As descendants of King Edward III in the male line, the first three Dukes of York bore the arms of that King (adjusted forFrance modern)differenced by alabel of three points argent each bearing three torteaux gules. The 4th Duke, later KingEdward IV, abandoned his paternal arms in favour of new arms emphasising his descent via female lines from the royal line of Clarence/de Burgh/Mortimer, senior to that of theHouse of Lancaster
Coat of arms of King Edward IV of England (as Duke of York), adopted in lieu of his paternal arms: Quarterly of 4: 1: Lionel, Duke of Clarence (royal arms of King Edward III, undifferenced); 2&3: de Burgh; 4: Mortimer. This emphasised his claim to seniority over theHouse of Lancaster
Following Edmund of Langley's death in 1402, his son Edward succeeded to the dukedom but had no issue before he was killed at theBattle of Agincourt in 1415.[1] His other son Richard had been executed for treason earlier in the same year following his involvement in theSouthampton Plot to depose Henry V in favour ofEdmund Mortimer, Richard's brother-in-law. The dukedom therefore passed to Richard's son, who became Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York. Being descended from Edward III in both the maternal and the paternal line gave Richard a significant claim to the throne if the Lancastrian line should fail, and bycognatic primogeniture arguably a superior claim.[2] He emphasised the point by being the first to assume the Plantagenet surname in 1448. Having inherited the March and Ulster titles, he became the wealthiest and most powerful noble in England, second only to the king himself. Richard marriedCecily Neville, a granddaughter of John of Gaunt, and had thirteen or possibly fifteen children:[3]
Despite his elevated status, Richard Plantagenet was denied a position in government by the advisers of the weakHenry VI, particularlyJohn Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, and the queen consort,Margaret of Anjou. Although he served as protector of the realm during Henry VI's period of incapacity in 1453–54, his reforms were reversed by Somerset's party once the king had recovered.
TheWars of the Roses began the following year, with theFirst Battle of St Albans. Initially, Richard aimed only to purge his Lancastrian political opponents from positions of influence over the king. It was not until October 1460 that he claimed the throne for the House of York. In that year the Yorkists had captured the king at thebattle of Northampton, but victory was short-lived. Richard and his second sonEdmund were killed at thebattle of Wakefield on 30 December.
Richard's claim to the throne was inherited by his sonEdward. With the support ofRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ("The Kingmaker"), Edward, already showing great promise as a leader of men, defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. While Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou were campaigning in the north, Warwick gained control of the capital and had Edward declared king in London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at theBattle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out.
The early reign ofEdward IV was marred by Lancastrian plotting and uprisings in favour of Henry VI. Warwick himself changed sides, and supported Margaret of Anjou and the king's jealous brotherGeorge, Duke of Clarence, in briefly restoring Henry in 1470–71. However, Edward regained his throne, and the House of Lancaster was wiped out with the death of Henry VI himself, in theTower of London in 1471. In 1478, the continued trouble caused by Clarence led to his execution in theTower of London; popularly he is thought to have been drowned in a butt ofmalmsey wine.
On Edward's death in 1483, the crown passed to his twelve-year-old sonEdward V. Edward IV's younger brotherRichard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed Protector, and the young king, and his brotherRichard, were accommodated into the Tower of London. The famousPrinces in the Tower's fate remains a mystery. As today it is unknown whether they were killed or who might have killed them. Parliament declared, in the documentTitulus Regius, that the two boys were illegitimate, on the grounds that Edward IV's marriage was invalid, and as such Richard was heir to the throne. He was crowned Richard III in July 1483.
Though the House of Lancaster's claimants were now the Royal Houses of Portugal and Castile through theDuke of Lancaster's two legitimate daughters, who had married into those houses,Henry Tudor, a descendant of the Beauforts, a legitimized branch of the House of Lancaster put forward his claim. Furthermore, some Edwardian loyalists were undeniably opposed to Richard, dividing his Yorkist power base. A coup attempt failed in late 1483, but in 1485 Richard met Henry Tudor at thebattle of Bosworth Field. During the battle, some of Richard's important supporters switched sides or withheld their retainers from the field. Richard himself was killed. He was the last of the Plantagenet kings, as well as the last English king to die in battle.
Henry Tudor declared himself king, tookElizabeth of York, eldest child of Edward IV, as his wife, claiming to have united the surviving houses of York and Lancaster, and acceded to the throne as Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty which reigned until 1603.
At the pointHenry VII of England seized the throne there were eighteen Plantagenet descendants who might today be thought to have a stronger hereditary claim. By 1510 this number increased with the birth of sixteen Yorkist children.[5] However, Henry VII marriedElizabeth of York the eldest daughter of Edward IV. This made their children hiscognatic heirs.[6]Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy—Edward's sister and Elizabeth's aunt—and members of the de la Pole family—children of Edward's sisterElizabeth andJohn de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk— continued in attempts to restore a Yorkist line.[7] Margaret's nephewEdward, Earl of Warwick, the son of her brother George, was imprisoned in the Tower of London, but in 1487 Margaret financed a rebellion led byLambert Simnel pretending to be Warwick, or "Edward VI".John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln, joined the revolt and was killed in the suppression of the uprising at theBattle of Stoke Field in 1487.[8] Warwick was implicated in further failed invasions supported by Margaret byPerkin Warbeck claiming to be Edward IV's son Richard of Shrewsbury and executed on 28 November 1499. With this both the houses of Plantagenet and York went extinct in the legitimate male line.[9]
1 Briefly joined the Lancastrians.2 Briefly joined the Yorkists.3 Defected from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause.4 Initially a Yorkist who later supported the Tudor claim.5 Initially a Lancastrian who later supported the Tudor claim.
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