reverted back to the crown. Since Frances was now the rightful heir to her father, her husband Henry Grey was granted the title Duke of Suffolk “jure uxoris” (by right of his wife). This was a social advancement that improved the family’s financial situation.

Frances was aware of the role her daughters, especially her eldest daughter Jane, could play in England. Jane was very well educated. She studied Greek and Hebrew with John Aylmer, later Bishop of England, and Italian and Latin with Michelangelo Florio, a former Franciscan friar who converted to Protestantism. In 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of King Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who married King Henry VIII’s widow, Catherine Parr. Jane lived with the couple until the death of Catherine in childbirth in September 1548 and acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral.

The powerful John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland thought marrying one of his sons to Lady Jane Grey would be a good idea. On May 25, 1553, three weddings were celebrated at Durham Place, the Duke of Northumberland’s London home. Lord Guildford Dudley, the fifth surviving son of the Duke of Northumberland married Lady Jane Grey, Guildford’s sister Lady Katherine Dudley married Henry Hastings, the Earl of Huntingdon’s heir, and Jane’s sister Lady Catherine Grey married Henry Herbert, the heir of the Earl of Pembroke.

As King Edward VI lay dying in the early summer of 1553, the succession to the throne according to the Third Succession Act looked like this, and note that number four in the succession was the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law.

1) Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
2) Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
3) Duchess of Suffolk (Lady Frances Brandon), daughter of Mary Tudor
4) Lady Jane Grey, daughter of Frances Brandon
5) Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of Frances Brandon
6) Lady Mary Grey, daughter of Frances Brandon
7) Lady Margaret Clifford, daughter of Countess of Cumberland (born Lady Eleanor Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor)

King Edward VI’s death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would cause trouble for the English Reformation. Many on Edward’s Council feared this, including the Duke of Northumberland. What exact role the Duke of Northumberland had in what followed is still debated, but surely he played a big part in the unfolding of what happened. The king opposed Mary’s succession not only for religious reasons but also because of her illegitimacy and his belief in male succession. Both Edward’s half sisters Mary and Elizabeth were still considered legally illegitimate.

King Edward composed a document “My devise for the succession” in which he passed over his half-sisters and Frances. Edward meant for the throne to go to Frances’ daughters and their male heirs.  Frances and her husband were outraged at her removal from the succession, but after a meeting with the ailing king, Frances renounced her rights in favor of her daughter Jane.  Jane did not have any idea of what was occurring.

After great suffering, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, most likely from tuberculosis. On July 9, Jane was told she was Queen of England and reluctantly accepted the fact. She was publicly proclaimed Queen with much pomp after Edward’s death was announced on July 10. Queen Jane made a state entry into the Tower of London. Frances carried her train and the rather short Queen Jane wore raised shoes to give her height. Jane showed some spirit when she refused to allow her husband to be proclaimed king.

The Duke of Northumberland had to find Mary and hopefully capture her before she could gather support.  However, as soon as Mary knew her half-brother was dead, she wrote a letter to the Privy Council with orders for her proclamation as Edward’s successor and started to gather support.  By July 12, Mary and her supporters had assembled a military force at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk.  The Duke of Northumberland set out from London with troops on July 14.  The nobility was incensed with Northumberland and the people,  for the most part, wanted Mary as their Queen, not Jane.  In Northumberland’s absence, the Privy Council switched their allegiance from Jane to Mary and proclaimed her Queen on July 19, 1553.  Mary arrived triumphantly in London on August 3, 1553, accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen.

The Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553. Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley were charged with high treason as was Jane’s father Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. They were all found guilty. Queen Mary appeared as if she was going to be lenient, but the Protestant rebellion of Thomas Wyatt the Younger in January 1554 sealed Jane’s fate, even though she had nothing to do with the rebellion. Wyatt’s Rebellion was a reaction to Queen Mary’s planned marriage to the future King Philip II of Spain. Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley were executed on February 12, 1534. The Duke of Suffolk was executed on February 23, 1554.

Frances’ life was now in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in March 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died on November 20, 1559, at her residence Charterhouse in London with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her side. The cost of her funeral was paid by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey. Four years later, her widower Adrian Stokes had a beautiful tomb and effigy placed over her grave with this epitaph in Latin:

Nor grace, nor splendor, nor a royal name,
Nor widespread fame can aught avail;
All, all have vanished here.
True worth alone survives the funeral pyre and silent tomb.

Tomb of Frances Brandon in Westminster Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited
Abrufstatistik. “Frances Brandon.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, Jan. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
“Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
Susan. “Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 10 July 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.