Battle of Castillon, Aquitaine, the last battle of the 100 Years’ War between the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet for the French throne.  John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and father of Eleanor Talbot (Butler), is killed.

Bibliography:  John Ashdown-Hill, Eleanor – The Secret Queen. The History Press, 2009  ISBN 978-0752448664 (hardback)

Illustration:  The Death  of John Talbot at the Battle of Castillon, by Charles-Philippe Larivière (1798-1876)

Tags: Battles

Death of Anna von Kleve (Anne of Cleves), the fourth wife of Henry VIII, at Chelsea Manor.  She was not even 42 years old.  She was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Tags: Anne of Cleves

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, receives all the lands in Yorkshire and Cumberland, which had belonged to Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, from his father’s side.

Tags: Nevilles, Richard III

Marriage of George, Duke of Clarence (brother of Edward IV and Richard III), to Isabel Neville, elder daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (‘The Kingmaker’), and Anne Beauchamp, at Calais.  The ceremony took place in secret, as King Edward IV, had explicitly forbidden the marriage.  It was conducted by George Neville, Archbishop of York.

Tags: Family, Nevilles

Battle of Northampton, where John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, and half-brother of Eleanor Talbot (Butler), met his death on the Lancastrian side.  Yorkist victory.

A short description of the various battles of the Wars of the Roses can be found on the website of the Richard III Society.

Tags: Battles

Birth of William Plantagenet,  4th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville.  He died young.

Tags: Family

Execution of Thomas More, former Chancellor to Henry VIII, for denying that the king (Henry VIII) was the Supreme Head of the Church of England.  He was born on 7 February 1478.

Between c. 1513 and 1518 he wrote The History of King Richard III.  The work was not finished and only published posthumously by his son-in-law in 1557.  It is not a first-hand account, as he was only aged seven when Richard III fell at the Battle of Bosworth.  It is unknown for what purpose More wrote the History, as it contains many obvious untruths, which any reader at the time it was written would have recognized as such.  However, his work had a long-lasting influence in blackening Richard reputation.  It is therefore perhaps quite ironic that his downfall came on the anniversary of King Richard III’s coronation.

Source:  ODNB on Sir Thomas More

Tags: Thomas More

Coronation of King Richard III and Queen Anne.  Their coronation was one of the best attended on record. It was celebrated at Westminster Hall, which was the traditional venue for coronation banquets from 1189 to 1821.  The feast celebrating Richard and Anne’s coronation was attended by approx. 3,000 guests, no coronation banquet since has attracted as  many guests.

Bibliography:  “Westminster Hall: Coronation Banquets“, www.parliament.uk

Illustration:  © Andrew Jamieson, http://www.jamiesongallery.com/ (used with permission)

Tags: Richard III

Marriage of Margaret of York (sister of Edward IV and Richard III) to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, she was his third wife.  They had no children, but she acted as a protector of the Duchy after his death on 5 January 1477 for his daughter Mary, Duchess of Burgundy.

Bibliography:  Christine Weightman, Margaret of York:  The Diabolical Duchess.  Amberley Publishing, Chalford, 2009.  ISBN 978 1 84868 099 9 (paperback)

Tags: Family