genealogy
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Catherine de Valois’ first husband was Henry V, who was clearly the grandson of John of Gaunt. Edmund Beaufort, later Duke of Somerset, is traditionally regarded as Gaunt’s grandson as well, although his father may have been a legitimate Swynford. Quite apart from the 1420s legislation banning royal stepmothers such as Catherine from remarrying without…
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Last year, we posted an essay about the life and death of Arthur Capell, Baron Hadham. Now, thanks to Anna Belfrage of EHA, we can add two portraits (above); one of Hadham alone, and one with his family.
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DUKE RICHARD OF YORK (1) : the man who would be king
“Beauforts”, Cecily Neville, Edward IV, Edward of Norwich, Gascony, Henry V, Henry VI, John, John Duke of Bedford, John Duke of SomersetCharles VII, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lancastrians, Margaret of Anjou, Normandy, Order of the Garter, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl of Cambridge, William Duke of SuffolkOn the 10th of October 1460, Richard Plantagenet 3rd duke of York walked into Westminster Hall wearing the full arms of England undifferenced. After a moment, he put his hand on the empty throne. When asked if he wished to see the king, he replied “I know of no one in the realm who would…
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In the recent newspaper reports about further genetic testing on King Richard’s remains, a surprise for many people was the fact he had a fairly strong blond gene. As is typical, the newspapers jumped on this new information immediately, inundating us with a series of badly photoshopped pictures of Richard III with bright yellow Barbie-doll…
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Yesterday there was a comment on a Facebook group by a lady named Elizabeth Borson, that Kit Harington, the actor who plays Jon Snow in “Game of Thrones”, is a descendant of William Catesby, Richard III’s advisor. Kit is apparently also descended from Charles II, but it is Richard’s era that is of interest to…
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Did the House of York, founded by Edmund of Langley, first duke of York, have distinctive livery colors? Perhaps this is an unusual question to ask, because I’ve always been under the impression that those colors were murrey and blue. In their text Heraldry, published in 1993, Rouge Croix Pursuivant Henry Bedingfeld and Lancaster Herald…
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Why lineage still matters in battle
“Beauforts”, “Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, Blanche of Lancaster, Cnut, Earl of Oxford, Edmund Mortimer, Edward I, Edward IV, Edward VI, Emma of Normandy, Ethelred II, Hastings, Henry I, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, House of York, James VII/II, Jane, Joan of Acre, Mary I, Matilda, Richard II, Richard III, Stephen, William I, William IIIThe crown of England, among others, has often been claimed in battle or by other forceful means. However, to exercise such a claim, it is necessary to persuade a challenger’s military followers that he has a dynastic claim of sorts, even when this is greatly exaggerated or totally spurious. Thus William I, the Conqueror or…
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The above rather dark and dingy painting shows the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou, queen of the Lancastrian monarch, King Henry VI, being led from the battlefield at Tewkesbury after being captured. She had not only lost the battle, but also her son, the heir to the throne, seventeen-year-old Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. The…
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Quite an unfortunate family
“Popish Plot”, anniversaries, beheadings, Edward of Buckingham, England, executions, France, French Revolution, General Arthur Dillon, Henry of Buckingham, Lady Margaret Bulmer, Pilgrimage of Grace, Place de la Concorde, Salisbury, Smithfield, Staffords, Thomas Stafford, Tower Green, William Howard Viscount StaffordHenry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, cannot be called unlucky. The story of his revolt against Richard III, ending in Salisbury at the start of November 1483 is so well known that even Shakespeare has the right end of this particular stick. However, his family suffered fates that they didn’t always deserve so obviously: 1)…
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Contrary to the impression given by certain articles, the latest DNA evidence does not repeat not demonstrate that there was illegitimacy in the line of descent from Edward III to Richard III. It demonstrates it either there or in the line from Edward III to the present Duke of Beaufort. (The latter line, being longer,…
