Birth of Duchess Cecily Neville ~ The Rose of Raby
Cecily Neville, known as the ‘Rose of Raby’ or ‘Proud Cis’ was the youngest of the fourteen children of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort.
Her mother Joan Beaufort, was the daughter of John of Gaunt, 3rd surviving son of Edward III, making Cecily, the Great-Grandaughter of a King.
Cecily was born at the Neville stronghold, of Raby Castle in Durham, on 3rd May 1415.
When Cecily was nine years old, she was betrothed to her father’s thirteen-year-old ward, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.
The pair were married in 1429 when Cecily had reached fourteen.
In 1438 at age 23, Cecily gave birth to her first child, Joan, who died in infancy.
She would, however, go on to have twelve more children.
Richard Plantagenet possessed a slightly better claim to the throne than the current king Henry VI, being a descendant of two other sons of Edward III.
Henry VI was prone to fits of insanity, and as such, Richard Plantagenet was appointed Lord Protector of the Realm.
When Queen Margaret of Anjou gave birth to a son, Edward of Lancaster, Yorkist supporters started the rumour that the child was not the feeble-minded King’s, but the Duke of Somerset’s.
The angry Queen had Richard Plantagenet dismissed from office.
Cecily’s husband Richard, his brother-in-law and supporter Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and his nephew Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, gathered an army.
Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was killed during the battle and Henry, who had been wounded by an arrow was captured and returned to London by the victorious Yorkists.
Cecily’s husband Richard Plantagenet, was again appointed Protector of England.
Margaret, true to character, was not going to accept this meekly. She gathered an army to advance her son’s cause and York, Salisbury and Warwick were forced to flee.
Cecily, meanwhile, was at Ludlow Castle and continued to work for the Yorkist cause.
With her husbands estates confiscated, Cecily managed to gain an annual grant of £600 to support herself and their children.
The rebel lords gathered support and in retaliation took London.
Warwick met the forces loyal to the king at Northampton, defeated them, and took the unfortunate Henry captive back to London.
Richard Plantagenet returned from exile and laid a formal claim to the throne.
After the Yorkist victory in July 1460, Cecily moved to London with her children.
When Richard Plantagenet and his heirs were officially recognised as Henry VI’s successors in the Act of Accord, Cecily became a queen-in-waiting.
On 30th December 1460, the Lancastrians won a decisive victory, at the battle of Wakefield.
Cecily’s husband Richard Plantagenet, their second son Edmund, and Cecily’s brother Richard Neville, were among the casualties.
Cecily’s eldest son Edward successfully continued the fight against the Lancastrians.
After he defeated the Lancastrians and ascended the throne, she was honoured as the mother of the king.
During the beginning of Edward’s reign, Cecily appeared beside him and maintained her influence.
When Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, Cecily was openly hostile towards her sons new bride.
Her nephew Richard Neville, The Earl of Warwick, rebelled against Edward IV, along with Edward’s brother George.
The breach between Edward and his brother George was never healed, despite Cecily trying to reconcile them.
George was exEcuted for treason on 18th February 1478, Cecily was heartbroken at the loss of another son.
Edward IV died suddenly on 9th April 1483, leaving two sons aged 13 and 10, the elder one known to history as King Edward V.
Cecily Neville’s youngest son Richard, their uncle, was appointed their protector by Edward’s will.
King Edward V and his younger brother Richard, were placed in the Tower of London, where they were never seen again… their fate is still a matter of dispute.
Richard claimed that Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, had been invalid.
The two Princes in the Tower were then declared illegitimate by an Act of Parliament in 1484 and their uncle Richard crowned Richard III on 6th July 1483.
Richard’s reign was brief, he was defeated and killed on 22nd August 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, by the leader of the Lancastrian party, Henry Tudor.
Henry immediately assumed the throne as King Henry VII.
Cecily had lost her Husband, and all of her sons, in pursuit of the throne.
On 18th January 1486, Cecily’s granddaughter, Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, married Henry VII and became Queen of England.
Her great-grandson Arthur, was born that same year, followed by Margaret in 1489, Henry in 1491, and Mary in 1496.
Duchess Cecily, died on 31st May 1495, aged 80.
She was buried in the tomb with her husband Richard, and their son Edmund, at the Church of St Mary and All Saints at Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire.
The Mother of two Kings, Edward IV and Richard III, and Grandmother to a Queen Elizabeth of York….all subsequent English, and later British monarchs, beginning with Henry VIII, are descendants of Cecily Neville.
