Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales

Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales ( or 1476 9 April 1484), was the son and heir apparent of King Richard III of England by his wife Anne Neville. He was Richard's only legitimate child and died aged seven or ten.
==Birth and titles==
Edward was born at Middleham Castle, a stronghold close to York that became Richard and Anne's principal base in northern England.Panton, p. 162-163 His birth date is usually given as around December 1473, but he may have been born as late as 1476. Professor Charles Ross wrote that the date 1473 "lacks authority. In fact, he was probably not born until 1476."Ross, Charles. Richard III (Univ. of California Press, 1981) , p. 29, n22, citing P. W. Hammond Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (1973) pgs. 12, 35–6, and also T. B. Pugh, Glamorgan County History III (1971) p 687. 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.Ross, C.D., Richard III, St. Ives 1981, p.30 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.C. Given-Wilson [ed.], Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, Edward IV – October 1472 – 2nd roll 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. However, such provision was the province 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.
In 1478, Edward was granted the title of Earl of Salisbury, previously held by the attainted George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence. The title became extinct on his death. His father became King of England on 26 June 1483, deposing his nephew Edward V. Edward did not attend his parents' coronation, probably due to illness. 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.Kendall P.M., Richard III, 1955.
==Death==
Edward died on 9 April 1484, the anniversary of the death of his uncle, Edward IV. The reasons for his sudden death are unknown. The Croyland Chronicle reads:
Edward's sudden death left Richard without a legitimate child. Contemporary historian John Rous recorded that Richard declared his nephew Edward, Earl of Warwick, his heir-presumptive, but there is no other evidence of this, and seems unlikely as Richard's own claim was based on the attainting of Warwick's father.Pierce, Hazel, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473–1541 (University of Wales Press, 2009), p. 9. Similarly, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln also seemed to have been designated as Richard's heir-presumptive, but was never publicly proclaimed as such.Wagner, John, Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses, ABC-CLIO, 2001, p. 211-212.
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, his nephews Edward V of England and Richard, Duke of York. It may have also emboldened them to renew hostilities.
==Burial==
The location of Edward's burial is unknown. A mutilated white alabaster cenotaph ("empty tomb") in the Church of St Helen and the Holy Cross 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.
== Titles, styles, and arms ==
===Titles===
*15 February 1478 onwards: Earl of Salisbury
*26 June 1483 onwards: Duke of Cornwall
*19 July 1483 onwards: Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
*8 September 1483 onwards: Prince of Wales and Earl of ChesterKendall P. M., Richard III, 1955
===Arms===
From 1483 to 1484, Edward used the arms of his father, debruised with a label of three points Argent.
==Ancestry==
== References ==
== Bibliography ==
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Category:1470s births
Category:1480s deaths
Category:English royalty
Category:House of York
Category:Princes of Wales
Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded
Category:15th-century English nobility
Category:15th-century Welsh people
Category:Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Category:Children of Richard III of England
Category:People from Middleham
Category:Barons Monthermer
Category:Earls of Salisbury
Category:Royalty who died as children
Category:Sons of kings