Warren sheaf., 1897-07-29
AN UNHAPPY DUCHESS

AN UNHAPPY DUCHESS
sCeciIy OF York, Mother of Two kins.
Of England.
Uneasy lies the head that wears >
crown. It lay uneasily in Shakes
peare's time, and before his time. IL
history tells the truth; probably it lies
uneasily even now. But it wasn't only
the actual head which wore crown
that was uneasy in time past; the head
which came too near to wearing =
crown had it's own sorrows, The Wars
of the Roses wiped out most of the mo-
bility of England, though the plain
people suffered little; and many veil
born mothers mourned husbands and
of them, had such succession of sor
rows az one who might have seemed
born only to enjoy the days of her life
-Cecily, wife of Richard Plantagcnet,
duke of York, and leader of the White
Rose.
Cecily Nevil was granddaughter OF
"Old John of Gaunt, time-honored LAM
caster and SO great-granddaught OF
King Edward Ill; her father was
Ralph Nevil, earl of Westmorland, her
mother Joan Beaufort, the duke oG
Lancaster's daughter. Cecily NeviD
married Richard Plantagenet when she
vas about 20 years old, in 1440: and
they had four sons and two daughters
Edward, Edmund, George, Richard
Anne and Margaret. For Is years mo-
especial sorrows reached her; her sons
were strong. her husband was thoE
principal subject in the kingdom.
But in 1455 the Wars of the Roses Ie4
gan with the bloody battle at St Az
bans, on May %, and the earl Of STAFF
ford, the nephew of Duchess Cecilyj
was killed there. At Northampton, ON
July 10, 1850, her brother-in-law, Stat
! ford, duke of Buckingham, was killed;,,,
and the terrible fight at Wakefield ON
December 80, 146O. robbed her at oncs
Of two nephews, brother, a son and
a husband. In the battle fell Sir
Thomas Nevil and Sir Edmund
Bourchier, nephews, and her husband,
Richard. Immediately after the battle
her brother Ralph, earl of Salisbury
was executed, and her son Edmund,
earl of Rutland, only IL years old, was
murdered by John, Lord Clifford, in
cold blood, in revenge for the death OF
his father in battle.
When sorrows came to Duchess Ce-
cily, they did not come alone. Another
nephew, Sir John Nevil, fell at Towton,
March 20, 1461. Then came breathing
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executed, and at Barnet, April IA, 1471,
fell still other nephews-John NeyiI.
marquis of Montague, and Richard
Nevi1, earl of Warwick, famous as the
King Maker" On May 4, 1471, the bat
tie of Tewkesbury was fought, and i'm
mediately afterward Edward, prince OF
Wales, who, though Lancastrian, had
married the duchess niece, the King
Makers daughter Anne, was murdered
Gloucester. They kept the killing i'm
the family, but it was killing just tho
same. -s@ssE rs
Two years later, so that the duchess
should not get unaccustomed to grief.
her son-in-law, Thomas Holland, duke
OF Exeter, who had had to beg his
bread in exile, was found dead on tho
seashore at Dover, and in l47o her SON.
the duke of Clarence, was drowned In
a butt of Malmsey, his wife Cecily hav-
ing been poisoned previously; her som
iu-law, Charles the Bold, duke of Bur-
gundy, had been killed in battle in
1477. Then there was a little respite
for the poor duchess. In 1883 died her
son, Edward w., only Al years old
the first one of her descendants to dio-
Il natural death since 1865 years
In the same year her two grandsons,.
Edward V. and Richard, duke of York.
were murdered by their uncle and her
son, Richard, duke of Gloucester, who.
became king as Richard Ill, aud I'M
his turn was killed at Bosworth field
on August %, 1855, when only IS years:
old. Her son-in-law, Sir Thomas ST.
Leger, was executed in 1883, and =
grandnephew, second Henry Staf-
ford, duke of Buckingham, was exc
cuted in 14S7.
Except for a few small deaths. Such
Neyil, and a grandson, John, earl OF
Lincoln, and grandson, Edward,
prince of Wales, the duchess lost no
more relatives, and died peacefully i'm
1495. All but the prince of Wales, of
these four, died by violence. OF her
children, Margaret, duchess of Bur
gundy, was the only one who survived
her. During the AZ years, 1865, sho
had seen 25 of her relatives die by yio-
lence and three by disease.
But she herself did not rest even
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