Edward IV
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Recently I was in Great Malvern and visited the priory church in the centre of town. It is known for its 15th century stained glass, including the West Window which was commissioned by Richard Duke of Gloucester and his wife Anne. Although the original Doom/Day of Judgement scene in Richard’s window is no longer visible,…
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So who was the “Grand Old Duke of York”, subject of the nursery rhyme and hundreds of pubs? Was it: 1) Richard (1411-60), father of Edward IV and Richard III and senior (Mortimer) claimant almost since birth, who died at Wakefield after descending from Sandal Castle? 2) James (1633-1701), aka James VII/II, who sought to…
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Note, in particular, the beginning of the last paragraph: THE BONES IN THE URN The main accusation against Richard III has always been the assumption that he murdered his nephews, and the discovery of the skeletons of two children under a Tower staircase in the 17th century has often been quoted as virtual proof of…
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“For though I dare myself speak what seems to me to be the truth, the poor dare not do so.” – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in a statement to Henry VI, 1440 The Yorkists seem unique, almost tantalizingly modern, in their use of populist rhetoric during the Wars of the Roses. Of course, they were…
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Who takes the ultimate responsibility for events in late Medieval England? According to the Cairo-dwellers, from 1483 to August 1485, the answer is the King (Richard III), whether he knew what happened or not. According to the same people, the answer from 1471 to 1483 isn’t the King (Edward IV) but the Duke of Gloucester…
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Consider the following coincidences: 1) The Mortimer-York army in 1458-60 was led by the Duke of York, two sons, a brother-in-law and a nephew. Charles I’s principal commanders were himself, two sons and two nephews. 2) Richard of York had four healthy sons, one named after himself who became King. Charles I had three healthy…
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You have probably heard of the “Lincoln Roll”. It resides at the John Rylands Institute of the University of Manchester. It shows the strength of the de la Pole claim to the throne (John of Lincoln being of that family) and the weakness of the “Tudor” claim, having been featured in Dr. Thomas Penn’s BBC2…
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Given the amount of evidence that has accrued over the past decade both about Edward IV’s bigamy and the cover-ups, both in his reign and those of the “Tudors”, he can now be classified as having no legitimate and fourteen or fifteen illegitimate children. Charles II’s record is almost identical, although he was more open…
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We are told by Collins, quoting Mancini, that Anthony Wydeville (the early print enthusiast who became Lord Scales and Earl Rivers) was appointed in 1473 as “governor and ruler” of the Ludlow household of his sister’s eldest son. He was also given “vice-regal powers” in Wales and the Marches, corresponding directly to those of the…
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Richard III really will have to try harder if he is going to live up to that interesting reputation of his. After all, what good is a serial incestor if all he does is simply marry his cousin (with a Papal dispensation) which occurs all the time nowadays anyway – without the Papal dispensation? And…
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