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The House of Yorks

The House of Yorks

Izmail State Liberal Arts University

Ukrainian ministry of Higher education

The chair of English Philology

Report

The House of York

Written by

2nd year student

English-German department

Of Faculty of Foreighn

Languahes

Elena Blindirova

Izmail, 2004

House of York royal house of England, deriving its name from the creation

of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III, as duke of York in 1385. The

claims to the throne of Edmund's grandson, Richard, duke of York, in

opposition to Henry VI of the house of Lancaster (see Lancaster, house of),

resulted in the Wars of the Roses (see Roses, Wars of the), so called

because the badge of the house of York was a white rose, and a red rose was

later attributed to the house of Lancaster. Richard's claim to the throne

came not only from direct male descent from Edmund, but also through his

mother Anne Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who

was the third son of Edward III. The royal members of the house of York

were Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III. The marriage of the Lancastrian

Henry VII to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Edward IV, united the houses of

York and Lancaster. Henry was the first of the Tudor kings.

The representatives of the House of York

The House of York

Edmund, 1st Duke of York, 1341–1402

Named Edmund of Langley after the manor where he was born, he was the

fifth son of Edward III and Queen Philippa. Created Earl of Cambridge in

1362, he joined his brother John, Duke of Lancaster (John of Gaunt) in his

wars against Castile. In 1372, he married his first wife, Isobel, younger

daughter of Peter, King of Castile and Lйon, while her elder sister married

John. They had three children: Edward Plantagenet, 2nd Duke of York;

Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, and Richard, Earl of Cambridge.

Created Duke of York by Richard II in 1385, he retired from public life

after Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, seized the crown from Richard

II. After the death of Isobel in 1394, he married Joan, daughter of Thomas

Holland, Earl of Kent.

His arms were: Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a label of

three points argent each point charged with three torteaux; and his crest

on a cap of maintenance gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant

crowned or, gorged with a label as in the arms; on his seal, the arms are

supported by two falcons, each holding with beak and claw a long scroll,

which extends backward over body, inscribed with the motto "None other".

Edward Plantagenet, 2nd Duke of York, 1373–1415

The elder son of Edmund of Langley, he was created Earl of Rutland in

1391. Richard II made him Lord High Admiral and Warden of the Cinque Ports

and in 1397, Duke of Albemarle. In the first year of the reign of Henry IV

he became involved in a plot to assassinate the king at a tournament at

Oxford. His father went to warn the king, but Edward forestalled him by

confessing to the king himself. He lost the dukedom but was pardoned,

becoming Duke of York on his father’s death. He was killed at the battle of

Agincourt, where he led the vanguard. He died without issue and was

succeeded by his nephew Richard.

His arms were: as Lord High Admiral, Per pale, dexter, the attributed

arms of Edward the Confessor, charged overall with a label of three points;

sinister, Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a label of five

points argent, each charged with three torteaux. After he became Duke of

Albemarle, his arms were: Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a

label of three points gules each charged with three castles gold. As Duke

of York, they were: Quarterly France modern and England, over all a label

of York.

Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, 1374–1416

The only daughter of Edmund of Langley, Constance was the mistress of

Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, by whom she had a daughter named Eleanor. She

later married Thomas le Despencer, Earl of Gloucester. Two children,

Richard, Lord le Despencer, and Elizabeth le Despencer, died without issue,

but their daughter Isabel le Despencer married twice, her second husband

being Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Their daughter, Anne Beauchamp,

married Richard Neville (The Kingmaker), who thus became Earl of Warwick.

Constance bore the arms of her father, Edmund of Langley, impaled by

those of her husband, which were: Quarterly, first and fourth, or, three

chevronels gules; second and third, Quarterly, argent and gules, a fret or,

overall a bendlet sable.

Richard, Earl of Cambridge, 1376–1415

Named Richard of Coningsburgh, after the place in Yorkshire where he was

born, the younger son of Edmund of Langley was created Earl of Cambridge in

1414. In the following year, however, he conspired with Henry, Lord Scrope,

and Sir Thomas Gray to assassinate the king, Henry V. He may have been

bribed by the French king, Charles VI, or it may have been because, in the

event of his brother-in-law Edmund, Earl of March, dying without issue, his

own son would have been next in line for the throne. The Earl of March

revealed the plot to the king, and Richard was executed.

Richard’s first wife, Anne Mortimer, was sister and afterwards heiress to

the Earl of March and to the claims of her great-grandfather, Lionel, Duke

of Clarence, second son of Edward I, thus giving her Yorkist successors a

superior claim to the throne over the House of Lancaster. Richard of

Coningsburgh’s second wife was Matilda, daughter of Thomas, Lord Clifford.

His arms were: Quarterly, France first ancient, later modern, and

England, over all a label of three points argent each charged with as many

torteaux, within a bordure argent charged with lions rampant.

Anne’s arms were: Quarterly, first and fourth, barry of six, or and

azure, on a chief of the first two pallets between two base esquires of the

second, over all an escutcheon argent; second and third, or a cross gules,

impaled with those of her husband.

Isabel, Countess of Essex, 1409–1484

Isabel was the oldest child of Richard of Coningsburgh and Anne Mortimer.

Her husband Henry Bourchier, second Earl of Eu in Normandy was created

Viscount Bourchier by Henry VI and Lord Treasurer of England. William, the

eldest of their ten children, married Anne, sister of Elizabeth Woodville.

The Bourchier arms: Quarterly, first and fourth, argent, a cross

engrailed gules, between four water bougets sable; second and third, gules,

billety and a fess or, and their crest A man’s head in profile with sable

hair and beard, ducally crowned or, with a pointed cap gules.

Richard, 3rd Duke of York, 1411–1460

Richard was the only son of Richard of Coningsburgh, and the only male,

apart from Henry IV, with an unbroken male descent from Henry III. Although

his father had been executed for treason, Henry VI restored to him the

titles Duke of York, Earl of Cambridge and Rutland. An honorable man, his

superior claim to the throne and obvious capability compared with the weak

and mentally afflicted Henry VI earned him the hatred of the Queen,

Margaret of Anjou. His wise and just rule in Ireland during 1449–1450 laid

the foundation for an Irish–Yorkist alliance which survived until after the

defeat of Richard III at Bosworth.

Made Protector of England in 1454 during Henry’s temporary insanity, he

defeated an attempt by the Queen and the Earl of Somerset to regain control

when, in 1455, along with the earls of Warwick and Salisbury, he defeated

the king’s forces at St Albans. He was made Constable of England, but the

Queen’s party regained power the following year. In 1459 the Queen felt

strong enough to to crush the Yorkist party and in October the Yorkist

forces, surrounded at Ludlow, were forced to flee. The Duke and his second

son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, fled to Ireland while Warwick and his party

went to Calais. Within a year, Warwick was back in England and in control

of London. The Duke of York returned and on October 10 laid his hand on the

empty throne in the chamber of the Lords in parliament, claiming the crown.

His bid for the throne was premature, but the Duke was eventually

recognized as heir to the throne, Prince of Wales and Protector of England.

The Queen’s party rallied once again, however, and on 30 December 1460

the Duke’s forces, issuing from Sandal Castle clashed with the Lancastrians

at Wakefield. The Duke was killed, along with his son Edmund, and their

heads were exposed on the walls of York. They were later buried at

Pontefract and then at Fotheringhay.

His arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, over all a label of

three points each charged with three torteaux, and upon his helmet his

crest was On a chapeau gules doubled ermine, a lion statant guardant

crowned or, gorged with a label as in the arms.; the badge with which he is

particularly associated is the silver falcon and gold fetterlock, the

fetterlock open to symbolise the release of the falcon and the aspiring

hopes of gaining the crown.

Cicely Neville, Duchess of York, 1415–1495

The wife of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, Cicely Neville was the daughter of

Joan Beaufort, the youngest child of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford.

Her father was Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Known in her youth as

the Rose of Raby, after her birthplace, Raby Castle, she was a staunch

supporter of her husband, spending as much time with him as was possible in

that troubled age. They had eight sons and four daughters, of whom four

sons and one daughter died young.

After the tragic death of her husband and second son, Edmund, in 1460,

Cicely shortly witnessed the triumph of her eldest son Edward. She is

reported to have been outraged by his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville.

Further tragedy followed when, in 1478, Edward tired of the treacherous

behaviour of his brother Clarence and the latter died, or was killed, in

the Tower. In 1483, Edward died, and then, in 1485 her last surviving son

Richard III was killed at Bosworth. Outliving all her sons, the unfortunate

duchess lived to see many of their progeny murdered by Henry VII and the

House of York destroyed. In 1480, she became a Benedictine nun at

Berkhamsted, where she lived until her death.

Her arms were: a falcon rising, ducally gorged, bearing on its breast a

shield of arms, Per pale, dexter, Quarterly, France modern and England;

sinister, gules, a saltire argent, supported by Dexter, an antelope gorged

with a coronet; sinister a lion.

Children of Richard, Duke of York and Cicely Neville

Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, 1439–1476

Eldest daughter of Richard, Duke of York, she was first married to the

Lancastrian Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter and Lord High Admiral. She

divorced her Lancastrian husband in 1472 and married Sir Thomas St Leger,

K.G., by whom she had a daughter, Anne, whose descendants became the earls

and later dukes of Rutland.

Her arms were: Per pale, dexter, Quarterly, France modern and England;

sinister, per fess, de Burgh and Mortimer.

Edmund of York, Earl of Rutland, 1443–1460

Edmund was born in Rouen, France, while his father was serving as

Lieutenant of France. At the age of seven, Edmund received his education at

Ludlow Castle, along with his brother Edward. When his father’s Yorkist

party fell out of favor in 1459, Edmund accompanied his father to Ireland,

where he was created Earl of Cork.

After the Yorkist victory at Northampton September 1460, he returned to

England and headed north to Sandal Castle with his father to help quell

disturbances there. Edmund was killed at the battle of Wakefield on 30

December 1460, by Lord Clifford, whose father had been killed at the battle

of St Albans. As he struck the fatal blow, Clifford allegedly cried ‘By

God’s blood, thy father slew mine and so will I do thee and all thy kin.

His arms were: Quarterly, first, Quarterly France modern and England, a

label of five points argent the two dexter points charged with lions

rampant purpure and the three sinister points each with three torteaux;

second and third, Burgh; fourth, Mortimer.

Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk, 1444–1503

The second daughter of Richard, Duke of York, and Cicely Neville married

John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, whose father, William, had arranged the

marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. John de la Pole, whose

mother, Alice, was the grand-daughter of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, took

little part in politics. The couple had seven sons, of whom the eldest was

also named John (see below). Edmund de la Pole was beheaded by Henry VIII

and the last de la Pole heir, Richard, was killed at the battle of Pavia in

1524, fighting for the French.

The arms of John de la Pole were: Quarterly, first and fourth, azure a

fess between three leopards’ faces or; second and third, argent, a chief

gules, over all a lion rampant double queued or; and his crest was An old

man’s head gules, beard and hair gold, with a jewelled fillet about the

brows.

John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln 1464?-1487

The eldest son of Elizabeth and John, Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, was

created Earl of Lincoln in 1468. He was also made a Knight of the Bath in

1475 and attended his uncle Edward IV’s funeral in April 1483. He bore the

orb at the coronation of another uncle, Richard III, in July 1483 and

became the president of the Council of the North. He was declared heir to

the throne by Richard III in the event of the death of his own son, Prince

Edward. At this time, he was also created Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and

was given the reversion to the estates of Lady Margaret Beaufort, subject

to the life interest of her third husband, Lord Stanley.

A staunch supporter of Richard III, he fought at Bosworth and survived.

The new king, Henry VII, had no wish to alienate the de la Pole family and

appointed John a justice of oyer and terminer the following year. In 1487,

he fled to Brabant and then to Ireland, where he joined the army of the

pretender Lambert Simnel. He was killed at the Battle of Stoke in June

1487. Shortly afterward, he was attainted.

He was married twice: (1) Margaret Fitzalan, daughter of Thomas, twelfth

Earl of Arundel; and (2) the daugher and heiress of Sir John Golafre. He

left no children from either marriage.

Arms of John de la Pole: Same as above during his father’s lifetime,

differenced with a label argent – or his father’s and mother’s impaled.

Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, 1472?-1513

Edmund de la Pole was born about 1472, the second son of John de la Pole,

2nd Duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth, sister of Edward IV. In 1481 Edward IV

sent Edmund to Oxford. He was created a Knight Baronet at Richard III's

coronation. He was also present, with his father, at the coronation of

Elizabeth of York on 25 November 1487 and was frequently seen at Henry

VII's court.

His father died in 1491, and as eldest surviving son, should have

inherited the dukedom but did not, due to an Act of Attainder against his

brother John, Earl of Lincoln. By an indenture date 26 February 1493,

Edmund agreed to forego the title of duke and was created an earl. He also

had to pay Ј5,000 for the restoration of some of his lands.

In October 1492 Edmund was at the siege of Boulogne. On 9 November 1494

he was leading challenger at Westminster in a tournament which created

Henry (later Henry VIII) Duke of York.

In 1495 Edmund was appointed trier of petitions from Gascony and other

parts. He was created a Knight of the Garter in 1496. In February 1496 he

was one of the English noblemen who stood surety to Archduke Philip for the

observance of new treaties with Burgundy.

On 22 June 1496 he led a company against Cornish rebels at Blackheath.

Two years later, he was indicted at the King's Bench for murder and

received a pardon. Although he resented being arraigned (as one of royal

blood) he attended a Chapter of the Garter at Windsor in April 1499.

In July or August 1499 Edmund fled to Guisnes and then to St. Omer. Henry

VII instructed Sir Richard Guldford and Richard Hatton to return him by any

means. However, he returned to England voluntarily and was restored to

favor.

Edmund was a witness at the marriage of Arthur to Catherine of Aragon in

May 1500 and then went with Henry VII to Calis where he stayed until August

1501. He fled to Emperor Maximilian in the Tryol. Maximilian had promised

support to anyone of Edward IV's blood.

On 7 November 1501 Edmund and his supporters were proclamimed traiors at

St. Pauls Cross and was outlawed at Ipswich on 26 December 1502. He

reclaimed his dukedom. Maximilian then promised not to aid any traitors to

England (he was paid 10,000) and Edmund remained at Aix le Chappelle until

Easter 1504. In January 1504 Edmund and his brother, William and Richard,

were attainted by Parliament. He left Aix fro Gilderland and was

immediately thrown in jail.

On 24 January 1506 Edmund commissioned two servants to treat with Henry

VII and in March 1506 was conveyed to the Tower. Henry had given Archduke

Philip his written promise not to execute Edmund.

Upon the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 Edmund was not among those

included in the general pardon. He went to the block in 1513.

Edmund married Margaret, daughter of Richard, Lord Scrope and had one

daughter Anne, who became a nun at Minories within Aldgate. He had no male

heir.

Richard de la Pole, 14?-1525

Richard was the fifth son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and

Elizabeth, sister of Edward IV. His brothers Humphrey and Edward took

orders in the Church, Edward becoming the Archdeacon of Richmond. In 1501

Richard fled abroad with his brother Edmund. Three years later he was

attainted along with his brother. Eventually he fled to Hungary, where

Henry VII requested that King Ladislaus VI surrender Richard to him. The

Hungarian king refused and gave Richard a pension.

Richard’s name is not mentioned in the general pardon issued by Henry

VIII upon his accession in 1509. Louis XII of France recognized Richard as

king of England, giving him a pension of six thousand crowns. After the

execution of his brother Edmund in 1513, Richard assumed the title of Duke

of Suffolk and became a claimant to the English throne.

When Louis XII died in 1515, his successor Francis I continued Richard’s

allowance. As a further sign of favor, he was sent him on several missions,

including Lombardy and Bohemia. In 1522, Francis seriously thought of

sending Richard to invade England, but the invasion did not take place.

On 25 February 1525, Richard was killed, fighting in the French army at

the Battle of Pavia. The Duke of Bourbon was one of the chief mourners at

his funeral.

Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, 1446–1503

Born at Fotheringhay, Margaret, the third daughter of Richard, Duke of

York, and Cicely Neville, was an intelligent, charming, and accomplished

woman. Prior to the announcement of Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth

Woodville, she had acted as the first lady of the court.

A prestigious marriage was arranged for her to Charles the Bold, Duke of

Burgundy, who was many years her senior. She had no children by him and

survived him by many years. After Charles’ death, Margaret maintained a

close friendship with her Charles’ only daughter Mary. The respect in which

she was held in her adopted country enabled her to play an active

supporting role for the Yorkist cause on many occasions. After the death of

her brother Richard III, she continued her efforts, backing both Lambert

Simnel and later Perkin Warbeck. She died at Malines and is buried in the

church of Cordйliers.

The arms of Burgundy, shown impaling France modern and England quarterly

on her arms were: Quarterly, first and fourth, azure, three fleurs de lys

or within a bordure gobony argent and gules; second, per pale, Bendy of six

or and azure within a bordure gules and sable, a lion rampant or; third,

per pale, Bendy of six or and azure, within a bordure gules and argent, a

lion rampant gules crowned or; over all an inescutcheon, or, a lion rampant

sable.

George of York, Duke of Clarence, 1449–1478

Born in Dublin, George was the sixth son of Richard, Duke of York, and

Cicely Neville. He was created Duke of Clarence in the first year of Edward

IV’sreign. Until Elizabeth Woodville finally bore Edward a son in 1470,

Clarence was the heir presumptive ,and it was soon clear to the Earl of

Warwick that he was discontented and ambitious. On 11 July 1469, George

married Isobel Neville, Warwick’s elder daughter, against the wishes of his

brother, cementing an alliance against the king. When Warwick reconciled

with Margaret of Anjou, however, and his younger daughter, Anne, was

betrothed to the Lancastrian heir, George realized that he was not to be

made king in Edward’s place. At the last minute, he returned to the Yorkist

fold and was reconciled with Edward and his younger brother Richard. After

Warwick’s death at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, George laid claim to his

vast estates, and although eventually forced to share them when Richard of

Gloucester married the now-widowed Anne Neville, he remained a rich and

powerful prince. He continued to flout Edward’s authority, however, and was

put in the Tower. In 1478 a Bill of Attainder passed the death sentence on

Clarence and he died in the Tower, the exact manner of his death being

unknown. Clarence and Isobel had four children, of whom two, Margaret and

Edward, survived.

Clarence’s arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, over all a

label of three points argent each charged with a canton gules; his crest

was On a chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant crowned

or, charged on the breast with a label as in the arms; his badges were A

bull passant sable armed unguled and membered or, gorged with a label of

three points argent each charged with a canton gules, and A silver gorget

of chain, edged and clasped with gold and lined with red.

Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, 1473–1541

Margaret was the eldest child of George, Duke of Clarence and Isobel

Neville, she married Sir Richard Pole, K.G. in 1491. They had four sons and

a daughter. During the fifth year of the reign of Henry VIII, Margaret, as

heiress to the titles of Warwick and Salisbury, petitioned the king and was

restored to the title of Countess of Salisbury. She was appointed governess

to the Princess Mary and remained in favor until Anne Boleyn became the

Queen. Her loyalty to Princess Mary caused her to be dismissed from court.

After the downfall of Anne Boleyn, Margaret returned to court. She did

not remain in favor for long. Because of the letter her son, Cardinal

Reginal Pole, wrote to the King, and of the betrayal of her son Geoffrey,

the Countess was arrested and put into the Tower in March 1539. She was

kept in the Tower under close confinement for two years and was executed

without trial. She was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1886.

Her arms were: Quarterly, first, Quarterly, France modern and England, a

label of three points argent each charged with a canton gules; second,

gules, a saltire argent, a label of three points gobony argent and azure

impaling Gules, a fess between six crosses crosslet or; third, Chequy or

and azure, a chevron ermine impaling Argent, three lozenges conjoined in

fess gules; fourth, Or, an eagle displayed vert impaling Quarterly, I and

IV, Or, three chevrons gules; II and III, Quarterly, Argent, and gules, a

fret or, overall a bendlet sable.

Henry Pole, Lord Montagu, 1492–1539

The eldest son of Margaret Plantagenet, he was knighted by Henry VIII in

1513 during Henry’s French campaign. He was a ember of the royal household

and was allowed his own livery. In 1520, he attended Henry VIII at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold. He was one of the peers who convicted Anne

Boleyn.

As a Roman Catholic, Pole did not approve of Henry’s destroying Church

property and the anti-Catholic feeling in England. Henry was fully of

Montagu’s feelings, and through his betrayal of his brother Geoffrey Pole,

the king now had the evidence he needed to have Montagu arrested in put

into the Tower. Pole was tried and found guilty by a jury of his peers. He

went to the block on December 9 1539.

He married Jane, daughter of George Neville, Lord Bergavenny, in 1513.

They had three children. His only son may have been attainted with his

father and died in the Tower.

Geoffrey Pole, 1502?-1558

The second son of Margaret Plantagenet, little is known of his early

life. In 1529, he was knighted by Henry VIII at York Place. A devout Roman

Catholic, he greatly disapproved of Henry VIII’s divorce proceedings from

Katherine of Aragon. Although he was appointeed one of the servitors at

Anne Boleyn’s coronation, his loyalties were with Princess Mary and the

former Queen Katherine. He then visited the imprial ambassador Chapuys and

assured him that if the Holy Roman Emperor were to invade England to

redress the wrong that had been done to Queen Katherine, that the English

people would favor him.

Unfortunately, his words reached the ears of the king and he was arrested

and sent to the Tower on August 1538. He was persuaded to talk and he

revelaed the names of secret Papists at court, including his own brother,

Henry Lord Montagu. Geoffrey was pardoned as a result of his betrayal and

the others he mention, including his brother, were executed.

Having felt guilty at betraying his brother and friends, Geoffrey tried

to commit suicide while he was in the Tower. In 1540, he left his family

behind and fled to Europe, where he remained until the reign of Queen Mary.

He returned to England and died in 1558.

He married Constance, the elder of two daughter and heirs of Sir John

Pakenham. They had five sons and six daughters.

Arthur Pole, 1502-1535

Third son of Margaret Plantagenet, he was sentenced to death in the reign

of Elizabeth I, being implicated in a plot to release Mary, Queen of Scots.

Because of his royal blood, the Queen spared him from execution but not

imprisonment.

In 1526, he married Jane Lewknor. It is not known if there were any

children from this marriage.

Reginald Pole, 1500-1558

The youngest son of Margaret Plantagenet, he graduated from Magdelan

College, Oxford. He was sent to Italy to complete his education and lived

there for five years. Reginald was another Pole family member who did not

approve of Henry’s divorce from Queen katherine. The King was well aware of

this and several times tried to get Pole on his side. At the urging of the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Pole wrote Henry a letter, in which he

attacked Henry’s policy of royal supremacy and defended the spiritual

authority of the Pope. It was at this time that he was created a cardinal

by Pope Paul III. Henry then put a price on the new cardinal’s head and

arrested and executed many members of the pole family, including his mother

and his oldest brother Henry Lord Montagu.

When Henry’s daughter Mary became Queen, he was commission as a papal

Legate. He landed in England in 1554 and began to reorganize the country

back into the Church of Rome. Two years later he was ordained as a priest

and the following year became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

For the next two years, Cardinal Pole help Queen Mary with her

persecution of English Protestants. Disapproving of Pole’s methods, Pope

Paul IV cancelled his legatine authority and denounced him as a heretic.

Shortly afterwards, he fell ill and died twelve hours after Queen Mary on

November 17 1558.

Ursula Pole, ? -1570

Ursula was the only daughter of Margaret Plantagenet. In 1518, she

married Henry Stafford, first Baron Stafford. Very little is known of her.

It is believed that she had at least thrteen children before her death in

1570.

Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, 1474–1499

The son of George, Duke of Clarence, and Isobel Neville, he may have

suffered from some form of mental impairment. He lived in the royal

apartments in the Tower under the reign of his uncle Richard III. Henry VII

kept him in the Tower, but as a prisoner. When Perkin Warbeck was

imprisoned in the Tower, the two attempted to escape (possibly at the

instigation of Henry’s agents) and both were executed in 1499.

Edward IV, King of England, 1442–1483

By the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland

The eldest son of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, Edward was

born in Rouen, France, on April 28, 1442. He was educated at Ludlow Castle,

along with his younger brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland. He inherited the

title of Earl of March. Edward. was raising forces in the Welsh borders for

the Yorkist cause when his father and younger brother Edmund were killed at

the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. Acting speedily and decisively, Edward

routed the Lancastrians at the battles of Mortimer’s Cross and Towton, and

claimed the throne. Henry VI was then acclaimed a usurper and a traitor.

Edward was crowned in June 1461. He was an extremely popular ruler,

although well-known for his licentious behaviour. During his reign,

printing and silk manufacturing were introduced into England.

Edward’s secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of a Lancastrian

knight, angeed the old nobility and alienated his cousin Richard Neville,

Earl of Warwick (also known as "The Kingmaker"), who had previously been a

major power during the early days of Edward’s reign. In 1469, Edward was

deposed by Warwick, and was drien out of England and to Burgundy. Warwick

reinstated Henry VI. Two years later, backed by his brother-in-law, Charles

("The Bold"), Duke of Burgundy, returned to England with a large army and

defeated the Lancastrians at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury.

The remaining years of his reign were, for the most part, peaceful. There

was, however, a short war with France in 1475, after which Louis XI agreed

to pay Edward a yearly subsidy. Edward died on April 8 1483 and was buried

at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

As King, Edward’s arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, and

his crest On a chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant

crowned or. As badges, he used the white rose of York, the sun in

splendour, and the white rose en soliel, as well as the lion, the bull and

the hart, the falcon and fetterlock of the dukes of York, and a white rose

incorporating red petals, a forerunner of the Tudor rose.

Elizabeth Woodville, 1437–1492, Queen of England

Elizabeth was the eldest child of Sir Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of

Luxembourg. She was maid of honor to Margaret of Anjou. She was married to

Sir John Grey of Groby, who was killed in battle in 1461, leaving her with

two small sons. Elizabeth married Edward IV secretly in April 1464 and was

crowned Queen in May 1465. She was also a patroness of Queens’ College,

Cambridge and gave the College its first Statues in 1475. Her ten brothers

and sisters, who were as avaricious and unpopular as herself, were raised

to high rank by the king. Elizabeth and Edward had three sons and seven

daughters.

Following her husband’s death in 1483, their marriage was declared

invalid by Parliament and their children illegitimate. In 1485, however,

Elizabeth’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, married Henry VII and

became Queen of England. Elizabeth Woodville was subsequently banished to

Bermondsey Abbey, where she died in 1492.

Elizabeth Woodville’s seal displayed a shield of her husband’s arms

impaling her own, which were Quartlerly, first argent, a lion rampant

double queued gules, crowned or (Luxemburg, her mother’s family), second

quarterly, I and IV, gules a star if eight points argent; II and III,

azure, semйe of fleurs de lys or; third, barry argent and azure, overall a

lion rampant gules; fourth, gules, three bendlets argent, on a chief of the

first, charged with a fillet in base or, a rose of the second; fifth, three

pallets vairy, on a chief or a label of five points azure, and sixth, a

fess and a canton conjoined gules (Woodville).

Children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville

Elizabeth of York, 1466–1503, Queen of England

Born 11 February, 1466 at Westminster Palace, Elizabeth was the first

born child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She was betrothed to

George Neville, Duke of Bedford, and then engaged to the Charles, the

Dauphin of France (later Charles VIII). Elizabeth married Henry Tudor in

1486 and became Queen of England, thus uniting the Houses of York and

Lancaster. As. Queen, she was completely dominated by Henry VII and his

mother Margaret Beaufort.

She bore Henry eight children: (1) Arthur, Prince of Wales, b. 1486; (2)

Margaret (later Queen of Scotland) b. 1489; (3) Henry (later Henry VII) b.

1491; (4) Elizabeth b.1492; (5) Mary (later Queen of France and Duchess of

Suffolk) b. 1496; (6) Edmund (died young) 1499; (7) Edward (died young);

and (8) Katherine (died young) b. 1503. Elizabeth died in childbirth in on

her birthday in 1503, at the age of 37 years. She is buried beside her

husband in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Mary of York, 1467-1482

Mary was the second daughter, born 11 August, 1467 at Windsor Castle. She

was promised in marriage to the King of Denmark, but died in 1482 before

the marriage could take place. She is buried in St. George’s Chapel,

Windsor.

Cicely of York, 1469–1507, Viscountess Welles

Cicely was born on 20 March 1469 at Westminster Palace. She was

originally promised in a marriage treaty to the heir of James III of

Scotland but instead married John, Lord Welles, by whom she had two

daughters Elizabeth and Anne, both of whom died without issue. By her

second marriage, to Thomas Kyme of Isle of Wight, she had Richard and

Margaret. She died at Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight on 24 August 1507.

Edward V, 1470–?

The eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Edward was born in

sanctuary at Westminster on 4 November 1470. He was created Prince of

Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, March and Pembroke. As Prince of

wales, Edward was educated at Ludlow Castle by his uncle Anthony, Earl

Rivers.

Following his father’s death, he was brought to London to be crowned.

Parliament, however, declared him to be illegitimate and Richard of

Gloucester became king. Edward and his brother Richard lived in the Tower

of London during the summer of 1483. Their fate is unknown.

Edward’s arms as king were: Quarterly, France modern and England, and his

crest on his Great Seal; on a chapeau gules turned up ermine encircled by a

royal coronet, a lion statant guardant crowned or.

Margaret of York, b. and d. 1472

This child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville (not to be confused with

her aunt of the same name) was born 10 April 1472 at Windsor Castle and

died on 11 December of the same year. She is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Richard, Duke of York, 1473–?

Born at Shrewsbury, the second son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville,

Richard was created Duke of York in 1474. In 1478, at the age of four

years, Richard was married to six-year-old Anne Mowbray, who had inherited

the estates of her father John Lord Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk in 1475. They

married at St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, but Anne Mowbray died while

still a child. When his brother, Edward V, was deposed, young Richard, who

had been in sanctuary with his mother, was taken by the Archbishop of

Canterbury to live with his brother in the Royal Apartments in the Tower of

London. Their fate remains a mystery, but many contemporary heads of state

including (in secret correspondance, but not publicly) the Spanish King and

Queen, believed the claimant Perkin Warbeck, executed by Henry VII, to be

Richard.

His arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, a label of three

points, argent on the first point a canton gules; his crest was On a

chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant crowned or, gorged

with a label as in the arms, and his badge a falcon volant argent, membered

or, within a fetterlock unlocked gold.

George of York, Duke of Bedford, 1477-1479

The seventh child and third youngest son of Edward IV and Eizabeth

Woodville, he was created Duke of Bedford, but died very young. He is

buried at Windsor.

Anne of York, 1475-1510

Anne was married to Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. She died in

1510 without surviving issue.

Catherine of York, 1479–1527

The sixth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Catherine

married William Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and had one child, Henry, who

succeeded his father as Earl. Despite being made Marquis of Exeter, Henry’s

Yorkist blood doomed him, and he was beheaded in 1538 for being implicated

in a plot with Cardinal Pole. Henry’s only son, Edward Courtenay, died

without issue, and the descendants of this family are from the younger

brother of an earlier generation.

The arms of Catherine were her husband’s arms impaling her own:

Quarterly, first and fourth, or, three torteaux; second and third, or a

lion rampant azure; impaling quarterly, first, quarterly, France modern and

England, second and third, de Burgh, and fourth Mortimer.

The arms of Henry Courtenay were: Quarterly, first, France and England

quarterly, within a bordure quarterly of England and France, second and

third, or, three torteaux; fourth, or a lion rampant azure,; and his crest,

out of a ducal coronet or, a plume of ostrich feathers four and three

argent.

Bridget of York, 1480-1513

The tenth and last child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, she became

a nun at Dartford and died in 1513.

Richard III 1452–1485

By the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland

Richard III was born on the 2 October, 1452 in Fotheringhay Castle during

the tumultuous period known as the Wars of the Roses. His personal motto of

Loyaulte Me Lie was a testament of his unswerving loyalty for his brother,

Edward IV.

In 1461, he was sent to Middleham Castle to begin his knightly training

under his cousin, Richard Neville, known as "The Kingmaker". In 1472, he

married the Lady Anne Neville and they retired to Middleham. As Lord of the

North, Richard spent the next twelve years bringing peace and order to an

otherwise troublesome area of England. Through his hard work and diligence,

he attracted the loyalty and trust of the northern gentry. His

fairmindedness and justice became his byword. He had a good working

reputation of the law, was an able administrator and was militarily

formidable. Under his leadership, he won a brilliant campaign against the

Scots that is diminished by our lack of understanding of the region in his

times.

He enjoyed a special relationship with the city of York and intervened on

its behalf on many occasions. Richard, known to be a pious man, was

instrumental in setting up no less than ten chantries and procured two

licenses to establish two colleges; one at Barnard Castle in County Durham

and the other at Middleham in Yorkshire. It is known that his favorite

castle was Middleham and he was especially generous to the church raising

it to the status of collegiate college. The statutes, written in English

rather than Latin, were drawn up under his supervision.

With the untimely death of his brother, Edward IV in 1483, he was

petitioned by the Lords and Commons of Parliament to accept the kingship of

England. During his brief reign, he passed the most enlightened laws on

record for the Fifteenth Century. He set up a council of advisors that

diplomatically included Lancastrian supporters, administered justice for

the poor as well as the rich, established a series of posting stations for

royal messengers between the North and London. He fostered the importation

of books, commanded laws be written in English instead of Latin so the

common people could understand their own laws. He outlawed benevolences,

started the system of bail and stopped the intimidation of juries. He re-

established the Council of the North in July of 1484 and it lasted for more

than a century and a half. He established the College of Arms that still

exists today. He donated money for the completion of St. George's Chapel at

Windsor and King's College in Cambridge. He modernized Barnard Castle,

built the great hall at Middleham and the great hall at Sudeley Castle. He

undertook extensive work at Windsor Castle and ordered the renovation of

apartments at one of the towers at Nottingham Castle.

In 1484, while Richard and Anne were at Nottingham, they received word

that their beloved son, Edward, who was at Middleham, died suddenly after a

brief illness. His wife, Anne, never recovered from the loss of her son and

died almost a year later. Her body was borne to Westminster Abbey and laid

to rest on the south side of St. Edward's Chapel. Richard wept openly at

her funeral and later shut himself off for three days.

In eighteen months, he lost brother, son and spouse. Throughout these

tragedies, he remained steadfast to his obligations. His reign showed great

promise, but amidst the intrigues and power struggles of his time, he found

himself on Bosworth Field. Richard III was 32 years old when he died at the

Battle of Bosworth and was the last English king to die in battle.

Arms as Duke of Gloucester: France and England modern, over all a 3-

pointed label ermine, on each point a conton gules.

Arms: Quarterly, France modern and England, and his crest on his Great

Seal; on a chapeau gules turned up ermine encircled by a royal coronet, a

lion statant guardant crowned or; special cognisant, a boar rampant argent,

armed and bristled or.

Anne Neville, Queen of England, 1456-1485

Anne Neville was born on 11 June 1456 at Warwick Castle, the younger

daughter of Richard Warwick ("The King Maker") and Anne Beauchamp, heiress

to the large Beauchamp estate. She spent her childhhod at warwick Castle

along with her older sister Isabel. In 1469, her father, no longer in favor

with Edward IV, fled to Calais, bringing his family with him. Shortly

afterwards, Warwick went over to the Lancastrians, and Anne was betrothed

to the Lancastrian Prince Edward, Prince of Wales. Her father and uuncle

John were killed at Barnet in April 1471. Edward of Lancaster died at

Tewkesbury a month later. She married Richard, Duke of Gloucester and they

spent most of their married life at Middleham Castle. They had only one

living child, Edward, Prince of Wales. In 1484, Prince Edward died. Anne

never recovered and died, probably of tuberculosis, in March 1485, just

five months before her husband Richard.

Her arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, impaling gules, a

saltire argent.

Edward, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and Salisbury, 1473–1484

Edward was the only surviving child of Richard III and Queen Anne. He was

born at Middleham Castle, Yorkshire and was created Prince of Wales during

the first year of his father’s reign. Edward suddenly became ill with

abdominal pain in 1484 and quickly died, possibly of appendicitis. His

parents were distraught with grief and his death may have hastened Anne’s

decline.

Arms: Quarterly, France modern and England, a label of three points

argent.

John of Gloucester

John was Richard III’s illegitimate son. His mother is unknown. He was

also called John of Pomfret, his father appointed him Captain of Calais in

1485, calling him ‘our dear son’. After his father’s death, during the

reign of Henry VII, John was beheaded on the pretext of treasonable

activities in Ireland.

Lady Catherine Plantagenet

Katherine was the illegitimate daughter of Richard III. Her mother is

unknown. In 1484, Katherine was married to William Herbert, Earl of

Huntingdon. Richard settled property worth 1,000 marks a year on the

couple. Katherine died young without producing any living children.

Some concrete facts about kings which had come frjm The House of York

Edward IV (1461-70, 1471-83 AD)

[pic]Edward IV, son of Richard, Duke of York and Cicely Neville, was born

in 1442. He married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464, the widow of the

Lancastrian Sir John Grey, who bore him ten children. He also entertained

many mistresses and had at least one illegitimate son.

Edward came to the throne through the efforts of his father; as Henry VI

became increasingly less effective, Richard pressed the claim of the York

family but was killed before he could ascend the throne: Edward deposed his

cousin Henry after defeating the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross in 1461.

Richard Neville, the Kingmaker, Earl of Warwick proclaimed Henry king once

again in 1470, but less than a year elapsed when Edward reclaimed the crown

and had Henry executed in 1471.

The rest of his reign was fairly uneventful. He revived the English claim

to the French throne and invaded the weakened France, extorting a non-

aggression treaty from Louis XI in 1475 which amounted to a lump payment of

75,000 crowns, and an annuity of 20,000. Edward had his brother, George,

Duke of Clarendon, judicially murdered in 1478 on a charge of treason. His

marriage to Elizabeth Woodville vexed his councilors, and he allowed many

of the great nobles (such as his brother Richard) to build

uncharacteristically large power bases in the provinces in return for their

support.

Edward died suddenly in 1483, leaving behind two sons aged twelve and

nine, five daughters, and a troubled legacy.

Edward began his reign in 1461 and ruled for eight years before Henry's

brief return. His reign is marked by two distinct periods, the first in

which he was chiefly engaged in suppressing the opposition to his throne,

and the second in which he enjoyed a period of relative peace and security.

Both periods were marked also by his extreme licentiousness; it is said

that his sexual excesses were the cause of his death (it may have been

typhoid), but he was praised highly for his military skills and his

charming personality. When Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner

of great beauty, but regarded as an unfit bride for a king, even Warwick

turned against him. We can understand Warwick's switch to Margaret and to

Edward's young brother, the Duke of Clarence, when we learn that he had

hoped the king would marry one of his own daughters.

Clarence continued his activities against his brother during the second

phase of Edward's reign; his involvement in a plot to depose the king got

him banished to the Tower where he mysteriously died (drowned in his bath).

Edward had meanwhile set up a council with extensive judicial and military

powers to deal with Wales and to govern the Marches. His brother, the Duke

of Gloucester headed a council in the north. He levied few subsidies,

invested his own considerable fortune in improving trade; freed himself

from involvement in France by accepting a pension from the French King; and

all in all, remained a popular monarch. He left two sons, Edward and

Richard, in the protection of Richard of Gloucester, with the results that

have forever blackened their guardian's name in English history.

Edward V (1483 AD)

Edward V, eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, was born in

1470. He ascended the throne upon his father's death in April 1483, but

reigned only two months before being deposed by his uncle, Richard, Duke of

Gloucester. The entire episode is still shrouded in mystery. The Duke had

Edward and his younger brother, Richard, imprisoned in the Tower and

declared illegitimate and named himself rightful heir to the crown. The two

young boys never emerged from the Tower, apparently murdered by, or at

least on the orders of, their Uncle Richard. During renovations to the

Tower in 1674, the skeletons of two children were found, possibly the

murdered boys.

Richard III (1483-85)

[pic]Richard III, the eleventh child of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily

Neville, was born in 1452. He was created third Duke of Gloucester at the

coronation of his brother, Edward IV. Richard had three children: one each

of an illegitimate son and daughter, and one son by his first wife, Anne

Neville, widow of Henry IV's son Edward.

Richard's reign gained an importance out of proportion to its length. He

was the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, which had ruled England since

1154; he was the last English king to die on the battlefield; his death in

1485 is generally accepted between the medieval and modern ages in England;

and he is credited with the responsibility for several murders: Henry VI ,

Henry's son Edward, his brother Clarence, and his nephews Edward and

Richard.

Richard's power was immense, and upon the death of Edward IV , he

positioned himself to seize the throne from the young Edward V . He feared

a continuance of internal feuding should Edward V, under the influence of

his mother's Woodville relatives, remain on the throne (most of this feared

conflict would have undoubtedly come from Richard). The old nobility, also

fearful of a strengthened Woodville clan, assembled and declared the

succession of Edward V as illegal, due to weak evidence suggesting that

Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was bigamous, thereby rendering

his sons illegitimate and ineligible as heirs to the crown. Edward V and

his younger brother, Richard of York, were imprisoned in the Tower of

London, never to again emerge alive. Richard of Gloucester was crowned

Richard III on July 6, 1483.

Four months into his reign he crushed a rebellion led by his former

assistant Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who sought the installation

of Henry Tudor , a diluted Lancaster, to the throne. The rebellion was

crushed, but Tudor gathered troops and attacked Richard's forces on August

22, 1485, at the battle of Bosworth Field. The last major battle of the

Wars of the Roses, Bosworth Field became the death place of Richard III.

Historians have been noticeably unkind to Richard, based on purely

circumstantial evidence; Shakespeare portrays him as a complete monster in

his play, Richard III. One thing is for certain, however: Richard's defeat

and the cessation of the Wars of the Roses allowed the stability England

required to heal, consolidate, and push into the modern era.

Richard of Gloucester had grown rich and powerful during the reign of his

brother Edward IV, who had rewarded his loyalty with many northern estates

bordering the city of York. Edward had allowed Richard to govern that part

of the country, where he was known as "Lord of the North." The new king was

a minor and England was divided over whether Richard should govern as

Protector or merely as chief member of a Council. There were also fears

that he may use his influence to avenge the death of his brother Clarence

at the hands of the Queen's supporters. And Richard was supported by the

powerful Duke of Buckingham, who had married into the Woodville family

against his will.

Richard's competence and military ability was a threat to the throne and

the legitimate heir Edward V. After a series of skirmishes with the forces

of the widowed queen, anxious to restore her influence in the north,

Richard had the young prince of Wales placed in the Tower. He was never

seen again though his uncle kept up the pretence that Edward would be

safely guarded until his upcoming coronation. The queen herself took

sanctuary in Westminster Abbey, but Richard had her brother and father

killed.

Edward's coronation was set for June, 1483. Richard planned his coup.

First he divided the ruling Council, convincing his own followers of the

need to have Lord Hastings executed for treason. (It had been Hastings who

had informed him of the late King's death and the ambitions of the Queen's

party). He then had his other young nephew Richard join Edward in the

Tower. One day after that set for Edward's coronation, Richard was able to

pressure the assembled Lords and Commons in Parliament to petition him to

assume the kingship. After his immediate acceptance, he then rode to

Westminster and was duly crowned as Richard III. His rivals had been

defeated and the prospects for a long, stable reign looked promising. Then

it all unraveled for the treacherous King.

It is one thing to kill a rival in battle but it is another matter to

have your brother's children put to death. By being suspected of this evil

deed, Richard condemned himself. Though the new king busied himself

granting amnesty and largesse to all and sundry, he could never cleanse

himself of the suspicion surrounding the murder of the young princes. He

had his own son Edward invested as Prince of Wales, and thus heir to his

throne, but revulsion soon set in to destroy what, for all intents and

purposes, could have been a well-managed, competent royal administration.

It didn't help Richard much that even before he took the throne he had

denounced the Queen "and her blood adherents," impugned the legitimacy of

his own brother and his young nephews and stigmatized Henry Tudor's royal

blood as bastard. The rebellion against him started with the defection of

the Duke of Buckingham whose open support of the Lancastrian claimant

overseas, Henry Tudor, transformed a situation which had previously favored

Richard.

The king was defeated and killed at Bosworth Field in 1485, a battle that

was as momentous for the future of England as had been Hastings in 1066.

The battle ended the Wars of the Roses, and for all intents and purposes,

the victory of Henry Tudor and his accession to the throne conveniently

marks the end of the medieval and the beginning of England's modern period.

Sources:

1. www.britannia.com\history

2. www.numizmat.net

3. http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/Y/York-hou.html

4. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs

5. www.hotbot.com

6. www.yahoo.com