Royal: Richard, 3rd Duke of York, 1411-1460

So much attention is often given to the wives and mothers of the Plantagenet dynasty that it's easy to forget that fathers, too, played a part in shaping their children's destiny, often at the cost of their lives.  Richard, 3rd Duke of York, 1411-1460, was the principal Yorkist claimant to the throne of England for decades until his sons Edward IV and later Richard III took up that banner after his death in the Battle of Wakefield.

Richard of York had Plantagenet blood on both sides of his family.  His grandfather was Edmund of Langley, a son of Edward III and brother of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.  His mother, Anne Mortimer, was the granddaughter of another of Edward III's sons, Lionel of Antwerp.  Richard had a rough life.  His mother died giving birth to him.  When Richard was a teenager, his father, Richard of Conisborough, was executed as a traitor.  Richard's uncle, Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, died at Agincourt, 1415, in process of saving the life of King Henry V.  Perhaps for this reason, Richard himself was not attainted by his father's treason and was allowed to assume his uncle's title, becoming 3rd Duke of York.  He also inherited the Mortimer family properties on the death of his uncle, making him, in 1425, a wealthy and powerful man.   Powerful enough to be considered a potential threat to the Lancastrian line.

At the age of 13, Richard was betrothed to 9-year-old Cecily Neville, the aunt of the future Kingmaker Earl of Warwick.  Cecily herself had Plantagenet blood and wasn't called Proud Cis for nothing.  She was an intelligent and capable woman with a temper to match.  The couple had seven surviving children, including two future Kings of England, a future Duchess of Burgundy, and two daughters who would leave generations of descendants in the female line.  Through Edward IV, Richard is an ancestor of all English kings from Henry VIII to Prince George of Cambridge.  Richard served as Henry V's Lieutenant in France, outwardly in charge of Henry's hold on the French crown, which was always tenuous at best.  Richard of York would hold this post twice, ending in 1445 with a negotiated truce with France.  Later, he would also as King Henry VI's Lieutenant in Ireland, a post designed to remove Richard from the center of power in London.

Richard became more and more disenchanted with Henry VI's rule, believing that the King had given up too easily on his possessions in France in exchange for a French bridge, Margaret of Anjou.  Quick to perceive a potential threat to her weak husband's hold on the throne, Margaret soon developed a personal animosity Richard of York.  The counties of Essex and Kent rose in the Cade Rebellion in 1450.  Richard returned from Ireland with an army and marched on London.  York's aim was not so much to take the crown from Henry but to demand reform and to be acknowledged as Henry's heir, since Margaret of Anjou hadn't yet produced an heir.  The King allowed Richard to present his demands and kept him under house arrest in London.  Henry's position strengthened when Margaret became pregnant and as the tide of public opinion shifted against the Yorkists. 

Then in 1453, English forces suffered a defeat in Gascony that triggered a complete mental breakdown for Henry.  Unable to rule, the nobles had no choice but to convene a Great Council.  As the premier duke of the realm and a senior royal, Richard of York was necessarily included.  He was appointed Protector of the Realm and Chief Councilor on March 27, 1454.  Henry recovered his wits in 1455 and took his anger out on Richard of York, reversing much of his policies as Protector.  Realizing that Henry wasn't capable of ruling, York joined with Warwick and began recruiting support for another uprising.  After an almost skirmish at St. Albans on May 22, 1455, the King had no choice but to readmit York to his council.  York continued to govern with the King a virtual prisoner of the council.  Henry collapsed again in 1456.

York had to deal with Margaret of Anjou, who perceived him as a threat to the succession of her own son.  The power factions on the royal council gradually weakened the Yorkist position.  Some of these were put aside in a truce known as Loveday, on March 24, 1458, but they wouldn't lie dormant for long.  The King recovered and convened his council, ordering York, Warwick and others of their alliance to appear before him.  Knowing that they faced a stronger force and possible arrest, York and Warwick refused the royal summons and rose again.  The two factions met at the Battle of Ludgate on 12 October 1459.  The Yorkist force disintegrated and York fled to his properties in Ireland, Edward, now Earl of March, fled to his sister Margaret in Burgundy.  Cecily, George and Richard were held hostage at Coventry.  

While York remained in Ireland, Warwick and Salisbury fled to Calais and raised an army, returning to England.  The King was taken prisoner again at the Battle of Northampton on July 10, 1459.  Richard of York returned to England in September and marched on London, his banner bearing the royal arms of England and advertising that, this time, he meant to take the crown if he could get it.  On October 10, 1459, in front of a group of assembled nobles, Richard of York appeared with the royal standard and advanced to the throne.  He placed his hand on it, expecting the nobles to acclaim him king.  Their silence let him know that he did not have their support.  He and Henry reached the Act of Accord, wherein Henry disinherited his own son and acknowledged Richard of York and his sons as his heirs.  He was made Prince of Wales and de facto ruler of England, as Henry was still a prisoner. 

He had reckoned without Margaret of Anjou, who wasn't about to take this slight to her own son without a fight.  She enlisted the support of the Scots and began raising a Lancastrian army.  On December 30, 1460, York advanced on the Lancastrians from Sandal Castle.  The two armies met at Wakefield and the result was disaster.  York was killed in battle, as was his teenage son, Edmund of Rutland.  York's body was buried at Pontefract, but his head was put on a spike and taken to London Bridge, wearing a paper crown.  It would now be up to his sons Edward of March, now Duke of York, and Richard of Gloucester to press their family's claim to the crown of England.  Edward IV would later have his father's remains moved to the church at Fotheringhay.