Sir Richard Grey (1457 – 25 June 1483) was an English knight and the half-brother of King

Edward V of England Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland fro ...

Early life

Richard Grey was the younger son of Sir

John Grey of Groby Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire (c. 1432Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 161-164. – 17 February 1461) was a Lancastrian knight, the first husband of Elizabe ...

and

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...

. Richard was a 3-year-old child when his father was killed fighting for the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...

at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February 1461. When Richard was 6 his mother married the Yorkist king,

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

, in secret, on 1 May 1464. Richard first appeared on the public scene when he took part in the jousts to celebrate the creation of his half-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 ...

as Duke of York in 1474, a feat he repeated at the 4-year old Duke's marriage celebrations in 1478 to the 5-year old Anne de Mowbray.

Knighthood

Grey was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1475 and was nominated four times to membership of The Most Noble Order of the Garter between 1476 and 1482. His political role also started in 1475, the year he was knighted, when he began to serve in Wales and the bordering English counties as part of the political rule of the council of his other half-brother, Edward, Prince of Wales (later

Edward V Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland fr ...

). Grey served as a justice of the peace in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...

from 1475 and sat at sessions of the peace in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

and

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

in 1476 and 1477.

Career as constable

In 1479, he was appointed constable of Chester Castle and in the same year was considered important enough for the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

to appeal to him for his aid. He served on a number of other judicial commissions in the region through the remainder of the reign of his stepfather. In 1482, he was granted the Welsh lordship of

Kidwelly Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, ...

, and in the same year was given a greater role in the upbringing of the Prince of Wales. Grey had become a very important person in Edward IV's rule in Wales and the bordering English counties. Grey was also being given a broader geographic field of activity, serving as constable of

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...

from 1482 and the following year being granted the Holland manors in

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

Imprisonment and execution

After the death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483, Grey's half-brother was the heir to the throne, and would have become

. On 30 April 1483, while accompanying Edward V to London from Wales with their uncle

Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Woodvi ...

, Grey was arrested by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

) at

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester ( Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town ...

and, with Rivers, imprisoned in the north of England.Chalmers' Biography, vol. 32, p. 351
/ref> Within a few weeks, Grey's lands and offices had been redistributed to others, even though he had not legally been deprived of them. After Edward V was declared illegitimate, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, ascended the throne as Richard III. Grey and his uncle were then executed at

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil W ...

on 25 June 1483. Richard Grey was aged around 26 at the time of his execution.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Richard 1450s births 1483 deaths Richard Grey People executed under the Yorkists Executed English people 15th-century English people Richard Grey Knights Bachelor