Duke of York

Cecily Neville: A 15th century woman for our time

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    Guest article by Annie Garthwaite Writing a novel about the matriarch of the house of York, prompted Annie Garthwaite to consider what makes Cecily Neville one of the 15th century’s most compelling women, the role she played in her family’s dynastic struggles, and why – at last – historians and novelists are fixing their gaze upon her. -- Cecily was born in the year of Agincourt, lived into the early years of the Tudors, mothered a dynasty, and [More]

Mary Tudor: English Princess, French Queen

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Mary's Motto: “La volenté De Dieu me suffit”  - The will of God is sufficient for me. Princess Mary Tudor was born on 18 March 1496 as the fifth of seven children to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Mary became a beautiful young lady and was considered to be one of the most attractive women in Europe, at the time. This is no surprise as the same was said about her mother, Elizabeth of York. Mary was only seven years old when her mother passed away. As with her si [More]

The Tower of London – the Most Haunted Castle in England

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The Tower of London could be called the most haunted place in London as it has seen hundred of executions. Some justified, some not. Many of the prisoners who entered the Tower only left to go to their execution. Most executions were public events and were well attended. Seems a little morbid now. Traitors could expect to be hung, drawn and quartered - the most inhumane of executions - the prisoner was hung and cut down still alive, their heart and entrails removed and [More]

Wars of the Roses – Beginning to the Battle of Towton

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When it comes to the Wars of the Roses I am most attracted to it because it's cousins fighting over the throne of England. Richard, 3rd Duke of York attempted to take the throne from his cousin Henry VI but failed. Eventually his son, Edward, Earl of March would succeed as Edward IV, but not without many battles of his own. These wars are what eventually led to the Tudor Dynasty - the one my site is primarily based on. The beginning: Edward III's descendants are behind [More]

Henry VII and the Princes in the Tower

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In 1483 Edward V and Richard, Duke of York disappeared from the Tower of London. They were the sons of the late Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Edward V was born 2 November 1470 in Westminster Abbey where his mother had taken sanctuary from the Lancastrians who had deposed his father during the Wars of the Roses. His brother, Richard was born 17 August 1473 in Shrewsbury, England when Edward IV ruled over England once again. Shortly before his sudden dea [More]

Letter from Perkin Warbeck

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Translated from Latin. [To Isabella of Castile, 1493: (British Library MS Egerton 616), as quoted by I. Arthurson in The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy, P. 49-50] "I myself, then nearly nine years of age, was also delivered to a certain Lord to be killed, [but] it pleased Divine Clemency, that lord, having compassion on my innocence, preserved me alive in safety: first, however, causing me to swear on the holy sacrament that to no one should I disclose my name, origin, or [More]