RICHARD OF YORK, CLAIMANT TO THE ENGLISH THRONE
COATS OF ARMS OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK AND HIS SON
IN LAW, HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER,
BOTH DESCENDANTS OF KING EDWARD III.
HOWEVER, YORK HAD A BETTER CLAIM TO THE THRONE,
DESCENDED FROM THE SECOND SON OF EDWARD III [LIONEL
OF ANTWERP] WHILE
EXETER DESCENDED FROM THE THIRD SON [JOHN OF GAUNT]
TO BEGIN WITH:
ARMS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET
DESCENDANTS OF THE PLANTAGENETS, AS
THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK, AND OF COURSE
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS, WEAR THOSE ARMS.
FROM THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD III, FRENCH LILIES
[BLUE BLACKGROUND] WERE ADDED TO THE ARMS, SINCE EDWARD III
CLAIMED THE FRENCH CROWN [BEING THE MATERNAL GRANDSON
OF THE DECEASED FRENCH KING PHILIP IV], WHICH WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE HUNDRED YEAR’S WAR WITH FRANCE
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ARMS OF EDWARD III, THE FIRST
PLANTAGENET KING TO ADD THE FRENCH
LILIES [FLEURS DE LYS] BECAUSE OF
HIS CLAIM TO THE FRENCH THRONE
ARMS OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK, CLAIMANT TO THE ENGLISH THRONE AND HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER, SON
IN LAW OF THE DUKE OF YORK
SINCE THE DUKE OF YORK DESCENDS [THROUGH HIS MOTHER,
ANNE MORTIMER] FROM LIONEL OF ANTWERP, SECOND SON
OF EDWARD III, HIS CLAIM TO THE THRONE IS SUPERIOR THAN HIS
SON IN LAW, SINCE HENRY HOLLAND DESCENDS OF JOHN OF GAUNT,
THIRD SON OF EDWARD III
ARMS OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
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ARMS OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
EXPLANATIONS OF THE ARMS OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
QUARTERLY 1ST [LEFT ABOVE] OF THE ARMS
OF THE DUKE OF YORK:
ROYAL ARMS OF HIS PATERNAL GRANDFATHER,
EDMUND OF LANGLEY,FIRST DUKE
OF YORK SON OF KING EDWARD III
HERE HE HAD A CLAIM TO THE THRONE, BUT LESS
VALID THAN FROM HIS MOTHER’S SIDE, SINCE LANGLEY
WAS THE FOURTH SON OF KING EDWARD III
[LANGLEY HAD THOSE ROYAL ARMS, BEING THE SON
OF A KING]
.svg)
SECOND QUATERLY [ABOVE RIGHT]
OF THE ARMS
OF THE DUKE OF YORK
THE ARMS OF CASTILE AND LEON.
THOSE WERE THE ARMS OF THE
THE PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER OF
RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK,
ISABELLA OF CASTILE, DUCHESS OF
YORK
3RD QUATERLY [BELOW LEFT]
OF THE ARMS OF THE DUKE OF YORK
THE ARMS OF THE MORTIMERS
HIS MATERNAL GREAT GRANDMOTHER,
PHILIPPA PLANTAGENET, DAUGHTER
OF LIONEL OF ANTWERP [WHO WAS THE SECOND
SON OF KING EDWARD III], MARRIED EDMUND
MORTIMER, 3RD EARL OF MARCH, WHO THUS
WAS THE GREAT GRANDFATHER OF RICHARD,
DUKE OF YORK.
3RD QUATERLY [BELOW LEFT]
OF THE ARMS OF THE DUKE OF YORK
THE ARMS OF THE EARLS OF ULSTER
ELIZABETH DE BURGH, DAUGHTER OF
WILLIAM DON DE BURGH, AND THE 4TH
COUNTESS OF ULSTER, WAS THE MATERNAL
GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER OF THE
DUKE OF YORK, BEING MARRIED WITH
HIS ANCESTOR, LIONEL OF ANTWERP
[SECOND SON OF KING EDWARD III]
4TH QUARTERLY [BELOW RIGHT]
OF THE ARMS OF THE DUKE OF YORK
ROYAL ARMS OF THE MATERNAL GREAT
GREAT GRANDFATHER OF THE DUKE OF YORK,
LIONEL OF ANTWERP, 1ST DUKE OF CLARENCE, AND
SECOND SON OF KING EDWARD III.
THIS WAS THE SUPERIOR CLAIM TO THE THRONE,
THE DUKE OF YORK HELD OVER THE LANCASTERS
[ALSO OVER KING HENRY VI, WHO WAS OF
THE LANCASTER HOUSE], SINCE THE LANCASTERS
DESCENDED FROM JOHN OF GAUNT, THE
THIRD SON OF KING EDWARD III.
THE IMAGE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE
ABOVE IMAGE OF THE ROYAL ARMS OF THE DUKE
OF YORK, BUT THESE ARE THE ROYAL ARMS,
AS CARRIED BY ALL SONS OF KING EDWARD III,
THOUGH THERE ARE SOME VARIETIES.
SEE BELOW
SEE THE ARMS OF THE OTHER SONS
ANNE PLANTAGENET, DUCHESS OF EXETER [MARRIED TO HENRY HOLLAND,
3TH DUKE OF EXETER], DAUGHTER OF THE DUKE OF YORK
[FICTION]
[PLANTAGENET IS THE NAME OF THE ROYAL HOUSE FROM
1154 TILL 1485. SINCE THE DUKE OF YORK WAS A DIRECT MALE
DESCENDANT OF EDMUND OF LANGLEY, FOURTH SON OF EDWARD III,
HIS FAMILY NAME WAS PLANTAGENET, HIS DAUGHTER’S
FAMILY NAME WAS ALSO PLANTAGENET]
HENRY HOLLAND, THIRD DUKE OF EXETER, SON
IN LAW OF THE DUKE OF YORK
[FICTION]
COATS OF ARMS OF HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER AND
SON IN LAW OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK [MARRIED
TO HIS DAUGHTER ANNE OF YORK]
TO BEGIN WITH:
ARMS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET
DESCENDANTS OF THE PLANTAGENETS, AS
THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK, AND OF COURSE
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS, WEAR THOSE ARMS.
FROM THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD III, FRENCH LILIES
[BLUE BLACKGROUND] WERE ADDED TO THE ARMS, SINCE EDWARD III
CLAIMED THE FRENCH CROWN [BEING THE MATERNAL GRANDSON
OF THE DECEASED FRENCH KING PHILIP IV], WHICH WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE HUNDRED YEAR’S WAR WITH FRANCE
ARMS OF EDWARD III, THE FIRST
PLANTAGENET KING TO ADD THE FRENCH
LILIES [FLEURS DE LYS] BECAUSE OF
HIS CLAIM TO THE FRENCH THRONE
ARMS OF HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER AND
SON IN LAW OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK [MARRIED
TO HIS DAUGHTER ANNE OF YORK]
ROYAL ARMS
SINCE THE DUKE OF EXETER DESCENDS FROM JOHN
OF GAUNT, THIRD SON OF EDWARD III, WHO WAS
HIS GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, HE WEARS THE ROYAL
ARMS
ARMS OF JOHN HOLLAND, SECOND DUKE OF
EXETER, FATHER OF HENRY HOLAND [SON IN LAW OF
THE DUKE OF YORK]
AS THE GREAT GRANDSON OF JOHN OF GAUNT, THIRD SON
OF EDWARD III, JOHN HOLLAND WEARS THE ROYAL ARMS
ARMS OF JOHN HOLLAND, FIRST DUKE OF EXETER, GRANDFATHER
OF HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER [SON IN LAW
OF THE DUKE OF YORK]
AS THE GRANDSON OF JOHN OF GAUNT, THIRD SON
OF EDWARD III, HE WEARS THE ROYAL ARMS
IN A VARYING FORM, BUT CLEARLY THE ROYAL ARMS
JOHN OF HOLLAND, FIRST DUKE OF EXETER, WAS THE SON
OF ELIZABETH OF LANCASTER, DAUGHTER OF JOHN OF
GAUNT, THIRD SON OF EDWARD III
ELIZABETH LANCASTER WAS THE GREAT GRANDMOTHER OF
HENRY HOLLAND, THE SON IN LAW OF THE DUKE OF YORK
ARMS OF JOHN OF GAUNT,FIRST DUKE OF
LANCASTER, GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER OF
HENRY HOLLAND, 3TH DUKE OF EXETER AND
SON IN LAW OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
TO THE RIGHT, THE ARMS OF CASTILE AND LEON,
THE ARMS OF HIS SECOND WIFE, CONSTANCE OF CASTILE
TO THE LEFT, THE ROYAL ARMS, SINCE HE WAS THE THIRD SON
OF EDWARD III
JOHN OF GAUNT WAS DUKE OF LANCASTER BY HIS MARRIAGE WITH
BLANCHE OF LANCASTER, DAUGHTER OF JOHN GROSMONT,
FIRST DUKE OF LANCASTER AND FOURTH EARL OF LEICESTER
AND LANCASTER.
[SINCE HENRY OF GROSMONT HAD NO SURIVING SONS, JOHN
OF GAUNT INHERITED THE TITLE]
THE WARS OF THE ROSES/ANNE OF YORK, DUCHESS
OF EXETER/THE DUKE OF YORK’S MOTIVES FOR
A LARGE MARRIAGE PORTION TO THE DUKE
OF EXETER/COMMENTS ON SUSAN HIGGINBOTHAM’S
BLOG ”HISTORY REFRESHED”
Dear Readers,
As you’ll see, I made some comments on the article
”Susan Higginbotham’s
interesting weblog ”History Refreshed”.
But before doing that, I take you to a journey of
the past again, this time the married life of Anne of York ,
daughter of Richard, Duke of York,
which was not quite a succes.
Why not?
ENTER THE WORLD
When searching at Susan Higginbotham’s weblog
”History Refreshed”, I discovered a very interesting article
”Sister to two Kings: Anne, Duchess of Exeter”, that gives
an impression of the married life of Anne of York, daughter of
Richard, Duke of York and his wife Cicely Neville.
In 1447, Henry Holland, the 3th Duke of Exeter , came into her life,
since in that year his father died, Annne’s father, the Duke of
York, became his ward and married him to Anne.
The marriage was not very succesful, probably because of
his arguably violent nature, as the fact, that the Duke of Exeter
sided against Anne’s own father, the Duke of York,
He was a military commander in the Battle of Wakefield [in which
the Duke of York was slain and his son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland,
and the Battle of Townton in 1461 [a great Yorkist victory,
with as a consequence the Duke of York’s eldest son, Edward,
becoming King Edward IV.
But before the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, enmity between Anne’s
father, the Duke of York and Exeter was already flourishing, since
Exeter led an uprising against York , who was then Protector
of the Realm [King Henry VI being incapacitated to rule.
Exeter’s uprising failed, he fled to Westminster Abbey seeking sanctuary,
York came after him, fetched him out of sanctauary and imprisoned him
the fugitive’s right in late Medieval England, but like in
all times, when power is at stake, those rights were not seldom,
violated.
Interesting fact:
rebellion, which, although York’s assurances of love, as a cousin and father in law, is clearly harsh.
BACK TO THE MARRIAGE OF ANNE OF YORK AND THE
DUKE OF EXETER
As mentioned, due to to his arguably violent and quarrelsome
nature, as his deadly enmity against her father, rising against his
authority in 1454 and taking the Lancastrian side in the subsequent
Wars of the Roses, the marriage between Anne and Exeter was not very succesful.
Being a commander against her brother, who would become King Edward IV ,
in the Battle of Townton, he fled to Scotland [after the Lancastrian defeat]
and later joined Queen Margaret of Anjou in her exile in France.
He was attainted [his estates were forfeited] in 1461.
Anne’s brother, King Edward, gave Exeter’s estates to her.
Anne separated from Exeter in 1464, although their official
The couple had one daughter, Anne, named after her mother.
Anne remarried about 1474 with Thomas St Leger and died
in 1476, giving birth to her daughter, Anne St Leger.
INTERESTING DETAIL
DNA AND RICHARD III
When the remains of King Richard III , [Anne’s youngest brother
were found, they were compared with the ”mother to daughter”
DNA of Anne of York
Her 17th generation descendant from the female line, Michael Ibsen
was compared with the remains of Richard III and it matched!
TRAGIC END OF THE DUKE OF EXETER
As so many nobles during the Wars of the Roses, Exeter met a tragic
end.
Not by execution, but drowning.
After the brief period of King Henry VI’s restoration, Exeter’s estates
were restored to him, but the joy was short.
He was badly wounded in the Battle of Barnet [victorious
for Edward IV, tragic for his long time ally and cousin, the Earl of Warwick,
”the Kingmaker”, who turned against him to the Lancaster cause and died]
Later, Exeter was imprisoned and after “volunteering” to serve on Edward IV’s
1475 expedition to France, fell overboard and drowned, on the way
back to England.
Some say he was in fact thrown overboard at the king’s command.
Possible, alas, but I wonder.
Why King Edward IV would have thrown him in the sea, if he,
in fact, could have made him executed long before, especially because
of Exeter’s part in the Battle of Wakefield, where the father
of Edward IV, the Duke of York , was slain.
But we will probably never know.
EPILOGUE
Not to be expected, that a marriage is succesful, when
a husband is arguably violent and he deliberately and
stubbornly chooses sides against the father of his wife,
politically and military.
And to make it worse:
Being
one of the commanders in a battle, that leads to the death of
the father of his wife and the execution, after the battle, of
her brother.
But in defense of Exeter:
The stakes were high [run for the throne] and it was
a time of overmighty subjects, since King Henry VI was [apart
from mental ill] humanitarian
and forgiving, formidable human qualities, but not in a medieval
king, were warriorship and stern rule was requested.
It was interesting for me to make a journey to a medieval marriage,
starring a loyal daughter and sister and her ambitious, arguably
violent and quarrelsome husband, who sided against her family.
If he had been loyal to her family, perhaps the marriage would have been succesful.
We will never know.
See below my comment on the Duke of York’s motives for giving
a large marriage portion to Exeter.
The writer thinks for placing Exeter in line for the throne.
I don’t think that’s valid, because York had a far better claim to the throne.
So why promote his son in law.
And after all, there is no proof whatsoever, that York was
after the throne in 1447.
Thanks for making the travel to the past with me again
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
COMMENT ON SUSAN HIGGINBOTHAM’S BLOG
THE DUKE OF YORK’S MOTIVES FOR
A LARGE MARRIAGE PORTION TO THE DUKE
OF EXETER
MOTIVES OF THE DUKE OF YORK REGARDING HIS
LARGE MARRIAGE PORTION TO HENRY OF EXETER/
RUN FOR THE CROWN OR JUST CONFIRMING HIS IMPORTANCE
AS A HIGH NOBLEMAN?
Dear Mrs Higginbotham,
I am greatly honoured to be found a pingback to my previous
articles about the Wars of Roses, which referred to this article about
Anne Exeter [daughter of the Duke of York and sister to King Edward IV
and Richard III].
So I take the liberty to comment here too
In the article is written
” The Duke of York offered a large marriage portion—4,500 marks–probably because Henry VI was childless at the time, putting the young Henry Holland in line for the throne.”
Of course this is a possibility. However there is no proof that putting
Henry Holland in line for the throne was the Duke’s motive for a great marriage portion.
First:
The Duke of York was one of the wealthiest nobles of the realm, so
it makes sense, he gave a large marriage portion anyway, thus
confirming his own importance and securing his daughter’s future.
Second:
There is no proof whatsoever, that acquiring the throne of England
was the ambition of York in 1447, but even if it were so, he himself
had a far better claim to the throne, so why push Henry Holland?
Henry Holland descended from John of Gaunt, the third son
of King Edward III, but Richard, Duke of York, had a far better
claim to the throne, from his mother’s side, Anne Mortimer,
who descended from Lionel of Antwerp, the second son of
King Edward III.
Moreover, York’s maternal grandfather, Roger of Mortimer, had
been appointed by the childless King Richard II as heir presumptive,
however dying a year before King Richard II.
This heir presumptive title passed to Roger’s son Edmund
Mortimer [who was the maternal uncle of the Duke of York], but because
of the usurpation of Richard II by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke
[the later King Henry IV, son of John of Gaunt] , Edmund Mortimer
was overlooked.
But the heir presumptive right passed then to York [son
of the childless Edmund Mortimer’s sister].
So by the death of then childless King Henry VI’s uncle,
in 1447, York was heir presumptive to the throne, until
the son of King Henry VI and Queen Margaret of
Anjou, Edward of Westminster, was born in 1453.
So why pushing his son in law, since York
was already heir presumptive?
SEE FOR A SHORT FAMILY TREE OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
KING EDWARD III
LIONEL OF ANTWERP [EDWARD III’S SECOND SON]
PHILIPPA PLANTAGENET [LIONEL’S DAUGHTER] [MARRIED EDMUND MORTIMER]
ROGER MORTIMER [PHILIPPA’S SON]
EDMUND MORTIMER [ROGER’S SON]
ANNE MORTIMER [ROGER’S DAUGHTER]
RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK [ANNE’S SON]
SEE FOR A SHORT FAMILY TREE OF HENRY HOLLAND
3TH DUKE OF EXETER
KING EDWARD III
JOHN OF GAUNT [EDWARD III’S THIRD SON]
ELISABETH OF LANCASTER [JOHN OF GAUNT’S DAUGHTER],
MARRIED JOHN HOLLAND, FIRST DUKE OF EXETER
JOHN HOLLAND, SECOND DUKE OF EXETER [SON
OF ELISABETH OF LANCASTER AND THE FIRST DUKE OF EXETER]
HENRY HOLLAND, THIRD DUKE OF EXETER, SON IN
LAW OF THE DUKE OF YORK [SON OF JOHN HOLLAND,
SECOND DUKE OF EXETER]
See also
Kind greetings
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands