Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales

Edward of Middleham
Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Salisbury
Illustration 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
Full name English: Edward of Middleham Welsh: Edward o Middleham
House	York
Father	Richard III of England
Mother	Anne Neville
Religion	Roman Catholic

English Royalty
House of York
Armorial of Plantagenet
Richard III
Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales

Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, 1st Earl of Salisbury (December 1473 – 9 April 1484), was the heir apparent of King Richard III of England and his wife, Anne Neville. He was Richard's only legitimate child and died aged ten.^[1]

Birth and titles

Edward was allegedly born in December 1473^[2] at Middleham Castle, a stronghold close to York that became Richard and Anne's principal base in northern England.^[3] 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."^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

On 26 June 1483, his father became King of England, deposing his nephew Edward V. Edward did not attend his parents' coronation, likely due to illness.^[3] He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in a splendid ceremony in York Minster on 8 September 1483, following his parents' royal progress across England.^[8]

Death

The reasons of his sudden death are unknown. The Croyland Chronicle reads:

Edward's sudden death left Richard without a legitimate child and heir.^[10] Contemporary historian John Rous recorded that Richard declared his nephew Edward, Earl of Warwick, his heir in his place, but there is no other evidence of this.^[11] Similarly, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln also seemed to have been designated as Richard's new heir, but was never publicly proclaimed as such.^[12]

Richard's enemies were inclined to believe that Edward's sudden death was divine retribution for Richard's alleged involvement in the usurpation and subsequent disappearance of the sons of Edward IV, Edward V of England and Richard, Duke of York.

Burial

Cenotaph at Sheriff Hutton Church long believed to represent Edward of Middleham, but now thought to be an earlier work.

The location of Edward's burial is unknown. A mutilated white alabaster cenotaph ("empty tomb")^[13] in the church at Sheriff Hutton with an effigy of a child was long believed to represent Edward of Middleham, but is now thought to be an earlier work depicting one of the Neville family.^[14]

It is perhaps most probable that Edward, having died in Middleham Castle, was buried in the nearby parish church of Saints Mary and Alkelda in Middleham, where his father had intended to found a college. However evidence for this suggestion is lacking.

In fiction

Edward of Middleham appeared in Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour and in Sandra Worth's The Rose of York series. In the latter series, it is implied that Edward was poisoned at the behest of Margaret Beaufort, as part of her efforts to secure the throne for her son, the eventual Henry VII.

Edward of Middleham is a character in Joan Szechtman's Loyalty Binds Me, her 2nd book about Richard III in the 21st century.

Edward of Middleham also appears in Phillipa Gregory's Cousins' War series, and in the TV adaptation of the novels, The White Queen.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Arms

Edward's coat of arms as Prince of Wales

From 1483 to 1484, Edward used the arms of his father, debruised with a label of three points Argent.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

• Kendall, Paul Murray (1955). Richard the Third. Allen & Urwin. ISBN 0-04-942048-8.
• Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5779-0.