Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Edmund of Langley was born at Kings Langley Palace in Kings Langley, England on June 5, 1341. He was the fifth son and the seventh child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. The infant was given a traditional English name and a tournament was held to celebrate the birth of a new son. Edmund was baptized by Michael of Mentmore, Abbot of St. Albans, who was also one of his godfathers along with John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and Richard FitzAlan, 1st Earl of Arundel. Edmund was brought up in his mother’s household until 1354.

Through the marriage of Edmund’s younger son, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, to Anne de Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Edmund’s elder brother Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, the House of York made its claim to the English throne in the Wars of the Roses.  See Wikipedia: House of York – Descent from Edward III

Edmund had thirteen siblings:

Edmund participated with his father in a campaign in France from 1359 – 1360 during the Hundred Years’ War, a war fought between England and France for control of the Kingdom of France. It was ultimately an unsuccessful war for the English that involved King Edward III, his sons, and their descendants for a long period.

King Edward III planned to marry his sons to rich heiresses and he thought he found one for Edmund in 1461. 15-year-old Philip I, Duke of Burgundy died in a riding accident leaving a 12-year-old widow, Margaret of Flanders, the only heir of Louis II, Count of Flanders. King Edward III thought Margaret would be a good catch because her father’s lands might help in his desire to possess the French crown. To help Edmund seem more desirable, he was created Earl of Cambridge. However, the marriage negotiations came to naught as King John II of France claimed Burgundy and married his son to Margaret.

Over the next ten years, Edmund participated in many military campaigns in France with his brothers. He returned to England in 1371 and on July 11, 1372, at Wallingford, Oxfordshire, he married Infanta Isabella of Castile. Isabella was the younger daughter of King Pedro the Cruel of Castile and León and the sister of Constance of Castile, the second wife of Edmund’s brother John of Gaunt. She accompanied her sister Constance to England when the marriage to John of Gaunt took in 1371.

Edmund and Isabella had three children:

Edmund took part in more campaigns in France, served as Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. In 1377, Edmund was granted Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, which became a favorite home of the Dukes of York, and Anstey Castle in Hertfordshire. The same year, Edmund’s nephew succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II of England. At Richard’s coronation, Edmund carried the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove, also called the Rod of Equity and Mercy. In 1381, Edmund served as chief commissioner in his nephew’s marriage negotiations to marry Anne of Bohemia. Edmund was created Duke of York in 1385.

Isabella died on December 23, 1392, at about the age of 37. She was buried at the Church of the Dominicans in Kings Langley. Less than a year later, Edmund married Lady Joan Holland, whose father, Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, was a half-brother to King Richard II. Edmund and Joan had no children.

King Richard II of England, Edmund’s nephew; Credit – Wikipedia

King Henry IV of England, Edmund’s nephew; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1399, Edmund acted as regent while his nephew King Richard II was in Ireland. Henry of Bolingbroke, another nephew, the son of Edmund’s brother John of Gaunt, was planning to depose his cousin Richard. Edmund was prepared to oppose Henry but decided to make peace with him. King Richard II was eventually abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry. King Henry IV, the first king of the House of Lancaster, was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399. Richard was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death thought to have been starvation, is unknown. Edmund was rewarded by his nephew King Henry IV by being appointed a member of the Privy Council and Master of the Royal Mews.

Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, age 61, died on August 1, 1402, at his birthplace and was buried with his first wife at the Church of the Dominicans at Kings Langley, England. Edmund’s tomb was moved to the Church of All Saints in Kings Langley in 1575, and can still be seen there.

edmund-of-langley-tomb

Tomb of Edmund of Langley; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Works Cited
“Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Oct. 2016. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
“Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Sept. 2016. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
“Joan Holland.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2016. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
Jones, Dan. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking, 2012. Print.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.