“Beauforts”
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I have recently perused the critical pages (180-191) of Michael Hicks’ latest work: “The Family of Richard III”, relating to the evidence of the remains found in the former Greyfriars. He states that the mitochondrial DNA evidence only shows that the remains are of an individual related to Richard III. He doesn’t admit that the…
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After Henry VI’s death in 1471, Henry IV’s legitimate line was extinct but his sister’s senior descendant was her grandson, Afonso V, King of Portugal (1432 r.1438-81). He was, therefore, the principal Lancastrian claimant to the English throne, although Edward IV had become Duke of Lancaster by then as a result of Henry IV merging…
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This 1988 volume reads very well and is an excellent summary of the life of the second (or first) son of John of Gaunt by his mistress Catherine de Roet. The language is very modern although the plain cover is a little reminiscent of many older books. There is relatively little material about Henry Beaufort’s…
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Today marks the 555th anniversary of the dramatic conclusion of this siege, being a Bank Holiday in most of Scotland. Tomorrow in 1900, the late Queen Mother was born, in London or Hitchin, but of Scottish parentage. We posted about the siege last year but what about the underlying events? James II’s mother was Joan…
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The Strange Death of Lancastrian England
“Beauforts”, Azincourt, Bauge, Blanche, Burgundy, Cambridge Plot, Cardinal Beaufort, Catherine de Valois, Charles VI, Charles VII, Congress of Arras, Edward of Lancaster, Eleanor Cobham, France, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Humphrey of Gloucester, John of Bedford, Lancastrians, Margaret of Anjou, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Rupert of Germany, Sir Hugh Swynford, Thomas of Clarence, Treaty of Troyes, Verneuil, WakefieldWhen Henry IV had his final succession statute passed through Parliament he made no provision for the throne beyond his children and their offspring. Neither the Beauforts, the Yorks, or even the Hollands got so much as a line. This was quite understandable, given that he had four sons and two daughters. No one could…
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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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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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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,…