Thwarted Queen (53 page)

THE YORKS

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, 3rd DUKE OF YORK
, (1411-1460). Cecylee’s husband, he was murdered by the Lancastrians in the Battle of Wakefield, December 1460.

CECYLEE NEVILLE, DUCHESS OF YORK, QUEEN BY RIGHT, ABBESS OF THE BENEDICTINE ORDER OF ASHRIDGE
(1415-1495).

ANNE PLANTAGENET, “NAN”, DUCHESS OF EXETER
(1439-1476), eldest surviving child of Cecylee and Richard, she was married to Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter in 1447, when she was seven years old. She divorced her husband in 1472 and in around 1474, married Thomas St. Leger. She died in 1476 after giving birth to their child Anne St. Leger.

EDWARD, EARL OF MARCH (1442-1483), KING EDWARD IV OF ENGLAND
from 1461. Cecylee’s illegitimate son by her lover Blaybourne, he became heir to the House of York on the death of his half-brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland and his stepfather, Richard, Duke of York. Winning victories at Mortimer’s Cross in February 1461 and Towton in March 1461, Edward was crowned King of England in June 1461.

EDMUND PLANTAGENET, EARL OF RUTLAND
(1443-1460). Cecylee and Richard’s first surviving son, Richard treated this child as his heir. He was murdered at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460.

ELIZABETH PLANTAGENET, “BETH”, DUCHESS OF SUFFOLK
(born 1444-died circa 1504), second surviving daughter of Richard and Cecylee, she was married to John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk in 1458, and bore him eleven children.

MARGARET PLANTAGENET, DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY
(1446-1503). Cecylee and Richard’s youngest daughter, she was married to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in July 1468. She had no surviving children, but became great friends with her stepdaughter, Mary the Rich, Duchess of Burgundy.

GEORGE PLANTAGENET (1449-1478), DUKE OF CLARENCE
from 1461. Cecylee and Richard’s second surviving son, he was married to Isabel Neville, elder daughter and heiress of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick in July, 1469. Executed for treason in February 1478, by his half-brother King Edward IV.

RICHARD PLANTAGENET (1452-1485), DUKE OF GLOUCESTER from 1461, KING RICHARD III
from 1483. He was Cecylee and Richard’s youngest surviving son. In around 1472, he married Anne Neville, younger daughter and co-heiress of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. He is the infamous monster of Shakespeare’s play, an exaggerated re-telling of his reign written to please Henry Tudor’s grand-daughter Elizabeth I.

WILLIAM DE LA POLE, 4th EARL OF SUFFOLK (1396-1450). DUKE OF SUFFOLK
from 1448. Succeeded Cardinal Beaufort as head of the Court Party. Friend of Queen Marguerite. Murdered May 2, 1450 on the gunwales of a boat, on his way to France.

ALICE CHAUCER, DUCHESS OF SUFFOLK
(1404-1475), daughter of Thomas Chaucer and Matilda Burghersh, she was a granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer the poet. She was the mother-in-law of Cecylee’s daughter Beth.

JOHN DE LA POLE, 2nd DUKE OF SUFFOLK
(born 1442, died circa 1492), son of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk and 1st Duke of Suffolk, married Elizabeth “Beth” Plantagenet, Richard and Cecylee’s second daughter, in 1458. A loyal servant of King Henry VII, he died in bed of natural causes.

JOHN DE LA POLE, EARL OF LINCOLN
(born circa 1462, died 1487), eldest son and heir of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth Plantagenet, he was one of Cecylee’s grandsons. On the death of Edward of Middleham in 1484, Richard III made him his heir. He was killed at the Battle of Stoke by Henry VII.

PHILIP III DUKE OF BURGUNDY “THE GOOD”
(1396-1467). Cecylee sent her younger sons George and Richard to the Burgundian court for safekeeping during the siege of London in February 1461.

CHARLES OF CHAROLAIS, “CHARLES THE BOLD”, (1433-1477) DUKE OF BURGUNDY
from 1467. The son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and Isabel of Portugal he married, as his third wife, Cecylee’s daughter Margaret in 1468. They had no children. Charles was the father of Mary the Rich, Duchess of Burgundy.

MARY OF BURGUNDY “MARY THE RICH”, (1457-1482), DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY
from January, 1477, she was the only child and heiress of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. She formed a close friendship with her stepmother Margaret of York, Cecylee’s youngest daughter. Besieged by suitors, including Cecylee’s son George, she married Maximilian of Austria in August, 1477.

MARGARET PLANTAGENET (1473-1541), COUNTESS OF SALISBURY
from 1512, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville. In 1487, she was married to Sir Richard Pole, a cousin of Henry VII. Her descendants are the rightful heirs to the throne of England. She was executed by Henry VIII, the Tudor Bluebeard, for her continued adherence to the Catholic faith. But it probably didn’t help her cause that she was so close to the throne. She was one of Cecylee’s grand-daughters.

HENRY POLE (born circa 1492, died 1539), 1st BARON MONTAGU
from 1514, he was the son of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury and Sir Richard Pole, and thus the grandson of George, Duke of Clarence. He was married to his distant cousin Jane Neville, daughter of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny. They had five children. A great-grandson of Cecylee, one of his descendants is Mike Hastings, whom some say is the rightful Monarch of England.

EDWARD PLANTAGENET (1475-1499), 17th EARL OF WARWICK
from 1478, the son and heir of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, Countess of Warwick. One of Cecylee’s grandsons, he was thrown into the Tower of London in 1485 by Henry Tudor, and executed in 1499.

LADY ISABEL PLANTAGENET
, (1409-1484), Richard’s sister and Cecylee’s sister-in-law, she was married to (a) Sir Thomas Grey and (b) Henry, Baron Bourchier.

THE LANCASTERS

JOHN PLANTAGENET DUKE OF LANCASTER, “JOHN OF GAUNT”
(1340-1399). The third son of King Edward III, he married (a) Blanche of Lancaster, (b) Constance of Castile (c) Catrine de Roet (Lady Katherine Swynford). By his first wife Blanche, he was the father of King Henry IV of England. By his second wife Constance, he was the father to Queen Catherine of Castile. By his third wife Catrine, he was father to Joan de Beaufort and her three brothers. He was therefore Cecylee’s grandfather.

HENRY V, KING OF ENGLAND
(1387-1422). Victor at Agincourt in 1415, he was a strong leader who died suddenly of dysentery. Father of Henry VI.

CATRINE DE VALOIS
(1401-1437), daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabelle of Bavaria (the patroness of Christine de Pizan), Catrine married Henry V of England in 1420 as part of the peace settlement after Agincourt. She had one child with Henry V, a son who became Henry VI of England. After Henry V’s death in 1422, she had a relationship with Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor, (known as Owen Tudor in England) and produced five children, including Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke. The Tudor Dynasty descends from Edmund Tudor.

JOHN PLANTAGENET, DUKE OF BEDFORD
(1389-1435) younger brother to Henry V of England, uncle to Henry VI. Negotiated marriage between Richard, Duke of York and Cecylee Neville.

HUMPHREY PLANTAGENET, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
(1390-1447), younger brother to King Henry V. Married (a) Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault and Holland, (b) Eleanor Cobham, his mistress. Negotiated marriage between Richard and Cecylee. Beloved mentor and friend to Richard of York. Head of the opposition to the Court Party.

ELEANOR COBHAM
(born circa 1400, died between 1452 and 1454). She was the daughter of Reginald Cobham, 3rd Lord Cobham, and his first wife, Eleanor Culpeper. She was the mistress, then second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. In 1441, she was convicted of trying to kill Henry VI by means of witchcraft, and imprisoned for the rest of her life.

HENRY VI “HENRY OF LANCASTER”
(1421-1471), reigned as KING HENRY VI from 1422 to 1461, when he fled England. In July, 1465, he was captured, and brought to live in the Tower of London. In May 1471, after the Battle of Tewkesbury, he was murdered.

MARGUERITE D’ANJOU “BITCH OF ANJOU”
(1429-1482), Queen of England from 1445 to 1461, she fled England. In 1471, she was captured by the Yorkists, and returned to France in 1475. She died in poverty in 1482.

ÉDOUARD, PRINCE OF WALES
(1453-1471). Son to Marguerite d’Anjou, and possibly Henry VI of England or Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, he was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in May, 1471.

EDMUND TUDOR, EARL OF RICHMOND
(1430-1456), son of Owen Tudor and Catrine de Valois, he was married to Lady Margaret Beaufort and became the father of Henry, Earl of Richmond, later Henry VII, King of England. He died of the plague in 1456.

JASPER TUDOR, EARL OF PEMBROKE
(born circa 1431, died 1495), son of Catrine de Valois and Owen Tudor, younger brother of Edmund Tudor. He was an adventurer who was loyal to the Lancastrian cause, and brought up his nephew Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. When Henry Tudor became king, he restored all of his uncle’s lands and titles. In 1485, Jasper was married to Catherine Woodville, formerly Duchess of Buckingham, who was a sister to Queen Ḗlisabeth Woodville.

HENRY TUDOR, EARL OF RICHMOND, (1457-1509), HENRY VII
from 1485, he was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Lady Margaret Beaufort. He won the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, in which Richard III was killed. He married Edward IV’s heiress, Elizabeth of York in 1486, and founded the Tudor dynasty. He is the father of Henry VIII.

JOHN HOLLAND, 2nd DUKE OF EXETER
(1385-1447), the second son of John Holland 1st Duke of Exeter, and Elizabeth of Lancaster, whose father was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1427, he was married to Lady Anne Stafford and became the father of Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter.

ANNE STAFFORD, DUCHESS OF EXETER
(died 1432), daughter of Edmund Stafford, 5
^th
Earl of Stafford. She was the first wife of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, and the mother of Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter.

BEATRIX OF PORTUGAL, DUCHESS OF EXETER
(1386-1439) was the illegitimate daughter of John I of Portugal and Ines Pires. In 1432, she married John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter and became his second wife. She died in Bordeaux in 1439.

HENRY HOLLAND, 3rd DUKE OF EXETER
(1430-1475), was married to Lady Anne Plantagenet, eldest daughter of Richard and Cecylee in 1447. During the Wars of the Roses, he was an enemy of the House of York despite his marriage to Richard and Cecylee’s daughter Nan. He was a commander at the great Lancastrian victory at Wakefield, where Richard, Duke of York was pulled off his horse and cut to pieces, where Cecylee’s eldest brother Salisbury was murdered, and where Cecylee and Richard’s 17-year-old son was murdered after the battle in cold blood. In 1475, he served on Edward's expedition to France. On the return voyage he fell overboard and drowned. Some say he was thrown overboard at the command of Edward IV, his erstwhile brother-in-law.

THE NEVILLES

RALPH DE NEVILLE, 1st EARL OF WESTMORLAND
(born circa 1363, died 1425). Cecylee’s father. Married (a) Margaret de Stafford (died circa 1395), and (b) Joan de Beaufort. His marriage with Countess Joan took place in November 1396.

SIR JOHN NEVILLE
(died 1423), eldest son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his first wife Margaret Stafford.

SIR RALPH NEVILLE THE YOUNGER, 2nd EARL OF WESTMORLAND
(born circa 1406, died circa 1484), son of Sir John Neville, and grandson of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland.

SIR RALPH NEVILLE THE OLDER
(died 1458), younger son of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his first wife Margaret Stafford.

CATRINE DE NEVILLE “CATH”, DUCHESS OF NORFOLK
(born circa 1397). Cecylee’s sister, married four times to (a) John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, (b) Sir Thomas Strangeways, (c) John, Viscount Beaumont, and (d) Sir John Woodville.

LADY JEHANE DE NEVILLE
(born circa 1398). Cecylee’s sister, she was a nun at Barking Abbey in Essex.

RICHARD NEVILLE, BARON MONTACUTE “SALISBURY” (1400-1460) 5th EARL OF SALISBURY
from 1428 . Eldest son of Joan de Beaufort and Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. Baron Montacute and Earl of Salisbury in right of his wife, Alice de Montacute, the wealthy heiress to the Salisbury title and lands. He was Cecylee’s eldest brother.

ALAINOR DE NEVILLE, COUNTESS OF NORTHUMBERLAND
(born circa 1407). Cecylee’s sister, she was married to Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland at the age of seven.

WILLIAM NEVILLE, LORD FAUCONBERG (circa 1409-1463), 1st EARL OF KENT
from 1461, was one of Cecylee’s brothers. He was Lord Fauconberg in right of his wife, and some historians think he is an underrated figure in the rise to power of the Yorkist, being a better general than his nephew Warwick “The Kingmaker”.

ANNE NEVILLE, DUCHESS OF BUCKINGHAM
(born circa 1411, died 1480). Cecylee’s sister, she was married to Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, one of the commanders of the Lancastrian army. During 1459-1460, Cecylee was forced to live with her under house-arrest.

GEORGE NEVILLE, 1st BARON LATIMER
(born circa 1414, died 1469), one of Cecylee’s brothers. He succeeded to the title on the death of his half-uncle John Neville in 1430.

EDWARD NEVILLE, LORD BERGAVENNY
(born circa 1417). Youngest child of Joan de Beaufort and Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Lord Bergavenny in right of his wife, Elizabeth de Beauchamp. He was one of Cecylee’s brothers.

JOHN DE MOWBRAY, 3rd DUKE OF NORFOLK
(1415-1461). Son of John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Nofolk and Lady Catrine de Neville. One of Cecylee’s nephews, he was the premier peer of the realm. He switched sides many times during the Wars of the Roses, but his intervention in the Battle of Towton was decisive in winning it for Edward IV. He officiated at Edward IV’s coronation, and died in bed of natural causes.

HENRY PERCY, 2nd EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND
(born circa 1392, died 1455), married to Alainor de Neville, Cecylee’s sister. Killed at the First Battle of St. Albans in 1455.