Edward of Middleham | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Salisbury |
|||||
Edward, Prince of Wales, son of King Richard III and his Queen consort, Anne Neville. From the contemporary Rous Roll in the Heralds' College.
|
|||||
Born | December 1473 Middleham, Wensleydale |
||||
Died | 9 April 1484 (aged 10) Middleham, Wensleydale |
||||
Burial | after 9 April 1484 | ||||
|
|||||
House | York | ||||
Father | Richard III of England | ||||
Mother | Anne Neville | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Full name | |
---|---|
English: Edward of Middleham Welsh: Edward o Middleham |
Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, 1st Earl of Salisbury (December 1473 – 9 April 1484), was the only child of King Richard III of England and his queen consort, Anne Neville. He was Richard's only legitimate child and died aged ten.
Edward was allegedly born in December 1473 at Middleham Castle, a stronghold close to York that became Richard and Anne's principal base in northern England. The date of 1473 is, however, not universally accepted; Professor Charles Ross wrote that the date 1473 "lacks authority. In fact, he was probably not born until 1476." The act of Parliament that settled the dispute between George of Clarence and Richard over Anne Beauchamp's inheritance just as if the Countess of Warwick "was naturally dead" was dated May 1474. The doubts cast by Clarence on the validity of Richard and Anne's marriage were addressed by a clause protecting their rights in the event they were divorced (i.e. of their marriage being declared null and void by the Church) and then legally remarried to each other, and also protected Richard's rights while waiting for such a valid second marriage with Anne. There were no provisions, however, for their heirs in case of this said divorce, which seems to confirm Richard and Anne had no children as of 1474. But such provision was the provence of the ruling king for those of royal blood so would have been moot.
Edward was mostly kept at Middleham, and was known to be a sickly child.
On 26 June 1483, his father became King of England, following a sermon preached outside St Paul's Cathedral which declared the late King Edward IV's children illegitimate and his brother, Richard, the rightful king. After the citizens of London, nobles, and commons convened, a petition was drawn up that asked Richard to assume the throne. He accepted and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 July 1483, along with his wife. His title to the throne was later confirmed by Parliament in January 1484 by the document Titulus Regius.