Richard III


*Genealogy*

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Richard III
Genealogy
Lancaster's Reign
War of The Roses
Yorkist Reign
The King Maker
Death of Edward IV
Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Richard: Protector
Buckingham's Revolt
Battle of Bosworth
Discovery of Skeleton of Richard III



Richard III was born on October 2nd, 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire. He was the fourth surviving son of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, "The Rose of Raby", renowned for her beauty.

At this time, Henry IV of Lancaster was King of England, and the Duke of York had, earlier in the year, openly taken up arms against the Government for the first time. Although York had declared his enemy was not the King, instead the Duke of Somerset, he had been publically pronounced a traitor.

In these troubled times between the nobility, it would be difficult to imagine that newborn Richard, would play such a decisive role in the conflict.

It would appear, quite simply, that Edward III had too many sons. From the five sons who survived, six kings were produced until the Plantagenet reign came to an end with the crowning of Henry VII, the first Tudor king.



This genealogical table does not include the fifth surviving son Thomas Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, whose descendant the Duke of Buckingham caused much grief to Richard III. It also shows that seven, not six Plantagenet Kings were crowned. This omission on my part will be discussed further on. The next table does include Thomas, and helps clarify situations.