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Richard, Duke of York
Richard, Duke of York was born on 21 September, 1411, the son of Richard of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge and Lady Anne de Mortimer. When Richard was only four years old his father was executed for treason, yet he managed to recover his lands and titles by 1425. In the early 1420s Richard married the beautiful Cecily Neville, ‘the Rose of Raby’, a daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland and brother to the Earl of Salisbury. Through this marriage York gained many powerful connections. The Duke was a great grandson of Edward III and heir to the throne until Edward of Lancaster’s birth in 1453. Unfortunately, York’s closeness to the crown kept him constantly out of favor; Henry VI, on the advice of his favorites sent him away on many foreign duties keeping him in virtual exile. This may have backfired slightly for York gained much valuable military experience in France, where he was one of the few captains to know victory as the Hundred Years War drew to an end. In 1452 while filling his post as Lieutenant of Ireland, York rebelled and marched on the capital where he demanded that the King’s favorite, the Duke of Somerset be tried as a traitor for his disastrous misconduct in France. York was later arrested but after swearing an oath to keep the peace, released again. Just two years later Henry VI fell ill and York was elected regent in his place. After his and his allies’ dismissal from power in early 1455, the Duke raised an army and defeated and captured the king in battle at St. Albans. For a short while York ruled as ‘regent’ again, but Henry dismissed him a second time in front of parliament and brought about an uneasy peace that lasted several years. In 1459 the conflict reopened with the battle of Blore Heath, but York no longer desired to rule as regent but to wear the crown itself. On the 30th of December 1460, the Duke was slain, fighting for his life outside his Castle of Sandal in Yorkshire where the enemy surrounded him.
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