The House of York was a
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, t ...
of the English royal
House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became
kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the
male line from
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of
Edward III. In time, it also represented Edward III's senior line, when an heir of York married the heiress-descendant of
Lionel, Duke of Clarence, Edward III's second surviving son. It is based on these descents that they claimed the English crown. Compared with its rival, the
House of Lancaster, it had a superior claim to the throne of England according to
cognatic primogeniture, but an inferior claim according to
agnatic primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
. The reign of this dynasty ended with the death of
Richard III of England at the
Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. It became extinct in the male line with the death of
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, in 1499.
Descent from Edward III
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG (1341-1402) was the fourth of the five sons who survived to adulthood of King
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
and
Philippa of Hainault. He was the founder of the House of York, but it was through the marriage of his younger son,
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, to
Anne Mortimer (descended from
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence the second surviving son of King Edward III), that the Yorkist faction in the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
made its claim to the throne, claiming seniority over the ruling
House of Lancaster, the opposing faction, descended from
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (the third surviving son of King Edward III), whose son
Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, had in 1399 usurped the throne of
Richard II, the representative of the most senior line of the descendants of King Edward III.
Edmund had two sons,
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, and Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge. Edward succeeded to the dukedom in 1402, but was killed at the
Battle of Agincourt in 1415, with no issue. Richard of Conisburgh married Anne Mortimer, a great-granddaughter of
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, the second surviving son of Edward III, and the elder brother of John of Gaunt. Furthermore, Anne's son
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York also became
heir general to the
Earldom of March
Earl of March is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derived from the "marches" or borderlands between England and either Wales (Welsh Marches) or Scotland (Scottish March ...
, after her only brother,
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, 7th Earl of Ulster (6 November 139118 January 1425), was an English nobleman and a potential claimant to the throne of England. A great-great-grandson of King Edward III of England, he was heir presumptive ...
, died without issue in 1425. Their father
Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March had been named
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
of King
Richard II before the seizure of the throne by
Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. Although it had been passed over at the time, Anne's son Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, also inherited this Mortimer claim to the throne, as well as the Mortimer estates.
The 3rd Duke was executed following his involvement in the
Southampton Plot to depose King
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
(the son of Henry IV) in favour of his uncle Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March. The Dukedom of York therefore passed to his eldest son,
Richard Plantagenet, 4th Duke of York, later King Edward IV, who whilst still Duke of York adopted a new coat of arms (in lieu of his paternal arms) which quartered the arms of Clarence, de Burgh and Mortimer, emphasising his claim to the throne from that senior lineage.
Wars of the Roses
Despite his elevated status, Richard Plantagenet was denied a position in government by the advisers of the weak
Henry VI, particularly
John 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.
The
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
began the following year, with the
First 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 the
battle of Northampton, but victory was short-lived. Richard and his second son
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings an ...
were killed at the
battle of Wakefield on 30 December.
Richard's claim to the throne was inherited by his son
Edward. With the support of
Richard 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 the
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...
in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out.
Reigns of the Yorkist Kings
The early reign of
Edward 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 brother
George, 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 the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
in 1471. In 1478, the continued trouble caused by Clarence led to his execution in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
; popularly he is thought to have been drowned in a butt of
malmsey
Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. I ...
wine.
On Edward's death in 1483, the crown passed to his twelve-year-old son
Edward. Edward IV's younger brother
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed Protector, and the young king, and his brother
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
, were accommodated into the Tower of London. The famous
Princes 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 document ''
Titulus 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.
Defeat of the House of York
Though the House of Lancaster's claimants were now the Royal Houses of Portugal and Castile through the
Duke 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 the
battle 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, took
Elizabeth 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.
Later claimants
The
de la Pole family were sometimes suggested as heirs to the Yorkist cause, but Henry Tudor and his son
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
efficiently suppressed all such opposition.
Another Yorkist branch descends from
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, and younger brother of Edward IV. The heir to this branch is the
Earl of Loudoun
Earl of Loudoun (pronounced "loud-on" ), named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell of Loudoun, along with the subsidiary title Lord Tarrinzean and Mauchlin ...
, currently
Simon Abney-Hastings. There was in Edward IV's reign a suspicion that
this king was illegitimate. In 2004, the British TV station Channel 4 revived the George branch's claim as "Britain's Real Monarch". The Earls of Loudoun would then, at least, be the heirs to the Yorkists,
but not to the British crown, as wrongly suggested by the programme, which is inherited in accordance with the 1701
Act of Settlement. Prior to 1701, the English (and later British) crowns were not automatically inherited by right.
Family tree
: – House of York
:
– King of England
:
– Duke/House of Lancaster
:
– Duke of York
:
– House of Tudor
Dukes of York
,
Edmund of Langley(House of York founder)
1385–1402 , ,
, , 5 June 1341
Kings Langley
Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The villa ...
son of
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
and
Philippa of Hainault, ,
Isabella of Castile1372
3 children
Joan de Hollandca. 4 November 1393
no children , , 1 August 1402
Kings Langley
Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The villa ...
age 61
, -
,
Edward of Norwich
Edward, 2nd Duke of York, ( – 25 October 1415) was an English nobleman, military commander and magnate. He was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and a grandson of King Edward III of England. He held significant appointme ...
1402–1415 , ,
, , 1373
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
son of
Edmund of Langley and
Isabella of Castile, ,
Philippa de Mohun
Philippa de Mohun (c. 1367 – 17 July 1431) was Duchess of York, as a result of her third marriage to Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York (c.1373–1415), Lord of the Isle of Wight, a grandson of King Edward III (1327–1377). She succeeded her ...
c. 1397
no children, , 25 October 1415
Agincourtage 42
, -
,
Richard Plantagenet1415–1460 , , , , 21 September 1411
son of
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge and
Anne de Mortimer, ,
Cecily Neville1437
12 children, , 30 December 1460
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
age 49
, -
,
Edward Plantagenet1460–1461 , ,
, , 28 April 1442
Rouenson of
Richard Plantagenet and
Cecily Neville, ,
Elizabeth Woodville1 May 1464
10 children, , 9 April 1483
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
age 40
, -
Edward Plantagenet became
Edward IV in 1461, thus merging the title of
Duke of York with the crown.
Yorkist Kings of England
,
Edward IV4 March 1461 –
3 October 1470
11 April
1471–1483 , ,
, , 28 April 1442
Rouenson of
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and
Cecily Neville , ,
Elizabeth Woodville Grafton Regis1 May 1464
10 children , , 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
age 40
, -
,
Edward V9 April–25 June 1483
[Edward V was deposed by Richard III, who usurped the throne on the grounds that Edward was illegitimate. ] , ,
, , 2 November 1470
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
, , unmarried , , c. 1483
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
age about 12 (presumed murdered)
, -
,
Richard III26 June
1483–1485 , ,
, , 2 October 1452
Fotheringhay Castleson of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville , ,
Anne Neville
Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ri ...
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
12 July 1472
1 son , , 22 August 1485
Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...
age 32 (killed in battle)
York badges
The most popular symbol of the house of York was the
White Rose of York. The Yorkist rose is white in colour, because in Christian
liturgical symbolism, white is the symbol of
light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...
, typifying
innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relatio ...
and
purity,
joy and
glory.
During the civil wars of the fifteenth century, the White Rose was the symbol of Yorkist forces opposed to the rival
House of Lancaster. The
red rose of Lancaster would be a later invention used to represent the House of Lancaster, but was not in use during the actual conflict.
[*] The opposition of the two roses gave the wars their name: the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
(coined in the 19th century).
White Rose Badge of York.svg, White Rose Badge of York.
Sun of York.svg, Sun of York.
Rose en Soleil Badge of York.svg, Rose en Soleil Badge of York.
White Lion of Mortimer Badge of Edward IV.svg, White Lion of Mortimer Badge of Edward IV.
Falcon and Fetterlock Badge of Edward IV.svg, Falcon and Fetterlock Badge of Edward IV.
Black Bull of Clarence Badge of Edward IV.svg, Black Bull of Clarence Badge of Edward IV.
White Boar Badge of Richard III (Loyaulte Me Lie).svg, White Boar Badge of Richard III (Loyaulte Me Lie).
See also
*
Quia Emptores
*
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
The White Rose of Yorkon the 'History of York' website.
The Plantagenetson the official website of the British monarchy.
The Yorkistson the official website of the British monarchy.
{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of York
Royal houses of England
York, House of