Edward IV of England child Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York
Aftermath
Edward IV's eldest son, also named Edward, was made Prince of Wales when he was seven months old and given his own household at the age of three. Based in Ludlow Castle, he was supervised by his uncle, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, who also acted as his regent for the Council of Wales and the Marches. The historical consensus is he and his brother Richard were killed, probably between July and September 1483; debate on who gave the orders, and why, continues, although their uncle Richard III was the beneficiary.By mid-August, Elizabeth Woodville was certain of the deaths of her sons; after her initial grief turned to fury, she opened secret talks with Margaret Beaufort. She promised her support in return for Henry's agreement to marry her eldest daughter Elizabeth. In December 1483, Henry swore an oath to do so, which he duly carried out after his coronation in October 1485.Prior to his succession, Richard III declared his nephews illegitimate, on the grounds his brother's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid. The Titulus Regius argued that since Edward had agreed to marry Lady Eleanor Talbot, his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was void. Both Eleanor and Edward were dead, but Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, further claimed to have actually carried out the ceremony. Once secure on the throne Henry VII annulled the Titulus and arrested Stillington, since his marriage to Elizabeth's daughter added legitimacy to his claim; Stillington died in prison in 1491.Despite this apparent resolution, the Yorkist cause continued well into the 16th century. The most famous are the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, but Yorkist challengers remained a concern for Henry VII and his son. In 1541, Henry VIII executed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, daughter of the Duke of Clarence, while a number of attempts were made on the life of her son, Cardinal Reginald Pole, who died in 1558.
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