Royal: Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1341-1402

The two warring factions of the Plantagenets, the Houses of York and Lancaster, would spring from two sons of Edward III and his wife, Philippa of Hainault.  Though Edmund of Langley was a staunch supporter of his older brother, John of Gaunt, the ancestor of the Lancastrians, Edmund's descendants would become the Yorkist side of the family.

As his name implies, Edmund was born at Langley Palace in Hertfordshire.  His godfather had been the Earl of Surrey, and on his death, Edmund inherited his estate, becoming a wealthy young man at an early age.  He saw his first service in France under his father at the age of 18 in 1359 and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1361.  Throughout the 1370's, he was part of several military campaigns in France, and also joined his brother John of Gaunt in Gaunt's attempts to claim the Castilian throne in light of his 2nd wife, Constance of Castile.  By this time, Edmund was married to Constance's sister, Isabella of Castile, by whom Edmund had 3 children.  As things turned out, Gaunt agreed to marry one of his daughters to another claimant of the Castilian throne, Henry III of Castile, and give up his Castilian ambitions. 

Edmund enjoyed the confidence of his young nephew, Richard II, who made him Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle.  Edmund also served as keeper of the realm when Richard was on campaign in Ireland, and later when Richard II was courting his 2nd wife, Isabella of Valois.  Edmund was created Duke of York in 1385..  Richard II considered making Edmund's son, Edward, his heir in the event he had no children.  Later, in 1399, while Richard was again away in Ireland, an army led by John of Gaunt's son, Henry Bolingbroke invaded England, intent of seizing the crown.  Edmund initially rallied an army to oppose Henry, but later threw in his lot with him against Richard.  Edmund's defection was a factor in Richard's decision to surrender to the usurpers rather than fight any longer.  Richard would die in captivity in 1400.  Edmund would retire from public life and die in 1402.  His first wife Isabella had died and he had married again, a distant cousin with Plantagenet descent, Joan Holland.  The couple had no children. 

It is from Edmund's third son, Richard of Conisborough, that the York side of the dynasty descends.  Thus, through Richard, Edmund is an ancestor of every English king from Edward IV to the present time.  Edmund is also a character, as Duke of York, in Shakespeare's play, Richard II.