Edward of Middleham

Edwards of Middleham coat of arms

Edward of Middleham (* 1473 in Middleham in the county of North Yorkshire ; † April 9, 1484 ibid) was the only son of the English King Richard III, who ruled from 1483 to 1485 . and his wife Anne Neville , the younger daughter of the "Kingmaker" Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick . 1478 he transferred his uncle Edward IV. The dignity of Earl of Salisbury . Richard III appointed his son on July 19, 1483 nominal governor of Ireland, made him Duke of Cornwall and on August 24, 1483 appointed him the seventh Prince of Wales .

Life

We owe the little information we have received about the short life of Edward of Middleham to the unknown author of the last part of the Historia Croylandensis covering the period from 1459 to 1486 . Since 1472 Richard, then Duke of Gloucester, and his wife Anne Neville lived on their country estate in Middleham in the north of England, where Richard was the "Constable of England" and "Warden of the Forests North of the Tenth" for the safety of the English Scottish border.

Edward, who was nicknamed after his place of birth and whose health remained unstable throughout his life, spent most of his life on the country estate of his worried parents in Middleham.

An exception was Edwards on August 19, 1483 beginning journey to York , which led via Pontefract , where on August 24, 1483 Richard III. appointed his son Prince of Wales. The new heir to the throne witnessed his parents' solemn entry into York on August 30, 1483 and their solemn coronation on September 8, 1483 in York Cathedral . In mid-September 1483 he left the city with his mother to return to Middleham.

Edward's death on April 9, 1484 plunged his parents into a deep crisis, which, in addition to the personal loss of their son, increasingly felt the rejection of broad sections of the population, who in the death of Edward of Middleham - on the 1st anniversary of Edward IV's death - a divine judgment and above all that See evidence of Richard's guilt in getting rid of his nephews Edward V and Richard of York .

“ According to the writer of the Croyland Chronicle, you should have seen his parents in an almost insane state as a result of their sudden grief. "

- Paul Murray Kendall; Richard III - The last Plantagenet on the English royal throne 1452–1485; P. 324

Edward of Middleham was buried in the parish church of Sheriff Hutton, a small North Yorkshire village. Since Anne Neville could no longer bear children, Richard III decided. on August 21, 1484, to appoint John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln , the eldest son of his sister Elizabeth and her husband, John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk , as the new heir to the throne. Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick , the son of his brother George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence , who was sentenced to death in 1478 as a traitor , was excluded from the line of succession.

literature

• Paul Murray Kendall: Richard III. The last Plantagenet on the English royal throne 1452–1485. Callwey Verlag, 2nd edition, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7667-0520-2 .

Remarks

1. ↑ It is believed that John Russell († 1494), Bishop of Lincoln (1480–1494) and Chancellor Richard III. (until July 24, 1485) who was the author of the final part of the Croyland Chronicle.
2. ↑ The Historia Croylandensis (Croyland Chronicle) treats the history of England from 655 to 1486 and was started by Ingulph of Croyland.
3. ↑ The Croyland chronicler described in detail this journey, which the ailing Edward had to make on the horse-drawn carriage, looked after by anxious servants.

predecessor	Office	successor
George Plantagenet	Earl of Salisbury 1478-1484	Edward Plantagenet
Edward V.	Prince of Wales Duke of Cornwall Earl of Chester 1483–1484	Title expired