Category Archives: British Royals

Margaret of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Statue of Margaret of France, Queen of England at Lincoln Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret of France was the second wife of King Edward I of England. Probably born in Paris, France in 1279, Margaret was the youngest child of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Margaret had two siblings:

Margaret had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Isabella of Aragon:

King Edward I of England had a loving marriage with his first wife Eleanor of Castile, and they were inseparable throughout their married life. Edward I is one of the few English kings of the time period to apparently be faithful to his wife. Eleanor accompanied her husband on Crusade and on other military campaigns. She died in 1290 at the age of 49, and King Edward I was devastated. He had been married to Eleanor for 36 years, and she had given birth to 14-16 children. However, only six children, five daughters and one son, were still living when Eleanor died in 1290. The son was the youngest child and only six years old. Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession.

Edward I was also anxious for an alliance with France. In 1291, he arranged for the betrothal of his seven-year-old son Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward II) to Blanche of France, the half-sister of King Philippe IV of France and the sister of Margaret of France. However, in 1293, after hearing of Blanche’s beauty, Edward I broke off his son’s betrothal to Blanche and sent emissaries to negotiate a marriage between himself and Blanche. King Philippe IV of France agreed to the marriage providing that a truce would be concluded between the two countries and that Edward would cede the province of Gascony to France. Edward agreed, but when his brother Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster went to fetch Blanche, he discovered that Blanche was already betrothed to Rudolf, Duke of Austria. King Philippe IV instead offered Edward Blanche’s younger sister Margaret, who was only eleven years old. Edward I refused, and instead declared war on France. Five years later, King Edward, I of England and King Philippe IV of France declared a truce under which Edward would marry Margaret, now a more mature 16 years old.

On September 10, 1299, at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England 60-year-old King Edward I and 17-year-old Margaret of France were married. This was followed by four days of wedding festivities. Margaret was never crowned, making her the first queen since the Norman Conquest in 1066 not to be crowned.

Edward and Margaret had three children:

Edward I of England and Margaret of France; Credit – Wikipedia

As King Edward I’s first wife did, Margaret accompanied him on military campaigns. Margaret got along well with her stepson Edward, Prince of Wales, who was two years younger than her, and Margaret often reconciled the prince with his father when the two disagreed. In the summer of 1307, Margaret accompanied Edward I on a military campaign in Scotland. On the way to Scotland, the 68-year-old king died on July 7, 1307, at Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England.

Although the widowed Margaret was still in her 20s, she never remarried saying, “When Edward died, all men died for me.” In January 1308, Margaret accompanied her stepson King Edward II of England to Boulogne, France where he married Margaret’s half-niece Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV. Margaret then retired to her dower house, Marlborough Castle, in Wiltshire, England, where she lived the rest of her life. She died there on February 14, 1318, not yet 40 years old, and was buried at Christ Church Greyfriars in London, England which she had co-founded. Her beautifully carved tomb was destroyed during the English Reformation and sold for its marble and other valuable materials.

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King Edward I of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Portrait at Westminster Abbey done sometime during reign of Edward I, thought to be an image of the king; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward I of England, the firstborn child of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence, was born on June 17, 1239, at the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was the first time the Anglo-Saxon name Edward (Anglo-Saxon Ēadweard, ead: wealth, fortune; prosperous and weard: guardian, protector) was used for a child of the monarch since the Norman Conquest. Henry III was devoted to St. Edward the Confessor, King of England and named the infant after the monarch/saint.

Edward had four siblings:

Henry III (top) and his children, (l to r) Edward, Margaret, Beatrice, Edmund, and Katherine; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward was raised under the care of Hugh Giffard of Boyton, a royal justice, and his wife Sibyl, daughter and co-heiress of Walter de Cormeilles. After Giffard’s death in 1346, Sir Bartholomew Pecche became Edward’s tutor. Edward spoke Norman French as did his ancestors, but he mastered English fairly well. His closest childhood friend was his first cousin Henry of Almain, the son of his paternal uncle Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, who remained a close companion of Edward.

In 1254, a possible invasion of the English territory Gascony (in France) by Castile, caused King Henry III to make a marriage alliance with King Alfonso X of Castile. 15-year-old Edward was to marry 13-year-old Eleanor of Castile, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile. Eleanor was the daughter of (Saint) King Ferdinand III of Castile and his second wife Jeanne de Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu in her own right. The young couple was married on November 1, 1254, in the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain.

Edward and Eleanor (sculptures on the facade of Lincoln Cathedral); Credit – Wikipedia

Edward and Eleanor had a loving marriage and were inseparable throughout their married life.  Edward is one of the few English kings of the period to apparently be faithful to his wife.  Eleanor accompanied her husband on Crusade and other military campaigns.

The couple had 14-16 children, but only six survived childhood.

  • Daughter (stillborn in May 1255)
  • Katherine of England (before 1264 – 1264)
  • Joan of England (born and died 1265)
  • John of England (1266 – 1271)
  • Henry of England (1268 – 1274)
  • Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Count Henry III of Bar, had issue
  • Daughter (born and died 1271)
  • Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) in 1290 Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, had issue  (2) in 1297 Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had issue
  • Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284)
  • Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married John II of Brabant, had issue
  • Berengaria (1276 – 1278)
  • Daughter (born and died 1278)
  • Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
  • Son (born in 1280 or 1281, died very shortly after birth)
  • Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) in 1297 John I, Count of Holland, no issue (2) in 1302 Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had issue
  • King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had issue

Edward’s father King Henry III was a weak king. His wife’s family and his half-brothers from his mother’s second marriage were rewarded with large estates, largely at the expense of the English barons. From 1236 to 1258, the weak king fluctuated repeatedly between various advisers including his brother Richard of Cornwall and his Lusignan half-brothers, greatly displeasing the English barons. In addition, the English barons were displeased with Henry III’s demands for extra funds, Henry’s methods of government, and widespread famine.

The displeasure of the English nobility with the king ultimately resulted in a civil war, the Second Barons’ War (1264–1267). The leader of the forces against Henry III was led by his brother-in-law Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, who was married to Henry’s sister Eleanor. de Montfort wanted to reassert the Magna Carta and force the king to surrender more power to the baron’s council. Edward loyally supported his father during the Barons’ War.

In 1264 at the Battle of Lewes, Henry III and his son Edward I were defeated and captured. Henry was forced to summon a parliament and promise to rule with the advice of a council of barons. Henry was reduced to a figurehead king, and de Montfort broadened parliamentary representation to include groups beyond the nobility, members from each English county and many important towns. Fifteen months later, Edward led the royalists into battle again, defeating and killing de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Ultimately, authority was restored to King Henry III and severe retribution was exacted on the rebellious barons. In 1266, the Dictum of Kenilworth worked out a reconciliation between the king and the rebels. In the years that followed his death, Simon de Montfort’s grave was frequently visited by pilgrims. Today, de Montfort is considered one of the fathers of representative government.

King Henry III was increasingly ill and infirm during his final years. Edward became the Steward of England and began to play a more prominent role in government. King Henry III died at the age of 69 on November 16, 1272, at the Palace of Westminster and Edward became king. in 1270, Edward had gone off on the Crusades accompanied by his wife Eleanor, and at the time of his father’s death, he was in Sicily making his slow way back to England. The new king thought England was safe under his mother’s regency and a royal council led by Robert Burnell,  so he did not hurry back to England. On his way back to England, King Edward I visited Pope Gregory X in Rome and King Philip III of France in Paris and suppressed a rebellion in Gascony. He finally arrived back in his kingdom on August 2, 1274. On August 19, 1274, King Edward I and his wife Eleanor were crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Edward I’s relentless, but unsuccessful campaign to assert his overlordship over Scotland was resisted by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, (later King Robert I of Scotland) but it gave him one of his nicknames, “Hammer of the Scots,” which was inscribed on his tomb. In 1296, Edward I captured the Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. Edward had the Stone of Scone taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as King Edward’s Chair, on which most subsequent English monarchs have been crowned. In 1996, 700 years after it was taken, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland. It is kept at Edinburgh Castle in the Crown Room alongside the crown jewels of Scotland (the Honours of Scotland) when not used at coronations.

Coronation Chair with Stone of Scone in Westminster Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward I’s campaign in Wales was much more successful, resulting in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1283. Edward I ensured that Wales remained under English control by building the castle fortresses at Rhuddlan, Conwy, Denbigh, Harlech, and Caernarfon, and all the castles still stand today. The tradition of conferring the title “Prince of Wales” on the heir apparent of the monarch is usually considered to have begun in 1301 when King Edward I of England invested his son Edward of Caernarfon (later King Edward II) with the title at a Parliament held in Lincoln. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

Early 14th-century depiction of Edward I (left) declaring his son Edward (right) the Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

In the autumn of 1290, while traveling north to meet her husband who had been attending a session of Parliament in Nottinghamshire, Eleanor, Edward’s beloved wife, fell ill. As she reached the village of Harby in Nottinghamshire, 22 miles from Lincoln, she could go no further, so she sought lodging at the house of Richard de Weston in Harby.  Eleanor’s condition worsened and messengers were sent to summon the king to her bedside.  King Edward arrived in Harby before Eleanor died on the evening of November 28, 1290.  Eleanor was 49 years old, had been married to Edward for 36 years, and had given birth to 14-16 children.

King Edward I was devastated when Eleanor died.  Eleanor’s body was taken to the Gilbertine Priory of St. Catherine in Lincoln, where she was embalmed. Her viscera were buried at Lincoln Cathedral and her body was then taken to London, where Eleanor was to be interred at Westminster Abbey.  It took 12 days to reach Westminster Abbey and twelve crosses, known as Eleanor Crosses, were erected at the places where her funeral procession stopped overnight.  Charing Cross in London is perhaps the most famous, but the cross there is a reconstruction.  Only three original crosses survive although they have had some reconstruction: Geddington Cross, Hardingstone Cross, and Waltham Cross.

Original Eleanor Cross, in Geddington, England;  Credit – Wikipedia

Statue of Eleanor of Castile, part of the Eleanor Cross at Waltham, Hertfordshire, England; Victoria and Albert Museum in London; Photo – Susan Flantzer

When Eleanor died, only six children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son was the youngest child and only six years old. Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession.  On September 10, 1299, in Canterbury, 60-year-old King Edward I and 17-year-old Margaret of France were married. This was followed by four days of wedding festivities. Margaret was never crowned, making her the first queen since the Norman Conquest in 1066 not to be crowned.

Edward and Margaret had three children:

Edward I of England and Margaret of France; Credit – Wikipedia

As King Edward I’s first wife did, Margaret accompanied him on military campaigns. Margaret got along well with her stepson Edward, Prince of Wales, who was two years younger than her, and Margaret often reconciled the prince with his father when the two disagreed. In the summer of 1307, Margaret accompanied Edward I on a military campaign in Scotland. On the way to Scotland, the 68-year-old king died on July 7, 1307, at Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England.  King Edward I was buried in Westminster Abbey near his father and his first wife Eleanor of Castile, adjacent to the tomb of his namesake Edward the Confessor, which can be seen in the background on the left in the photo below.

Tomb of Edward I at Westminster Abbey; Photo Credit – https://www.westminster-abbey.org

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Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England and one of the principal players in the Wars of the Roses, the battle for the English crown between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.  She was born on March 23, 1430, at Pont-à-Mousson, Duchy of Lorraine, now in France, that was ruled by a cadet branch of the French kings, the House of Valois-Anjou.  Margaret was the fifth of the ten children of René, Duke of Anjou and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine in her own right.  Margaret’s paternal aunt Marie of Anjou was married to King Charles VII of France.

Margaret’s nine siblings were:

France and England had been in a series of conflicts with each other since 1337 called the Hundred Years’ War.  King Henry V of England, a warrior king, the victor against the French at the Battle of Agincourt, determined to conquer France once and for all, succumbed to dysentery, a disease that killed more soldiers than battle, on August 31, 1422, at the age of 35, leaving a nine-month-old son to inherit his throne, King Henry VI. Two years before his death, Henry V had married Catherine of Valois, the daughter of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria.

On October 21, 1422, Henry VI became titular King of France upon his grandfather Charles VI’s death in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes. Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, England on November 6, 1429. Two years later, on December 16, 1431, he was crowned King of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Before Henry came of age, English rule in France had begun a steady decline with Joan of Arc‘s campaign in support of Dauphin of France, later King Charles VII of France. By 1453, only Calais remained of Henry V’s French conquests.

Henry, who was more interested in religion and learning than military matters, was not a successful king. He was shy, peaceful, and pious, hated bloodshed and deceit, and was not a warrior like his father. Instead of wearing the fashions of the day, Henry dressed in the clothing of a farmer or merchant. He lacked any kind of administrative skills which left him open to the machinations of his advisers. When it was time for him to marry, his advisers persuaded Henry that the way to achieve peace with France was to marry Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII of France. The couple was married at Titchfield Abbey in England on April 23, 1445. Margaret was crowned Queen Consort of England on May 30, 1445, at Westminster Abbey. She was to prove as strong as Henry was weak.

The marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and Henry had one child, born eight years after their marriage:

Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly before his son was born, Henry 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 from similar attacks, even thinking he was made of glass. Sometimes Henry also 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’s incapacity, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the next in line to the throne after Henry’s son, governed as Lord Protector.

Even before the birth of Henry’s son, factions were forming and the seeds of the Wars of the Roses were being planted. Margaret was an intelligent, energetic woman and realized that 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 a peace of sorts, but hostilities started again four years later. On July 10, 1460, Henry 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. The 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 of England. During the Second Battle of St. Albans on February 17, 1461, Henry’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 returned from Scotland in 1464 and took part in an ineffective uprising. In 1465, Henry was captured and taken to the Tower of London. 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. 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 of Westminster, Prince of Wales was killed. Henry VI was returned to the Tower of London and died on May 21, 1471, probably murdered on orders from Edward IV.

Margaret was imprisoned at Wallingford Castle in England with Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk (born Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer), her former lady-in-waiting, acting as her custodian. Margaret’s father René, Duke of Anjou worked tirelessly to arrange his daughter’s release. In 1475, King Louis XI agreed to pay Margaret’s ransom provided that her father would cede to France his territories of Anjou, Bar, Lorraine, and Provence.

Margaret was released from her imprisonment in November 1475 and arrived back in France in January 1476. She was allowed to join her father at his country home La Maison de Reculée near Angers. René, Duke of Anjou died in 1480. Two years later, Margaret died on August 25, 1482, at the age of 53. She was buried with her parents at Saint Maurice Cathedral in Angers. Her tomb survived until the French Revolution when it was destroyed in 1794 and her remains were scattered.

Drawing (ca. 1820) of the tomb of René d’Anjou and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine before its destruction in 1794; Credit – Wikipedia

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King Henry V of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Henry V of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The last great warrior king of the Middle Ages, King Henry V of England, was the eldest son of King Henry IV of England, known as Henry Bolingbroke before he became king, and his first wife Mary de Bohun, who died before her husband became king. He was born at Monmouth Castle in Wales on September 16, 1386. The powerful John of Gaunt, third surviving son of King Edward III of England, was his paternal grandfather. The king at the time of his birth was King Richard II, his father’s first cousin, the only child of Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) who had predeceased his father King Edward III.

Henry had five younger siblings:

The year after Henry’s birth, his father participated in the rebellion of the Lords Appellant, a group of nobles who wanted to restrain some of King Richard II’s favorites from the power they held. The Lords Appellant were successful for a time until John of Gaunt’s support enabled Richard to regain power. In 1394, when Henry was nearly eight years old, his mother died giving birth to his sister Philippa. In 1398, Henry’s father quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, King Richard II banished them from England. While his father was in exile, Richard II took charge of the 12-year-old Henry and eventually took him to his father in France.

On February 3, 1399, Henry’s grandfather John of Gaunt died and Richard II confiscated the estates of his uncle and stipulated that Henry Bolingbroke would have to ask him to restore the estates. Henry Bolingbroke returned to England while his cousin Richard II was on a military campaign in Ireland. He began a military campaign of his own, confiscating the land of those who had opposed him. King Richard II eventually was abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey in London, England, on October 13, 1399. The former Richard II was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire, England where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death, thought to have been starvation, is unknown.

Henry was now the heir to the English throne. At his father’s coronation on October 13, 1399, Henry was created Prince of Wales. A month later, he was created Duke of Lancaster. His other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. During 1399, Henry had spent time at The Queen’s College, Oxford, under the supervision of his uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester and the Chancellor of Oxford University.

In 1403, at the age of 16, Henry got his first taste of battle. Owain Glyndŵr‘s fight for Welsh independence started in 1400 and continued until 1415. Henry commanded part of the English forces and he led his own army into Wales against Owain Glyndŵr. In other conflicts, the Percy family, led by Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), and their supporters made three attempts to overthrow King Henry IV. At the Battle of Shrewsbury fought on July 21, 1403, which pitted an army led by King Henry IV against a rebel army led by Sir Henry Percy, Henry was hit in the face with an arrow during the fighting, sustaining a terrible wound. He later recovered due to the skilled treatment of court surgeon John Bradmore using honey, alcohol, and a specially designed surgical instrument. Henry was left with a permanent scar, evidence of his battle experience.

In 1410, King Henry IV’s poor health obliged Henry to take a share in running the government along with his uncles Cardinal Henry Beaufort and Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter. However, Henry’s policies differed from King Henry IV’s and when the king recovered somewhat, he dismissed his son from the council.

Henry, while Prince of Wales, presenting Thomas Hoccleve’s, Regement of Princes to the Duke of Norfolk, British Library, 1411–13; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 20, 1413, while in prayer at the shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, King Henry IV suffered a fatal attack, possibly a stroke. He was carried to the Jerusalem Chamber, a room in the house of the Abbey’s abbot, where he died at age 45. King Henry V’s coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on April 9, 1413, in a snowstorm.

In the first years of his reign, King Henry V benefited from a royal treasury that, for the first time in a long time, had a surplus. England’s longtime enemy France was ravaged by civil war, so it temporarily became less of a threat. Henry V began a reconciliation policy. King Richard II was rehabilitated as a former king and buried in Westminster Abbey. The noble families of York, Mortimer, Percy, and Holland, who had rebelled repeatedly against King Henry IV, had their titles and lands restored.

As the domestic situation settled down, Henry V devoted more time to foreign affairs. A renewal of the war of France also had a domestic benefit and would divert the attention of the great nobles. King Charles VI of France suffered from some kind of mental illness (he thought he was made of glass) and his son was not a great prospect as king, so the old dynastic claim to the throne of France, first pursued by Edward III of England, was renewed. Henry V demanded the complete restoration of the Angevin Empire, including Normandy, to England.

In the summer of 1415, the negotiations with France failed due to Henry V’s demands. In August of the same year, an English invading army of approximately 12,000 soldiers landed on the Normandy coast. Diseases, minor skirmishes, and long marches in rainy weather weakened the English army. Nevertheless, because of defensive tactics and the use of the English longbow, the English won a decisive victory over a numerically much superior French opponent at the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. The battle is the centerpiece of the play Henry V by William Shakespeare in which the character of Henry V gives the rousing St. Crispin’s Day speech before the battle. The historical Henry V did give a brief speech to the English army before the Battle of Agincourt emphasizing the right of his claim to the French throne and recalling the previous victories the English had over the French. According to Burgundian sources, he concluded the speech by telling the English longbowmen that the French had boasted that they would cut off two fingers from the right hand of every archer, so they could never draw a string again.

Battle of Agincourt, early 15th century; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1419, Henry V besieged Rouen, the capital of Normandy, where he herded 12,000 people into the moat surrounding the city and left them there to die of starvation and exposure. By August 1419, the English army had reached the walls of Paris. Negotiations for peace resulted in the Treaty of Troyes, an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. The treaty also arranged for the marriage of Charles VI’s daughter Catherine of Valois to Henry V and the disinheritance of the Dauphin of France (the future King Charles VII of France) from the French succession. On June 2, 1420, King Henry V married Catherine of Valois in Troyes, France.

Catherine went to England with Henry and was crowned queen in Westminster Abbey on February 23, 1421. In June 1421, Henry returned to France to continue his military campaigns. Catherine was already several months pregnant and gave birth to a son:

King Henry V never saw their child. The warrior king, the victor against the French at the Battle of Agincourt, determined to conquer France once and for all, succumbed to dysentery, a disease that killed more soldiers than battle, on August 31, 1422, at the age of 35, leaving a nine-month-old son to inherit his throne. King Charles VI of France died a couple of months after Henry V, making the young Henry VI King of England and King of France. Henry VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey on November 6, 1429. Two years later, on December 16, 1431, he was crowned King of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Before Henry VI came of age, English rule in France had begun a steady decline with Joan of Arc‘s campaign supporting Dauphin of France, later King Charles VII of France. By 1453, only Calais remained of Henry V’s French conquests.

Modern head on Henry V's tomb WEstminster Abbey.

Restored head on Henry V’s effigy; Photo Credit – http://westminster-abbey.org/

King Henry V’s body was dismembered, boiled, and then brought back to England for burial in Westminster Abbey. His tomb was damaged during the Reformation and at some time the head of the effigy disappeared, but it was restored in 1971.

Embed from Getty Images 

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Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby: Credit – Wikipedia

Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V of England, but she died before her husband became king. Mary was born around 1368 and was the second of the two children of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan.  Mary’s father, a descendant of King Edward I through his daughter Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, had become 7th Earl of Hereford after the death of his childless uncle Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford, and he became one of the most powerful noblemen in England. Mary’s mother Joan FitzAlan was the daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey, one of England’s wealthiest nobles. He was a military leader, an admiral, and a loyal supporter of King Edward III of England.

Mary had one elder sister:

When Mary’s father died in January 1373, his estates should have passed to his cousin Gilbert de Bohun because he had no sons. However, due to the influence of King Edward III, the estates of the 7th Earl of Hereford were divided between his two daughters. In 1376, Mary’s elder sister Eleanor married King Edward III’s youngest son Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Gloucester. The couple lived in Pleshey Castle in Essex and the young Mary lived there under Eleanor and Thomas’ care. She was instructed in religious doctrine in the hope that she would become a nun, which would cause her share of the de Bohun inheritance to go to Eleanor and Thomas.

However, John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of King Edward III and Thomas’ older brother, had other ideas. He arranged for Mary’s aunt to take her from Pleshey Castle to Arundel Castle, the home of her mother’s family. There, on July 27, 1380, Mary married John of Gaunt’s eldest son, 13-year-old Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV.  Mary was 11 – 12 years old, and John of Gaunt had planned for the marriage to remain unconsummated until Mary was 16 years old. Mary and Henry disobeyed, resulting in Mary becoming pregnant at 14, but the infant lived only a few days.

Mary and Henry had six children:

Mary, age 25-26, died in 1394 at Peterborough Castle, giving birth to her last child, a daughter Philippa. There is much confusion about the date of Mary’s death and her burial place. Many sources say she was buried at St Mary de Castro in Leicester. Several years ago, I emailed Virginia Wright, the Historical and Heritage Adviser at St Mary de Castro, and here is what she said:

“Mary de Bohun was buried at St Mary of the Annunciation in The Newarke, not at St Mary de Castro.  St Mary of the Annunciation was a Collegiate church, built as part of the religious enclave of The Newarke by the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster and was destroyed in the mid-16th century under the Dissolution of the Chantries Act of Edward VI. Parish registers were not compulsory until the late 16th century and no ‘day books’ or similar survive.  St Mary de Castro was built as the chapel for Leicester Castle and later a parish church was added as a south aisle; today it is one combined church. There is a lot of confusion about the two churches. There is also a lot of confusion about what happened to the tomb of Mary de Bohun.”

I asked writer Susan Higginbotham, who has written historical fiction and non-fiction about medieval England, to check a source, and here is what she said: “According to Ian Mortimer in “The Fears of Henry IV,” the death date is disputed. He thinks that June 4 is more probable than July 4, given the evidence that Mary was buried on July 6. He concludes that all that is certain is that she died in June or very early July 1394.”

Mary’s husband survived her for nineteen years, dying in 1413. In 1399, he usurped the throne from his first cousin King Richard II of England, and became the first Lancaster king. King Henry IV made a second, childless marriage to Joan of Navarre in 1403. Mary and Henry IV’s eldest son reigned as King Henry V from 1413 – 1422.

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Anne Neville, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Anne Neville, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (son of King Henry VI) and the wife of King Richard III, Lady Anne Neville was born on June 11, 1456, at Warwick Castle in Warwickshire, England. She was the younger of the two daughters of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Lady Anne Beauchamp.  Anne’s father, known as “the Kingmaker,” was one of the major players in the Wars of the Roses, originally on the Yorkist side but later switching to the Lancastrian side.  Both Anne’s parents were descendants of King Edward III of England.

Anne had one elder sister:

Following the death of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460, his younger sons, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, came into the care of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and they both lived at Middleham Castle with Warwick’s family. The two sisters became acquainted with the two brothers, who were their first cousins, and who would become their husbands. After the Duke of York’s death, with Warwick’s help, his eldest son became King Edward IV in March 1461. Edward IV initially ruled with Warwick’s support, but the two later had a falling-out over foreign policy and Edward’s choice of Elizabeth Woodville as his wife. After a failed plot to crown Edward’s brother, George, Duke of Clarence, Warwick instead restored the Lancastrian Henry VI to the throne. To cement his alliance with the Lancastrians, Warwick betrothed his daughter Anne to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, who was King Henry VI’s heir. The couple married in Angers Cathedral in France on December 13, 1470, and Anne became the Princess of Wales.

Henry VI’s return to power was short-lived. On April 14, 1471, the Lancastrians were defeated at the Battle of Barnet and the Earl of Warwick, Anne’s father, was killed in battle. Edward IV was once again king. On May 4, 1471, the forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by the rival House of York under King Edward IV in the Battle of Tewkesbury.  Among the Lancastrians killed in the battle was Anne’s husband, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. Henry VI, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London, died on May 21, 1471, probably from murder.

The widowed Anne became the focus of a struggle between the brothers George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. With Warwick dead, his two daughters now stood to share his estate. George, already married to Anne’s elder sister, wanted to secure the entire estate and so he treated Anne as his ward and opposed her getting married because  it would strengthen her position to claim a share. Richard who had wanted to marry Anne before her first marriage still wanted to marry her. There is a story that George hid Anne from Richard in a London cook shop and that Richard eventually tracked Anne down. To marry Anne, Richard had to agree to renounce most of the property Anne would have received after her father’s death. Anne and Richard were married on July 12, 1472, at the Chapel of St. Stephen in the Palace of Westminster. They lived in the familiar Middleham Castle in Yorkshire, England where they had both grown up.

Anne and Richard had one child:

Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 9, 1483, King Edward IV died, several weeks before his 41st birthday, and his eldest son Edward became king with his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester as his Lord Protector. Richard feared that the Woodvilles 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 once again sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, fearing the Duke of Gloucester’s further actions. Cardinal Thomas Bouchier, Archbishop of Canterbury persuaded Elizabeth 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 were seen less and less until the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester was informed by an unknown clergyman, probably Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, 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. The Titulus Regius, enacted by Parliament in 1484, officially declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate.

King Richard III and Queen Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne and Richard’s son Edward of Middleham, now Prince of Wales, died on April 9, 1484, at the age of ten at his birthplace, Middleham Castle. Anne survived her son by less than a year, probably dying of tuberculosis, on March 16, 1485, at the Palace of Westminster. She was buried in Westminster Abbey in an unmarked grave to the right of the High Altar, next to the door to Edward the Confessor’s Chapel. Her husband Richard survived her by only five months, losing his crown and his life on August 22, 1485, in the Battle of Bosworth Field.

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King Edward V of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

by Unknown artist, oil on panel, 1590-1610

King Edward V by unknown artist, oil on panel, 1597-1618, NPG 4980(11) © National Portrait Gallery, London (Note: Not a contemporary portrait)

Immortalized as one of the “Princes in the Tower,” King Edward V of England, along with disputed monarchs Empress Matilda and Lady Jane Grey, and King Edward VIII who abdicated in 1936, is one of the four British monarchs since the Norman Conquest who were never crowned. Edward V was the third child, but the eldest son of the Yorkist King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. From October 1470 – April 1471, when the Lancastrian King Henry VI regained power, King Edward IV and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) fled to Burgundy where they knew they would be welcomed by their sister Margaret, the wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Elizabeth Woodville and her children sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth’s first son, the future, but short-lived, King Edward V, was born there on November 2, 1470.

Edward had nine siblings:

Edward had two half-siblings from his mother’s first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby:

In 1471, after his father was restored to the throne, Edward was created Prince of Wales. A household was established for him at Ludlow Castle near the Welsh border and King Edward IV created the Council of Wales and the Marches to counsel and act on behalf of his young son. Young Edward’s maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers was appointed Governor of the Prince of Wales’ household. King Edward IV set up a regime for educating the Prince of Wales, including how the household should be run and how the household staff should behave. An agreement had been made in 1480 with Francis II, Duke of Brittany for Edward to marry Anne of Brittany, who would become the Sovereign Duchess of Brittany upon her father’s death.

On April 9, 1483, King Edward IV died, several weeks before his 41st birthday. 12-year-old Edward received the news of his father’s death at Ludlow Castle on April 14, 1483. King Edward IV had named his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester Edward’s Lord Protector. The new king, King Edward V, set off for London with a party that included his uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and his half-brother from his mother’s first marriage, Sir Richard Grey.  King Edward V and his party were intercepted by his paternal uncle and Lord Protector, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was coming from York. Richard feared that the Woodvilles would attempt to take control of the young king. Anthony Woodville and Richard Grey 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 once again sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, fearing the Duke of Gloucester’s further actions. Cardinal Thomas Bouchier persuaded Elizabeth 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.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester was informed by an unknown clergyman, probably Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, 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. The Titulus Regius, enacted by Parliament in 1484 officially declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate.

Edward and his brother Richard were seen less and less until the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown and remains one of history’s greatest mysteries. There are several theories, and the most plausible lay blame on King Richard III (the former Duke of Gloucester), Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, or King Henry VII.

On August 22, 1485, Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. Elizabeth of York and Henry VII married on January 18, 1486, at the Palace of Westminster. Henry VII had Parliament repeal Titulus Regius, the act that declared King Edward IV’s marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thereby legitimizing his wife. The Tudor Rose, a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York, symbolized the new House of Tudor.

Workers remodeling at the Tower of London in 1674 dug up a wooden box containing two small human skeletons. The bones were found buried 10 feet under the staircase leading to the chapel in the White Tower. Presuming the remains were those of King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, King Charles II ordered the remains placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, the remains were removed from the urn and examined. The conclusion was that the bones belonged to two children around the correct ages for the princes. This examination has been criticized with one of the issues being no attempt was made to determine if the remains were male or female. There has been no further examination and the remains are still in the urn in Westminster Abbey.

The urn in Westminster Abbey containing the supposed remains of King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1789, workers doing repairs in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle accidentally broke into the vault of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Adjoining that vault was another vault, which contained the coffins of two children, and was inscribed with the names of two of Edward IV’s children who had predeceased him, George, 1st Duke of Bedford, who had died at age two, and Mary of York who had died at age 14. However, during the 1810 – 1813 construction of the Royal Tomb House in St. George’s Chapel, two other coffins clearly labeled as George Plantagenet and Mary Plantagenet were discovered and moved into Edward IV’s adjoining vault. Especially after the excavation and positive identification of King Richard III’s remains, this leads us to question exactly whose remains are in those four coffins. However, the royal approval required for any testing of an interred royal has not been granted.

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Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of King Edward IV of England, Elizabeth Woodville was born around 1437 at the family home in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England. She was the eldest of the 13 children of Sir Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne.  Jacquetta was the widow of John, 1st Duke of Bedford, son of King Henry IV of England.

Elizabeth had 13 siblings:

As a young girl, Elizabeth was a maid of honor to Margaret of Anjou, wife of King Henry VI of England.  Elizabeth married Sir John Grey of Groby, a Lancastrian knight around 1452. In 1461, Sir John was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans.

Elizabeth and Sir John had two sons:

The widow Dame Elizabeth Grey first came to the attention of King Edward IV when she petitioned him for the restoration of her husband’s forfeited land. Traditionally, the wedding is said to have taken place at Elizabeth’s family home in Northamptonshire on May 1, 1464. Elizabeth was crowned queen in Westminster Abbey on May 26, 1465.

Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, from the illuminated manuscript Anciennes Chroniques d’Angleterre by Jean de Wavrin; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV had ten children:

King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The favors that were given to the Woodville family and the excellent marriages arranged for Elizabeth’s siblings caused much resentment at court. In particular, the king’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) had great resentment and showed his dislike for Elizabeth at every opportunity. From October 1470 – April 1471, when the Lancastrian King Henry VI regained power, Elizabeth and her children sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth’s son, the future, but short-lived, King Edward V, was born there.

On April 9, 1483, King Edward IV died, several weeks before his 41st birthday, and his eldest son Edward became king with his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester as his Lord Protector. Richard feared that the Woodvilles 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. Elizabeth and her children once again sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, fearing the Duke of Gloucester’s further actions. Cardinal Thomas Bouchier, Archbishop of Canterbury persuaded Elizabeth to let her second son, Richard, Duke of York, leave sanctuary and join his brother, who was lonely, at the Tower of London. Richard joined his brother on June 16, 1483. The two boys were seen less and less until the end of the summer of 1483 when they disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester was informed by an unknown clergyman, probably Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, 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. The Titulus Regius, enacted by Parliament in 1484, officially declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate.

The Lancastrian heir, Henry Tudor had been in exile for 13 years. Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry Tudor’s mother, despite being married to a Yorkist, Thomas Stanley, was actively promoting her son as an alternative to King Richard III. Elizabeth Woodville and Henry’s mother made a secret agreement that their children should marry. On Christmas Day in 1483, still in exile in France, Henry Tudor pledged to marry King Edward IV’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, who was also Edward IV’s heir since the presumed deaths of her brothers, King Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York. In 1485, having gained the support of the Woodvilles, the in-laws of the late King Edward IV, Henry Tudor sailed to Wales with a small French and Scottish force. On August 7, 1485, they landed in Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire, Wales, close to Henry’s birthplace. Henry Tudor then marched towards England accompanied by his uncle Jasper Tudor and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford.

On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, 32-year-old King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader 28-year-old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first monarch of the House of Tudor. One of his first acts was to have the Titulus Regius repealed. King Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and reinstated his mother-in-law as Queen Dowager.

Double Portrait of Elizabeth of York and Henry VII; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1487, Elizabeth Woodville retired to Bermondsey Abbey in London, England where she lived for the rest of her life. She was present at the birth of her granddaughter Margaret Tudor at Westminster Palace in November 1489 and at the birth of her grandson, the future Henry VIII, King of England, at Greenwich Palace in June 1491. Elizabeth died at Bermondsey Abbey on June 8, 1492, at the age of 55. With the exception of her daughter Elizabeth, who was awaiting the birth of her fourth child, and her daughter Cecily, her other daughters, Anne, Catherine, and Bridget attended her funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Elizabeth Woodville was buried with her husband King Edward IV of England.

Tomb of King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville

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King Edward IV of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Edward IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The first Yorkist King of England, King Edward IV of England, was born on April 28, 1442, in Rouen, Normandy (now in France). He was the fourth of the thirteen children, but the first surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England.

King Edward IV’s siblings:

Edward’s father was the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until his death in battle. In 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke, the eldest son of John of Gaunt who was the third surviving son of King Edward III, overthrew his cousin King Richard II and assumed the throne as King Henry IV. Henry IV’s reigning house was the House of Lancaster as his father was Duke of Lancaster and Henry had assumed the title upon his father’s death. Henry IV’s eldest son King Henry V retained the throne, but he died when his only child, King Henry VI, was just nine months old. Henry VI’s right to the crown was challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York, who could claim descent from Edward III’s second and fourth surviving sons, Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York.

During the early reign of King Henry VI, Richard, 3rd Duke of York held several important offices and quarreled with the Lancastrians at court. In 1448, he assumed the surname Plantagenet and then assumed the leadership of the Yorkist faction in 1450. The first battle in the long dynastic struggle called the Wars of the Roses was the First Battle of St. Albans in 1455. As soon as Edward, known then as the Earl of March, and his next youngest brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland were old enough, they joined their father, fighting for the Yorkist cause. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield along with his son Edmund who was only 17 years old.

Edward was now the leader of the Yorkist faction. On February 3, 1461, Edward defeated the Lancastrian army at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. Edward then took a bold step and declared himself king on March 4, 1461. His decisive victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461, cemented his status as King of England. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 29, 1461. However, the former king, Henry VI, still lived and fled to Scotland.

In 1464, King Edward IV married the widowed Elizabeth Woodville. Elizabeth’s father Sir Richard Woodville, was only a knight at the time of her birth. Her mother was Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne, and widow of John, 1st Duke of Bedford, the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England and the brother of King Henry V of England. Traditionally, the wedding is said to have taken place at Elizabeth’s family home in Northamptonshire, England on May 1, 1464. Elizabeth was the widow of Sir John Grey of Groby, who was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461, fighting for the Lancastrians. There were two sons from this marriage including Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, who was the great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.

Elizabeth Woodville, Edward’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville had ten children:

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 of Anjou, 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.

Edward and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) fled to Burgundy where they knew they would be welcomed by their sister Margaret, the wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. The Duke of Burgundy provided funds and troops to Edward to enable him to launch an invasion of England in 1471. Edward 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 Henry VI’s son Edward, Prince of Wales was killed.

Battle of Tewkesbury from a Ghent manuscript; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry VI was returned to the Tower of London and died on May 21, 1471, probably murdered on orders from Edward IV. Edward’s brother George, Duke of Clarence was eventually found guilty of plotting against Edward, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and privately executed on February 18, 1478. Tradition says he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. King Edward IV did not face any other Lancastrian rebellions. His only rival was Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII, who was living in exile, would eventually return to England and defeat Edward’s brother King Richard III, the last Yorkist king, at the Battle of Bosworth Field and to become the first Tudor king.

Had King Edward IV lived longer, he may have become one of England’s most powerful kings. He died on April 9, 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday. His cause of death is not known for certain. King Edward IV was buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle close by his rival King Henry VI. King Edward IV was briefly succeeded by his 12-year-old son as King Edward V, one of the Princes in the Tower, whose fate is unknown.

Tomb of King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville

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Prince Philip’s 95th Birthday

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June 10, 2016 is the 95th birthday of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, born a Prince of Greece, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He is the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria (through her daughter Princess Alice). Here is a selection of articles about Prince Philip here, at Unofficial Royalty, in honor of this milestone.