Edward IV and his brother Richard (later Richard III) arrive back in England on their return from exile in Burgundy, landing at Ravenspur.

Tags: Edward IV, Richard III

Edward IV leaves Burgundy to return to England and win back his throne.  He is accompanied by his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III)

Tags: Burgundy, Edward IV, Richard III

Investiture of Edward, Earl of March (eldest son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville) as King Edward IV of England.   Edward seized the crown on three counts:  descent from Edward III through the male line, descent from Edward III through the female line and the nomination of the childless Richard II’s of his Mortimer cousins as his heirs.

Tags: Edward IV

Birth of Eleanor Talbot, daughter of John Talbot, 1st earl of Shrewsbury, and Margaret Beauchamp at Blakemere, Shropshire.  She is said to have entered probably some time after March 1461 into a clandestine marriage with Edward IV, which made his subsequent, also clandestine, marriage to Elizabeth Woodville bigamous.

More on Eleanor:

John Ashdown-Hill,  Eleanor – The Secret Queen, The History Press.  ISBN 978-0752448664

Tags: Edward IV, Eleanor Talbot, Elizabeth Woodville

Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, Herefordshire – Edward on the way to the throne

The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross was fought on 2 February 1461 in Herefordshire,  It was an important battle in the Wars of the Roses.

In the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross the Yorkists were led by 18-year-old  Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV).  They intercepted a  Lancastrian forces led by Owen Tudor and his son Jasper into England.  The Lancastrians outnumbered the Yorkists considerably and were better mounted and armed.  The Yorkists were encouraged by a parhelion, a meteorological phenomenon in which three suns appear.  This is the origin of Edward’s badge ‘The Sun in Splendour’.

Unfortunately the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is not very well documented.  The fighting must have been ferocious in adverse weather conditions in the middle of winter.

After the battle Owen Tudor was captured and executed in Hereford, along with other prisoners of rank.

To find out more:

Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, Battlefields Resource Centre.

Jennifer Young, ‘The Mortimer’s Cross Parhelion: How a Meteorological Phenomenon Changed English History’, Decoded Science (12 Nov. 2019).  URL:  http://www.decodedscience.com/the-mortimers-cross-parhelion-how-a-meteorological-phenomenon-changed-english-history/3437  [last accessed 1 Feb. 2020]

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Wars of the Roses, Yorkists

Death of Anne of York, the seventh child and fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.  She shares her death date with her aunt Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, and – if Perkin Warbeck was indeed Richard of York – her brother.

Anne was born on 2 November 1475.  At not quite four years of age, she was betrothed to Philip (“the Handsome”),  the son of Mary of Burgundy (her aunt’s step-daughter) and Maximilian of Austria.  However, the plan was abandoned in 1482.  Richard III undertook to find a suitable marriage for her (and her sisters) and after Richard’s death she took part in ceremonies at Henry VII court, whose queen was her sister Elizabeth.

On 4 February 1495 she married Thomas Howard, who would eventually become the third duke of Norfolk.  He was the grandson of John Howard, an important supporter of Richard III.  John fell at the battle of Bosworth, fighting for Richard.  His son, Thomas (the father of Anne’s Thomas), had also fought for Richard, had been attainted, but managed to be restored to his title.  His son’s marriage to a sister-in-law of Henry Tudor was obviously a great achievement in his family’s rehabilitation.  Anne and Thomas had no children.

Reference: ODNB on ‘Howard, Thomas, third duke of Norfolk (1473–1554)’

The above picture shows the daughters of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville in a window in Canterbury Cathedral.  Anne is the third from left. (picture obtained through Wikimedia Commons)

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, John Howard

Death of Katherine of York at Tiverton Castle, Devon.   Katherine was the 9th child and 6th daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, born in 1479, probably at Eltham Palace. She was married in 1495 to Sir William Courtenay.

Though a staunch supporter of Henry VII, William was suspected of being involved in the conspiracy of the Yorkist claimant Edmund de la Pole.   He was attainted and spent the rest of Henry VII’s reign in prison.  He was released after the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 and was created earl of Devon on 10 May 1511.  However, he had not long to enjoy his new status and died a month later on 9 June 1511.

The couple had three children, including Henry Courtenay who was executed by orders of Henry VIII in 1539

After her husband’s death, Katherine took a vow of chastity and enjoyed a life of luxury and hunting, but also religious devotion.  On surviving documents she called herself ‘the excellent Princess Katherine, Countess of Devon, daughter, sister and aunt of kings’.

She was buried at St Peter’s Church, Tiverton.

Source:  ODNB on ‘Katherine, countess of Devon (1479–1527)’ by Margaret R. Westcott.

(Picture of Katherine of York obtained through Wikimedia Commons)

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry Tudor, Henry VIII

Birth of Bridget of York, tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Eltham Palace, London.   She became a nun at Dartford Priory.  Died in 1517.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

Richard is made justiciar of north Wales for life by his brother, Edward IV

Tags: Edward IV, Richard III