by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Born at Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland on October 21, 1449, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence was the ninth but the sixth surviving of the twelve children and the sixth but the third surviving of the eight sons of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England, and the brother of two Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. George’s paternal grandparents were Richard of Conisbrough, 3rd Earl of Cambridge and his first wife Anne Mortimer. His maternal grandparents were Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort.

George had eleven siblings:

• Anne of York (1439 – 1476), married (1) Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, had one daughter (2) Sir Thomas St. Leger, Anne died giving birth to a daughter
• Henry of York (born and died 1441), died in infancy
• Edward IV, King of England (1442 – 1483), married Elizabeth Woodville, had ten children including the ill-fated Edward V, King of England and Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII, King of England
• Edmund, Earl of Rutland (1443 – 1460), unmarried killed at the Battle of Wakefield, during the Wars of the Roses
• Elizabeth of York (1444 – circa 1503), wife of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, had eleven children
• Margaret of York (1446 – 1503), married Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy, no children
• William of York (born and died 1447), died in infancy
• John of York (born and died 1448), died in infancy
• Thomas of York (born and died circa 1450/1451), died in infancy
• Richard III, King of England (1452 – 1485), married Anne Neville, had one son Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales who predeceased his father, Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field
• Ursula of York (born and died 1455), died in infancy

George’s father Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York was the leader of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle in 1460. In 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke, the eldest son of John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of King Edward III, deposed his first 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 assumed the title upon his father’s death. Henry IV’s eldest son King Henry V retained the throne but died when his only child King Henry VI was nine months old. Henry VI’s right to the crown was challenged by Margaret’s father 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, George’s father 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 George’s brothers Edward, the future King Edward IV, known then as the Earl of March, and Edmund, Earl of Rutland were old enough, they joined their father, fighting for the Yorkist cause. Richard Plantagenet, 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.

George’s brother Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV) 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 of England 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 28, 1461. However, the former king, Henry VI, still lived and fled to Scotland. Henry VI returned from Scotland in 1464 and participated in an ineffective uprising. In 1465, Henry VI was captured and taken to the Tower of London.

In 1461, twelve-year-old George was created Duke of Clarence, and despite his young age, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. While growing up during his brother’s reign, George lived mostly at Greenwich Palace with his younger brother Richard, the future King Richard III, and his elder sister Margaret, until she married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1468. In 1466, fifteen-year-old George was recognized as an adult and given estates that centered around Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire.

Among King Edward IV’s strongest supporters was his first cousin Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker. In 1468, Warwick began to doubt his continued support of King Edward IV. He decided to throw his lot in with someone he possibly could control better: George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. At this point, King Edward IV had only three daughters and his brother George was his senior male heir. As the senior male heir, George created an ostentatious, alternative court. He was willful, self-centered, and scheming.

In 1467, George schemed to arrange a marriage for himself with his first cousin once removed Isabel Neville, the elder of the two daughters of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. King Edward IV refused to give his permission for the marriage because the marriage would strengthen the alliance between George and Warwick. George, used to getting his own way, fell under Warwick’s influence. On July 11, 1469, in direct defiance of King Edward IV, George married Isabel Neville in a ceremony conducted by Isabel’s uncle George Neville, Archbishop of York at Notre-Dame Church in Calais, then an English possession, now in France.

George and Isabel had four children:

• Anne of Clarence (born and died 1470), born and died on a ship off Calais
• Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (1473 – 1541), married Sir Richard Pole, had five children, Margaret was executed by King Henry VIII
• Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (1475 – 1499), unmarried, executed by King Henry VII
• Richard of Clarence (1476 – 1477), died in childhood

When George’s father-in-law Warwick deserted King Edward IV to go over to the Lancaster side and ally with Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, George also deserted his brother. George, Warwick, and Margaret of Anjou’s alliance forced King Edward IV into exile, and King Henry VI was restored to the throne on October 30, 1470. King Henry VI rewarded Clarence by making him next in line to the throne after his own son.

After a short time, George realized his loyalty to his father-in-law and first cousin Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick was misplaced. Warwick had married his younger daughter Anne Neville to Edward, Prince of Wales, the only child of King Henry VI. This demonstrated that Warwick was less interested in making George king and was more interested in serving his own interests. It now seemed unlikely that Warwick would replace King Edward IV with George, and George secretly reconciled with his brother King Edward IV.

In 1470, 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. The Duke of Burgundy provided funds and troops to Edward IV to enable him to launch an invasion of England in 1471. Edward IV returned to England in early 1471 and his first cousin Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick who was killed at the Battle of Barnet. The final decisive Yorkist victory was at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471, where King Henry VI’s son Edward, 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. Edward IV remained King of England until he died in 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday.

King Edward IV restored his brother George to royal favor by making him the Lord Great Chamberlain of England. After the death of his first cousin and father-in-law Warwick, George became Earl of Warwick jure uxoris, by the right of his wife. However, George did not inherit the entire Warwick estate as his younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester married Warwick’s younger daughter Anne Neville, the widow of King Henry VI’s son Edward, Prince of Wales. The Warwick estate was divided equally between George and Richard.

George’s wife Isabel, aged twenty-five, died on December 22, 1476, after giving birth to a short-lived son Richard, born on October 5, 1476, and died on January 1, 1477. It is thought Isabel died from tuberculosis or childbirth complications. George’s mental state, never stable, deteriorated. Four months after Isabel’s death, George ridiculously accused Ankarette Twynyho, one of Isabel’s ladies-in-waiting of having murdered his wife. George sat in personal judgment of Ankarette who was accused of giving Isabel “a venomous drink of ale mixed with poison”. Within three hours, the innocent Ankarette was taken to court, indicted for murder, tried, found guilty, dragged through the streets, and hanged. George did not have the legal authority to try, condemn, and execute Ankarette Twynyho. In 1478, after petitioning King Edward IV, Ankarette’s grandson Roger Twynyho received a full pardon for Ankarette from the king.

In 1477, three men were arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed for predicting King Edward IV’s death, then considered witchcraft. One man who had been one of George’s servants was pardoned. Two days after the executions, George marched into a council meeting, read a declaration of innocence of the two dead men and George’s servant, and marched out again. George’s association with his convicted servant and his strong defense of convicted traitors raised serious suspicions about George’s motives.

George’s behavior convinced his brother King Edward IV that he was too dangerous to leave alone. King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville had endured enough of George’s treachery and scheming, and George was arrested. He was tried for treason by Parliament in January 1478, although the outcome was a foregone conclusion. George’s past misdemeanors were gathered together into a package of damning crimes. King Edward IV, unsupported by any legal counsel, delivered a damning case against his brother. George refused the right of an attorney in his defense. Members of Parliament were told that George had tried to smuggle his son to Ireland or Burgundy and claimed he plotted against the king. He had also kept the document granted to him when King Henry VI had been restored, making George heir to the Lancastrian line if it failed, which it had in 1471. In early February 1478, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, husband of King Edward IV’s sister-in-law Catherine Woodville, delivered the verdict to Parliament. George was found guilty of high treason.

For a few days, King Edward IV delayed making the final decision about carrying out the sentence his brother’s verdict demanded. On February 18, 1478, 28-year-old George, Duke of Clarence was executed at the Tower of London. As his rank allowed, George was executed in private. Having condemned his own brother, King Edward IV had no intention of making the execution a public spectacle and highlighting problems within his family. The means of execution has never been determined. Traditionally, it has been said that George was plunged headfirst into a butt of Malmsey wine and drowned. George Plantagenet and his wife Isabel Neville were interred at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, England. Ironically, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the son of King Henry VI, who was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury, is also buried at Tewkesbury Abbey.

George’s two surviving children were also executed but by beheading – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick in 1499 by King Henry VII and Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury in 1541 by King Henry VIII. As surviving members of the House of York, they were threats to the House of Tudor, which had been formed when Henry Tudor, the leader of the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III of the House of York, the brother of King Edward IV and George, Duke of Clarence, at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The new King Henry VII married King Edward IV’s eldest child Elizabeth of York, thereby uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

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Works Cited

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