RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK (c.1410-1460), was the son of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, by Anne, daughter of Roger, Earl of March. [see Richard's Genealogy]

In 1425 he was relieved from the effects of his father's attainder, and succeeded to the estates and titles of his uncles, Edward, Duke of York, and Edmund, Earl of March. In 1430 he was made Constable of England, in 1432 he was appointed Guardian of the Coast of Normandy, and in 1436 was made Regent of France, and advanced with an army almost to the gates of Paris [q.v. Hundred Years' War]. In the next year he was recalled, but in 1440 was appointed regent again, holding office till 1445. In 1449 he was made Lieutenant of Ireland, and governed that country with great wisdom and moderation during the one year for which he held this post.

On his return to England in 1450 he came prominently forward as the opponent of the Duke of Somerset. He was as popular as Somerset was odious, and had powerful allies in the Nevilles, with whom he was closely connected by his marriage with Cecily, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland. In 1451 a proposal was made in Parliament that York should be declared heir to the crown, but this was not seriously entertained, and the proposer was imprisoned.

In 1452 York, declaring that his sole object was to rid the king [Henry VI] of Somerset and other evil counsellors, raised a force, and marched to London. Henry met him at Blackheath, and York laid before him a bill of accusation against Somerset, at the same time swearing fealty to the king, and promising for the future to sue for remedy in legal form. The birth of an heir to Henry in 1453 deprived York of all hope of succeeding peacefully to the throne, while the imbecility of the king gave him the office of Protector, which he held till Henry's recovery in 1455, Somerset being in prison during this period.

On the king's restoration to health (Feb., 1455) York was dismissed and Somerset reinstated. The first battle of St. Albans followed, in which the latter was slain, and the king shortly afterwards becoming once more imbecile, York was again appointed Protector. Two years of comparative peace followed, and in March, 1457, a great pacification took place at St. Paul's.

The misgovernment and misfortunes of the country, and the alienation of the Nevilles gave York another opportunity in 1459. The Yorkists were marching south when Lord Audley tried to stop them at Blore Heath, but was defeated, and battle was imminent at Ludlow when the defection of Trollop alarmed the Yorkists, and they fled. The duke went to Ireland, and in the Parliament held at Coventry at the end of the year was attainted. In 1460 the Yorkist lords planned a return to England, and York issued a manifesto against the royal ministers.

The battle of Northampton placed the king at their mercy, and the Parliament which met repealed the duke's attainders. York now for the first time asserted his claim to the throne, and after a long discussion a compromise was effected, by which Henry was to retain the crown during his life-time, after which it was to revert to York and his heirs. Meanwhile the duke and his sons were not to molest the king, any attempt on the duke's life was made high treason, and the principality of Wales was handed over to him.

However, Margaret, who refused to recognise this arrangement, had been collecting an army in the north, and against her the Duke of York marched. The battle of Wakefield ensued on the last day of the year, when York was slain. His head was placed on the walls of York, garnished with a paper crown, but was taken down after the battle of Towton.

By his marriage with Cecily Neville the duke had eight sons and one daughter died in childhood. Of the other, Edward and Richard became kings, Edmund was killed at Wakefield, and George was created Duke of Clarence. His daughters were Anne, who married the Duke of Exeter, and secondly Sir J. St. Leger; Elizabeth, who married John, Earl of Suffolk, and Margaret, who married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

      Excerpted from:

      The Dictionary of English History. Sidney J. Low and F. S. Pulling, eds.
      London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1910. 994-5.

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Other Local Resources:

• Richard of York's Claim to the English Throne
  
• The Royal House of York
  
• Sketch of a Statue of Richard of York
  
• Art: Duke of York Slain at Wakefield
  
  
• Wars of the Roses
  
• The Battle of Wakefield
  
• Edward IV
  
• George, Duke of Clarence
  
• Richard III
  
• King Henry VI
  
• Queen Margaret of Anjou
  

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Books for further study:

Haigh, Philip. A. The Battle of Wakefield.
           Alan Sutton Publishing, 1997.

Johnson, P. A. Duke Richard of York 1411-1460.
           Oxford University Press, 2002.

Lewis, Matthew. Richard, Duke of York: King by Right.
           Amberley Pub, 2016.

Shakespeare, William. Henry VI (Parts I, II and III).
           Signet Classics, 2005.

Weir, Alison. The Wars of the Roses.
           Ballantine Books, 1996.

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