Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were by J. F. Andrews

Author:J. F. Andrews [Andrews, J. F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Europe, Great Britain, history, HISTORY / General
ISBN: 9781526736512
Google: nX22xgEACAAJ
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
Published: 2019-11-15T23:46:40.139916+00:00

Chapter 7

Edmund Mortimer

The young Richard II, of course, had many capable uncles to help him rule. However, as it transpired this turned out to be part of the problem rather than the solution, and things only got worse as the years went by. This is the point at which the royal family tree and the line of succession start to become very complicated, but as the birth order of Edward III’s sons and their respective offspring would be of vital importance in the years and the wars to come, it is worth including a recap here.

At the time of Richard II’s accession in the summer of 1377 he was 10 years old, and his family situation was this. The eldest of Edward III’s sons, Edward of Woodstock, prince of Wales, had predeceased his father; this is why Richard followed his grandfather on to the throne. The second brother, Lionel of Antwerp, duke of Clarence, was also dead – although he had left descendants, of whom more in a moment. The third, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, was 37; he was a politician of great experience who had effectively been running the government for some years during the illnesses of his father and older brother. John had married twice: first to Blanche of Lancaster, by whom he had three surviving children, Philippa, Elizabeth and Henry of Bolingbroke. Young Henry was 10, the same age as King Richard. By his second wife, Constance of Castile, John had one daughter, Catherine; and finally he had four illegitimate children – three sons and a daughter – by his mistress Katherine Swynford. After Constance’s eventual death John would marry Katherine, an act that was to have far-reaching dynastic consequences; we will hear more of this later.

The fourth son of Edward III was Edmund of Langley, earl of Cambridge and later duke of York, who was 36 at the time of his nephew’s accession. In marked contrast to his brother John of Gaunt he seemed to have little interest in government, and although he had taken part in a few military expeditions and held various official positions, he seems to have lacked ambition and preferred to spend his time on his own lands, engaging in hunting and hawking.1 Edmund was married to Isabella of Castile, and they had three young children, Edward, Constance and Richard.2 The fifth and final brother was Thomas of Woodstock, earl of Buckingham and later duke of Gloucester; he was at this point 22, much younger than any of his surviving siblings, and had played little part in the military adventures of his father and brother. He would later marry Eleanor de Bohun, and their surviving children were Humphrey, Anne and Joan.

Young King Richard was thus amply supplied with uncles and cousins, but once again the family dynamic was affected by the ages of the parties concerned and the rapidity with which some branches reproduced. Lionel of Antwerp, who had been next in line to the throne after the Black Prince

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