Was He A Usurper? King Edward IV of England. Part V

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2nd Duke of Somerset, 3rd Duke of York, 5th Earl of Salisbury, Chancellor of England, Edmund Beaufort, House of York, King Henry VI of England, Lord Protector of the Realm, Princess Margaret of Anjou, Richard Neville, Richard Plantagenet, Wars of the Roses

The Duke of York and his ally, the Duke of Norfolk, returned to London in November with large and threatening retinues. The London mob was mobilised to put pressure on parliament itself. However, although granted another office, that of Justice of the Forest south of the Trent, the Duke of York still lacked any real support outside Parliament and his own retainers. In December Parliament elected York’s chamberlain, Sir William Oldhall, as speaker.

In April 1451, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
was released from the Tower and appointed Captain of Calais.

Edmund Beaufort was the fourth surviving son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, the eldest of the four legitimised children of John of Gaunt (1340-1399) (third surviving son of King Edward III) by his mistress Katherine Swynford. Edmund’s mother was Margaret Holland, a daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent by his wife Alice FitzAlan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel by his wife Eleanor of Lancaster, 5th daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, a grandson of King Henry III. Edmund was thus a cousin of both Richard, Duke of York, and the Lancastrian King Henry VI.

One of York’s councillors, Thomas Young, the MP for Bristol, was sent to the Tower when he proposed that York be recognised as heir to the throne, and Parliament was dissolved. King Henry VI was prompted into belated reforms, which went some way to restore public order and improve the royal finances. Frustrated by his lack of political power, the Duke of York retired to Ludlow.

In 1452, York made another bid for power, but not to become king himself. Protesting his loyalty, he aimed to be recognised as King Henry VI’s heir to the throne (Henry was childless after seven years of marriage), while also continuing to try to destroy the Duke of Somerset. Henry may have preferred Somerset to succeed him over York, as Somerset was a Beaufort descendant.

Gathering men on the march from Ludlow, York headed for London, only to find the city gates barred against him on Henry’s orders. At Dartford in Kent, with his army outnumbered, and the support of only two of the nobility (the Earl of Devon and Lord Cobham), the Duke of York was forced to come to an agreement with King Henry VI.

He was allowed to present his complaints against Somerset to the king, but was then taken to London and after two weeks of virtual house arrest, was forced to swear an oath of allegiance to King Henry VI at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Protector of the Realm, 1453–1455

By the summer of 1453, York seemed to have lost his power struggle. King Henry VI embarked on a series of judicial tours, punishing York’s tenants who had been involved in the debacle at Dartford. The queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, was pregnant, and even if she should miscarry, the marriage of the newly ennobled Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, to Margaret Beaufort provided for an alternative line of succession. By July, York had lost both of his offices, Lieutenant of Ireland and Justice of the Forest south of the Trent.

Then, in August 1453, Henry VI suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown, perhaps brought on by the news of the defeat at the Battle of Castillon in Gascony, which finally drove English forces from France. He became completely unresponsive, unable to speak, and had to be led from room to room.

The Council tried to carry on as though the king’s disability would be brief, but they had to admit eventually that something had to be done. In October, invitations for a Great Council were issued, and although Somerset tried to have him excluded, the Duke of York (the premier duke of the realm) was included. Somerset’s fears were to prove well grounded, for in November he was committed to the Tower.

On March 23, 1454, Cardinal John Kemp, the Chancellor, died, making continued government in the King’s name constitutionally impossible. King Henry VI could not be induced to respond to any suggestion as to who might replace Kemp.

Despite the opposition of Margaret of Anjou, Prince Richard the Duke of York was appointed Protector of the Realm and Chief Councillor on March 27, 1454. York’s appointment of his brother-in-law, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, as Chancellor was significant.

Legal Succession: Elizabeth I of England & James VI of Scotland: Part 3

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2nd Duke of Somerset, 6th Earl of Angus, Archibald Douglas, Countess of Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, King of Poland, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, Lady Arabella Stuart, of King James I-VI of England and Scotland, Ranuccio of Parma, Scotland, Sigismund III Vasa, William Seymour

Before I move on to what made the advisors of Elizabeth I to choose James VI, I want to discuss another possible claimant to the throne, James’s cousin, Lady Arabella Stuart.

Lady’s Arabella’s claim to the English throne stemmed from her descent via Henry VII of England. Henry VII’s daughter, Margaret Tudor married, as her second marriage,  Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and this union produced a daughter, Margaret Douglas,  Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, this union produced two son Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox. Henry Stuart, lord Darnley married his cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. As you recall Mary, Queen of Scots was a descendent of Henry VII via Margaret Tudor’s first marriage to James IV, King of Scots. Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox secretly married Elizabeth Cavendish in 1574 and this greatly angered Queen Elizabeth I because it was done without her permission. Elizabeth Cavendish’s mother, Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (Bess of Hardwick), and her mother-in-law, Margaret Douglas, were both sent to the tower as punishment.

Lady Arabella was born in 1575 and her father died the next year and her mother died in 1582. The young Lady Arabella was placed under the care of Queen Elizabeth’s chief minister, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. From time to time Lady Arabella would appear at court and prior to 1592 she was considered the most likely and acceptable candidate to the English throne after the death of Elizabeth. however, he ward, Lord Burghley and his son,  Secretary of State Sir Robert Cecil felt that James VI was a more likely candidate. However, during her time when she was considered the likely heir to the throne there were many marriage prospects for her. Among them were:  Ranuccio of Parma, eldest son of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal,  Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. James VI wanted Lady Arabella to marry a cousin,  Ludovic Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, but nothing came of this match.

In 1610 Lady Arabella eventually married, in secret and against the wishes of King James I-VI of England and Scotland, William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, himself a descendent from the Tudors via Lady Catherine Grey, sister of the ill-fatted Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day queen. The couple was arrested and separated. They escaped their imprisonment and tried to flee to the European Continent. The Duke of Somerset was succesful in escaping from the clutches of King James I but Lady Arabella was not. The ship she was on was captured and Lady Arabella was imprisoned in the Tower where she died after starving herself to death.

Next week will conclude this part of the series where James VI succeeds Elizabeth I.