William was born at Cotton, Suffolk, the second son of the Earl of Suffolk through his wife, who had been born a Beauchamp. Although his family's ancestry sounds noble enough, somewhere in the family tree had been a wool merchant from Hull. His fellow nobles with more exalted lineage could've let that slide, but William was his own worst enemy. Opinionated and obnoxious, overly greedy and at the center of several unlucky mistakes, he apparently never learned how to win friends and influence people. His personal badge was a crude form of anchor known as a jackanapes or Jack of Naples. It was a weight attached to a chain meant to keep pet monkeys or other exotic animals from escaping. In the centuries since William's death, a jackanapes has come to mean an obnoxious, long-winded and overbearing person. William saw service during the Hundred Years War early in life. He was wounded in 1415 during the Siege of Harfleur, where his father died of dysentery. Later, William's older brother also died at Agincourt, also fought in 1415. In short order, William was 4th Earl of Suffolk, but there was more to come. He was the co-commander of the English forces at the Siege of Orleans in 1429, when he was forced to surrender the city, to Joan of Arc of all people! He also surrendered the town of Jargeau, and remained a prisoner of war in France for 3 years. Even after Joan was burnt at the stake, the French continued to make inroads on former Plantagenet real estate in France. Suffolk returned to England in 1434 an in likely hero. He had already married Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of Geoffrey in 1430, which made him a royal insider. He was made Constable of Wallingford Castle and negotiated the marriage in 1444 of Henry VI to Margaret of Anjou. This earned him the promotion to Marquess of Suffolk. Little did anyone know but Margaret's marriage treaty secretly gave the provinces of Maine and Anjou back to France.
With the deaths of Duke Humphrey of Gloucester in 1447 and Cardinal Beaufort, Suffolk became the power behind the throne of the increasingly incompetent Henry VI. He became Chamberlain to the King and later Lord High Admiral of England. He was made Earl of Pembroke and ultimately Duke of Suffolk. As the honors and accolades just kept coming, it was discovered that Suffolk was in secret talks with Jean, Count de Dunois, who had been Suffolk's captor in France. Further investigation discovered the secret clauses in Margaret and Henry's marriage treaty, negotiated by Suffolk. He also still owed Dunois for his ransom. As French victories, particularly in Maine and Anjou continued to pile up, Suffolk was blamed and ultimately accused of treason. He had powerful enemies, including John Paston and John Fastolf.
In 1450 he was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London and impeached in the House of Commons. Parliament demanded a trial for treason and a death sentence but Henry VI intervened and ordered exile instead. Suffolk quickly found a ship for the last English toehold in France, Calais. His enemies chartered another ship, Nicholas of the Tower, and gave chase. Suffolk's vessel was forced to stop and the Duke was arrested, tried on board the Nicholas, and executed. His headless body later washed ashore on the English side. Alice buried her husband at the Carthusian Priory at Hull and scrambled to hold onto as much of William's estates for her son John as she could. The most expedient way to do that was to marry him as close to royalty as possible. His first wife was Lady Margaret Beaufort, great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. After that marriage was annulled, John's second marriage was to Elizabeth of York, a sister of Edward IV and aunt of Queen Elizabeth of York. It is from John and Elizabeth that the de la Pole family, rivals of the Tudors, descend.
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