The Royal House of York - A Family History

Education

The Royal House of York - A Family History

Updated March 17, 2013

10 minute read

The Royal House of York ruled England by way of three monarchs for just under 25 years, from 1471 until 1585.

After the death of the Lancastrian Prince of Wales and his father King Henry VI in a matter of only weeks, Yorkist King Edward IV took the throne on the 11th of April 1471.

Edward was born on the 28th of April 1442 second child and first born son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, in Rouen, Normandy, France.

His reign of England was in two parts, his first nine years, acting as de facto for the mentally ill King Henry VI, was a violent struggle to maintain order between the warring factions of his own House of York and their agressors of the Royal House of Lancaster.

The second part of his reign was as successor to the throne after the death of the feeble Lancastrian King Henry VI.

During this second part of his reign the country saw no rebellions as he had resulted in destroying most of the House of Lancaster by way of the 30 year long War of the Roses.

His arch enemy had been Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, whom after Henry's death he had arrested and imprisoned, before eventually being sent back to her native France.

Edward was a popular and likeable King, never defeated on the battlefield, a successful businessman and champion of the people.

Edward married Elisabeth Grey on the 1st of May, in a secret ceremony, at her home in Northampton.

Elisabeth was the widow of Sir John Grey of Groby, with whom she had two sons, Thomas Grey, 1455 - 1501 and Richard Grey 1460 - 1483.

Elisabeth was the daughter of Richard Woodville and Jaquetta of Luxembourg, who was the widow of the Lancastrian King Henry V's brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Hence a secret ceremony - or so everyone was led to believe .

Elisabeth was born in 1437 in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire.She was crowned Queen Consort of England on the 26th of May 1465.

Edward and Elisabeth went on to have ten children during their 19 year marriage they were:

Elisabeth - 1466 - 1503.

Mary - 1467 - 1482.

Cecily - 1469 - 1507.

Edward - 1470 - 1483.

Margaret - 1472 - 1472.

Richard - 1473 - 1483.

Anne - 1475 - 1511.

George - 1477 - 1479.

Catherine - 1479 - 1527.

Bridget - 1480 - 1517.

Edward IV also had an illigitimate son, Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount of Lisle, by his former mistress Elisabeth Wayte.

He probably had several other illigitimate children, as he was known to be a serious philanderer.

Of the ten children of the royal couple, six failed to live into adulthood, including the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne

Edward, who along with his brother Richard, Duke of York were the famous Princes in the Tower.

Before the disappearance of Richard Duke of York, when he was just four years old, he married orphaned, wealthy heiress Anne de Mobray on the 15th of January 1478 at St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster.. His child bride was the 6 year old daughter of John de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk and Elisabeth Talbot. Anne died two years later on the 9th of November 1481 aged 8, two years before the disappearence of her young husband.

King Edward and Elisabeth's eldest daughter, also Elisabeth, married Tudor King Henry VII in 1486 and became his Queen Consort and the mother of King Henry VIII.

Their daughter Anne married Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey in 1495 and had one son Lord Thomas Howard born in 1496, although there is evidence of at least three other sons and at least one stillborn child attributed to her.

Their daughter Catherine married William Courteney, Earl of Devon in 1495 they had three children, Henry Courteney born in 1496, Edward Courteney born in 1497 and Margaret Courteney born in 1499.

Catherine was widowed in 1509 and in 1511 took a voluntary vow of chastity in the presence of the Bishop of London, resulting in her never marrying again. She lived to be 48 years old, the longest surviving child of the ten.

Their daughter Bridget was entrusted to Dartford Priory in Kent in 1487 when she was just 7 years old in order to dedicate her life to religion. She died at the age of 37 never having left the priory.

King Edward died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 40, on the 9th of April 1483. He was interred at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Elisabeth died on the 8th of June 1492 in Bermondsey Abbey in London, aged 55 and was buried on the 12th of June also at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Edward V was born on the 2nd of November 1470, in the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey, due to his parents fearing attack from Lancastrian supporters.

He was invested as Prince of Wales in 1473 and despatched to Ludlow Castle in Shropshire under the guardianship and supervision of scholar Anthony, Earl Rivers.

On the evening of the 29th of April 1483 the prince was informed of his father's untimely death.

The following day he was escorted to the Tower of London under the guardianship of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, for his own safety.

On the 16th of June his brother Richard, Duke of York was also taken to the Tower of London, again for his own protection.

Now, remember the brother's parents secret wedding?

At the time Henry had married Elisabeth in secret, it was said that it was done this way in order to stop reprisals from Lancastrian supporters.That decision would cost the young brothers their lives.

It is said that evidence was produced that verified that the former King and Queen's marriage had not been legal resulting in all the children of that union being illigitimate.

Apparantly a bishop had testified to having married the then Prince Edward to a certain Lady Eleanor Butler on a date before he had married Elisabeth Grey.

Subsequently, the young Prince of Wales was denied his rightful place on the throne of England, resulting in Richard Duke of Gloucester becoming the next Yorkist King.

The young princes were never seen again, and no one has ever really learnt what became of them.

This has resulted in Edward V being the shortest lived monarch in British history.

This story could well have been made up by supporters of Richard in order to see him on the throne of England, or is it just another myth to discredit King Richard III ?

it would certainly explain why Edward V married in secret without having banns read. It would also explain why his widow the former Queen Consort Elisabeth spent her last nine years of life hidden away in an abbey. She may well have been ashamed by the scandal, or maybe she just did'nt trust the monarchy after the disappearence of her two sons.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester was born on the 2nd of October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire.

He was the eighth and youngest child of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville.

Richard became the richest and most powerful nobleman in the country.

During his professional life he became Constable of England, Lord High Admiral of England, Governor of the North and Chief Justice of North Wales.

In 1482 he recaptured Berwick - upon - Tweed from the Scots, instigated the first ever execution at the Tower of London and was Lord Protector of the Prince of Wales upon the death of his father in 1483.

He married Anne Neville, widow of Edward Prince of Wales, son of the Yorkist's arch enemy Margaret of Anjou, in Westminster Abbey on the 12th of July 1472, with Anne swapping her previous title of Princess of Wales for that of Duchess of Gloucester.

They had one son, Edward Middleham, born at the family home of Middleham Castle, Yorkshire, in 1473.

Richard became King Richard III of England on the 26th of June 1483, his wife Anne became Queen Consort and his son Edward became Prince of Wales.

His reign would be short,his family decimated and his life lost within two years of becoming King.

His only legitimate son, who was a sickly child throughout life, died on the 9th of April 1484 aged 11.

It is thought Richard had 3 recognised illigitimate children, Richard Plantagenet 1469 - 1550, John of Gloucester 1470 - 1491 and Katherine Herbert.

No one is sure who their mothers are, but it has been suggested that a Katherine Haute had been a long time mistress of his and an Alice Burg was noted to be in receipt of £20 a year for life from Richard ' for special services rendered '.

His wife Anne died of tuberculosis, not by poisoning as Shakespeare would have us believe, on the 16th of March 1485 at the age of 28 and King Richard died just four months later at the age of 32, on the battlefield at Boswoth Field on the 22nd of August 1485.

Upon his death, Richard would make history as the last ever English monarch to die on the battlefield, the last monarch of the Royal House of York and the last monarch decended from the Plantagenet Dynasty.

Richard was also one of the few English monarchs that was not interred at either of the traditional buriel grounds of Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle, when he was instead buried at Greyfriars Friary in Leicestershire.

Upon his death he was succeeded by Tudor King, Henry VII, resulting in 118 years of the Tudor Dynasty.

For six hundred years King Richard III has been given a bad press, starting with the business of the Princes in the Tower and from further falsehoods by way of William Shakespeare's play about him, written 100 years after his death.

Shakespeare would have us believe that King Richard was ugly of mind and body, spoke with a menacing voice and had poisoned his wife.

As with most legends they are merely fabrication, as these two modern historical societies have striven to validate, one of which is the work of the present Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.( links below )