The origins of these rival claims to the English throne date back to Edward III, who reigned for fifty years from 1327 to 1377 and had five sons. The most outstanding of these were his eldest son, the Black Prince, father of Richard II, and the third son, John of Gaunt (named after Ghent, where he was born). The latter’s first and second wives, Blanche of Lancaster and Constance of Castile, brought him land and riches, and by 1390 he was Duke of Aquitaine. After he had become a widower for the second time he married in 1396 his long-term mistress Katherine Swynford, and his three sons by her were legitimised, although they were later barred from inheriting the throne. By his first wife, Blanche, he had a son, Henry IV, who was followed by his own son Henry V. The latter’s son, Henry VI, became king in 1422, before he was two years old, continuing the Lancastrian line, but he had no heir until 1453.
Shortly before this event Henry VI suffered his first attack of mental illness and Richard, Duke of York was appointed Protector, which gave him the confidence to put forward his own claim to the throne. He had not yet made this public but he was known to be highly ambitious and was soon suspected of planning hostility towards Henry VI. York was in a strong position: his own father, son of Edward III’s fourth son, Edmund, Duke of York, had married Anne Mortimer, herself a direct descendant of Edward III’s second son, the Duke of Clarence. This meant that both the Duke of York’s parents could claim direct descent from Edward III, while the current king, Henry VI, could not. Henry V’s widow, Katherine de Valois had married a second time, although this cannot be proved, and in any case this widow had been a French princess. (However, Katherine’s second ‘marriage’ produced a son, Edmund Tudor, whose own son, known as the Duke of Richmond, eventually became Henry VII.)
In 1450 the rebel Jack Cade added the name ‘Mortimer’ to his own for he supported the Duke of York’s claim and hoped to win support for himself in return.
The Duke of York’s double descent from Edward III meant that his claim was sound, but the birth of Henry VI’s son in 1453 changed the picture. Henry VI had a second attack of mental illness but recovered quickly, and now that York was no longer Protector, there was an attempt at reconciliation and a compromise decision: York was eventually to inherit the throne but not until after the death of Henry VI. However it was obvious, especially to his Queen Margaret, that the rights of Henry’s son Edward, Prince of Wales, could not be set aside and the reconciliation plan came to nothing. Fighting between the supporters of Lancaster and York then broke out in September 1459 with the inconclusive battle of Blore Heath, and soon York became more aggressive, marched on London and defeated the Lancastrians at the battle of Northampton in July 1460. Five months after that, in December, when York himself was killed at the battle of Wakefield, his eldest son Edward assumed that he had inherited the claim to the throne and took charge of the Yorkist troops. He was crowned Edward IV in 1461.
However, there were still supporters for the Lancastrian claim, including the Earl of Warwick, who gradually became convinced over the next few years that his achievements had not been fully rewarded. By 1470 he had gathered sufficient supporters round him to drive Edward into exile, and the Lancastrians were so convinced of their success that Henry VI was once more crowned king. But Edward’s exile lasted only a few months. Warwick was defeated and killed and Henry VI imprisoned and killed too, as described in Chapter Five.
Even these events did not end Lancastrian claims. The marriage in 1485 of the Duke of Richmond to Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV, was a convenient reconciliation arrangement and the duke became Henry VII. His reign however was uneasy, and the king had to deal with two claimants to the throne: early in 1486 a baker’s son, the young Lambert Simnel, masquerading as the young Earl of Warwick who had escaped from the Tower, invaded England through Cornwall, after first achieving support in Ireland and hoping to seize the throne as Edward VI. He was soon defeated and then pardoned.
In 149l Perkin Warbeck attempted a claim but was less successful in the end, after a promising start. This Belgian boy had claimed to be Edward IV’s younger son, Richard Duke of York, who had escaped from the Tower. He too was well received in Europe and in Ireland, and also in Scotland. However, when he attempted invasion through Scotland he was eventually defeated, tried and imprisoned. He then tried to escape and Henry VII ordered that he should be hanged. This was 1499: fourteen years had passed since Richard III, the last Yorkist king, had been defeated by the future Henry VII at Bosworth Field.