Lady Margaret Beaufort, the sole living child and heir of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and his wife, Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe was born on 31 May 1443. Through her father she was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster through the legitimized eldest son of his third wife, Katherine Swynford. Thus… Read more The Lancastrian Heir is Born
Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was born (or at least Christened) on 3 May 1415. Her father was Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and her mother, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, was the granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford. Thus Cecily was the great-granddaughter of King Edward III.… Read more Cecily Neville, Duchess of York
Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, 6th Earl of Suffolk – fourth born but now oldest surviving son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth of York, grandson of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and nephews of King Edward IV and King Richard III, and thus the… Read more The Execution of Edmund de la Pole
Bridget of York, the 10th and youngest child and of King Edward IV of England and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, was born on 10 November 1480 at Eltham Palace. At the time of Bridget’s birth, she had seven of nine full siblings and two half brothers still living, the only exceptions being a sister, Margaret of… Read more Bridget of York, King Edward IV’s Last Child
(Today I am lucky enough to have a guest blog post by Mary Anne Yarde, the fabulous author of the fabulous Du Lac Chronicles. The books are set in the Dark Ages Britain, when politics was still a matter of combat and moistened tarts lobbing swords at you from overly-large ponds, and are great reads!… Read more Guest Post: Henry Tudor and the King Arthur Claim by Mary Anne Yarde
King Edward V was born on 2 November 1470 in Westminster Abbey where Queen Elizabeth Woodville, had taken refuge during the very brief period when the baby’s father, King Edward IV, had been dethroned and the crown returned to King Henry VI. Edward’s birth must have been seen as an excellent sign for the Yorkists,… Read more King Edward V
Richard Plantagenet, future Duke of Gloucester and King Richard III, was born on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle. He was twelfth child (and eighth son) of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, who was the great-great-grandson of King Edward III via Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence and Edward III’s grandson through Edmund… Read more Richard III
Rhys ap Thomas was born the third son of Thomas ap Gruffydd, and would die the most powerful man in Wales. Neither birth order nor family would have predicted Rhys’s rise to greatness. His paternal grandfather, Gruffydd ap Nicolas, had earned the family fortune, but the family was made more respectable by marriage when Rhys’s… Read more The Descendants of Rhys ap Thomas
Arthur, the firstborn child and eldest son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 20 September 1486 about an hour after midnight. He was the longed-for male heir, the tangible sign of God’s favor for the Tudor/York marriage, and the hope of peace in a kingdom long beset by internal wars… Read more Arthur, Prince of Wales