#Duchess of Bedford

[henryfitzempress]

Miniature of Anne of Burgundy, duchess of Bedford, kneeling before Anne, the Virgin, and Christ. British Library Add MS 18850, f. 257v.

[vintagewildlife]

Bison and wapiti in the park at Woburn Abbey By: The Duchess of Bedford From: Wild Oxen, Sheep & Goats of All Lands 1898

[une-sanz-pluis]

From a very early time in Syon's history, perhaps from the very start of its history, the duchess of Clarence was a supporter and benefactor of this royal foundation. Most assuredly, the Bible that the duchess purchased for the brothers was only one of many gifts to the abbey as an expression of gratitude for all the spiritual benefits, as described in the papal register entries, which she received from the Bridgettines. Perhaps the most important aspect of her relation with Syon was a long and close association with Symon Wynter; if not her confessor, he was at least a spiritual counselor to the duchess and sufficiently attentive to her spiritual welfare to encourage devotion to Jerome. In return, she was asked to encourage others of her acquaintance, both laity and religious, to join in the devotion to Jerome by permitting them to read and make copies of the life written by Symon. In the course of doing so, the duchess would have been helping to establish a reputation for the abbey and its works among those whose good offices might be of value to a foundation that in the 1420s was not fully assured of its continuance. If the repeated copying of this life of Jerome and its eventual printing by Wynkynde Worde are an indication, the good that accrued from the duchess's support for Syon endured well beyond her lifetime. The duchess's benefactions, of which her literary patronage is an important aspect, should probably be seen as part of an ongoing Lancastrian, perhaps specifically Beaufort, tradition of support for Syon and, by implication, for Syon's contributions to vernacular devotional literature. A half-century after the death of the duchess of Clarence, Lady Margaret Beaufort was continuing that tradition and, consciously or not, also continuing her grandmother's efforts as literary patron and publisher. In doing so, she seems to have seen the new printing industry as an ideal means for encouraging the good works of Syon and extending their benefits beyond what a reliance on its own scribes would have permitted.

George R. Keiser, "Patronage and Piety in Fifteenth-Century England: Margaret, Duchess of Clarence, Symon Wynter and Beinecke MS 317", The Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 60, No. 1/2 (1985)

[clarabowlover]

Henrietta Tiarks - By Mark Shaw (1959)

Two Years Before She Became The Duchess Of Bedford

[j-august]

Amanda Foreman, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

[korgbelmont]

Now Added: Lawrence Bedford

Lawrence Bedford has now been added to the newly created The Duchess Affair section of the Transparents folder

With thanks to @farizrz

[isabelleneville]

THE MATERNAL LINE OF QUEEN JANE GREY

Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford and later Countess of Rivers, she was the daughter of Peter I, Count of Saint-Pol. (as portrayed by Janet McTeer in The White Queen) Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort of England and Lady of Ireland, she was the daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl of Rivers. (as portrayed by Rebecca Ferguson in The White Queen) Elizabeth of York, Princess of England and later Queen Consort of England and Lady of Ireland, she was the daughter of Edward IV, King of England and Lord of Ireland. (as portrayed by Jodie Comer in The White Princess) Mary Tudor, Princess of England, later Queen Consort of France and then Duchess of Suffolk, she was the daughter of Henry VII, King of Ireland and Lord of Ireland. (as portrayed by Sai Bennett in The Spanish Princess) Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, she was the daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (Second Creation). (as portrayed by Anna Chancellor in My Lady Jane) Jane Grey, Queen of England and Ireland, she was the daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk (Third Creation) and Marquess of Dorset. (as portrayed by Emily Bader in My Lady Jane)

[ltwilliammowett]

Medicine Chest, "Duchess of Bedford, Canadian Pacific Line, Built by John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland, 2 Funnels, 581' x 75', 3rd Class 510, 20,123 Tons, front panel with black, red and gilt painted label "Morphine", 19th century

[robertocustodioart]

Henrietta Tiarks, the Duchess of Bedford by Mark Shaw 1959

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in October 2023

02/10 As President of the Riding for the Disabled Association visited Avon Riding Centre, to mark its 40th Anniversary. 🐴🥳

03/10 Held two Investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Minchinhampton Centre for the Elderly, visited Horsfall House, Minchinhampton. 👵🏻👴🏻

04/10 In Cornwall Princess Anne visited;

Origin Coffee in Porthleven. ☕️

Camborne School of Mines at the Penryn Campus of University of Exeter, in Penryn. 🔨

St Ewe Free Range Eggs Packing Centre in Truro. 🥚

05/10 As Colonel of The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), attended a Household Cavalry Medal Parade at Powle Lines, Picton Barracks in Wiltshire. 🫡

07/10 With Sir Tim Attended the Scotland vs Ireland Rugby World Cup match at the Stade de France in Paris. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪🇫🇷🏉

09/10 As Patron of Livability, visited Livability Millie College in Poole. 🏫

As Patron of UK Youth, visited Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre in Bransgore. 🧗‍♀️

10/10 Attended a Future of UK Food Systems Seminar held by Crops for the Future at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge. 🚜

As Commandant-in-Chief (Youth) of St. John Ambulance, opened the new Ambulance Hub in Castle Donington. 🚑

11/10 Held two investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

Unofficial, Sir Tim attended the opening of the New Zealand Liberation Museum, Te Arawhata, in Le Quesnoy, France. 🇫🇷🇳🇿

As Patron of Scots in London Group attended a Reception at St Columba’s Church of Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Attended a Blue Seal Club Dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club in Piccadilly, London. 🤵‍♂️

12/10 As Patron of the Campaign for Gordonstoun, chaired a Cabinet Meeting at the Lansdowne Club, London. 🏫

As Patron of English Rural Housing Association, attended a Parish Council Rural Housing Conference at Eversholt Hall, Bedfordshire. 🏡

Visited the Aircraft Research Association in Bedford. ✈️

As Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, attended Evensong and a Reception at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy, London. 🎶

14/10 Sir Tim represented Princess Anne, Patron of the Wiltshire Horn Society, at a dinner on the occasion of their centenary. 🐑

15/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the first day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

16/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

Attended an IOC Reception at Jio World Centre. 🌏

17/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the third day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

Visited the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Bombay 1914-1918 Memorial at the Indian Sailors’ Home, in Mumbai. 🪖

Attended a reception at the residence of His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India in Mumbai. 🌏

Unofficial Sir Tim attended a memorial service for Lord Lawson (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) at St. Margaret’s church in Westminster ⛪️

19/10 Hosted a Reception with the King, Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace to thank those who contributed to and were involved with the State Funeral of The late Queen Elizabeth II and with the Coronation of Their Majesties. 🥂

With Sir Tim, As Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps attended the launch of the Corps History Book at the National Army Museum in London. 📚

With Sir Tim, As Patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, attended the Trafalgar Night Dinner at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. 🤵‍♀️🤵‍♂️

20/10 Opened Cutbush and Corrall Charity almshouse accommodation in Maidstone.

Opened the Royal British Legion Industries Centenary Village, Greenwich House, in Aylesford, Kent.

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Elmley.

24/10 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

As President of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, delivered the Evelyn Wrench Lecture at Dartmouth House in London. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

25/10 In Scotland Princess Anne visited;

The International Society for Optics and Photonics Photonex Exhibition at Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. 🔍

As President of Victim Support Scotland, visited the National Office-West in Glasgow. 🫂

Peter Equi and Sons Limited Ice Cream Manufacturer. 🍦

26/10 Opened the National Honey Show at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey. 🍯 🐝

As Royal Patron of the Security Institute, this afternoon attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. ⛓️

With Sir Tim As President of the Royal Yachting Association, attended a 50th Anniversary of the Yachtmaster Scheme Dinner at Trinity House, London. 🛥️🍽️

27/10 Held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

31/10 In Scotland;

As Patron of the Moredun Foundation, attended a Conference at Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, in Penicuik. 🧬

As Royal Patron of the Leuchie Forever Fund, attended a Reception to launch Leuchie House’s new strategy in Edinburgh. 🏡

As Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, held a Chancellor’s Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 👩‍🎓

Total official engagements for Anne in October: 47

2023 total so far: 400

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in October: 6

2023 total so far: 81

[une-sanz-pluis]

Henry Bolingbroke may have recalled his own childhood when he made plans for the education of his own children. By his first wife, Mary Bohun, whom he had married in 1380 or 1381, Henry had four sons and two daughters: first, Henry (born about 1387), prince of Wales, who became Henry V; secondly, Thomas, duke of Clarence; thirdly, John, made duke of Bedford in 1414, and fourthly, Humphrey, made duke of Gloucester in 1414. His daughters were first Blanche (born 1392) and secondly Philippa (born 1393 or 1394).

These children seem to have been educated privately in their own homes or in those of their father's relations, friends and servants. A series of Duchy of Lancaster wardrobe and household accounts for the period 1387 to 1398 gives us detailed information concerning the nurses, governesses and tutors responsible for the children's education. The accounts tell us a considerable amount about the nurses in the household and show that although some of the children 'shared' nurses, on the whole they had their own nurses, a practice common in royal and noble households. Agnes and Juliana Rokster are names repeatedly associated with the young John and Humphrey and may possibly have served as their cradle rockers or berceresse. In 1388 it appears that the midwife, Joanna Waring, who attended Mary Bohun at the birth of her second son, Thomas, was also the nurse of the young Henry. She was granted an annuity of forty shillings in 1391 and was still in the household in 1396. The other sons also had their own special nurses. Humphrey's nurse, Margaret, appears in an account of 1393-4, while Joanna Donnesinore, granted an annuity of forty shillings, is described as the nurse of Thomas and John in 1392. The daughters were also well provided with nurses. Blanche had two: one, who received a gift of cloth in 1392 and was named Matilda in an account of 1395-6, served also as Philippa's nurse; the other, Isabella Stanes, received a gift of £10 in August 1394. Apart from the evidence about nurses, we know that Mary Hervy served as the governess of the young children. On 10 December 1393, she is termed the 'magistrissa iuvenum dominorum' and in another document of the same year as 'maistresse a nos enfantz'. We also have details of the tutors of young Humphrey, Thomas Epston or Epirston, described, in 1397 as the 'informator' of his seven year old pupil, and Thomas Rothwell at Easter 1399 when a salary of 13s 4d was granted to 'Thome Rothewell informanti predictum Humfridum'. This rate of pay does not suggest a high position in the household hierarchy. The children were not always receiving their education in their father's household. The younger children, Humphrey, Blanche and Philippa were often at Eaton Tregose in Herefordshire with their father's chamberlain, Sir Hugh Waterton, who had been responsible for Bolingbroke's own upbringing twenty years earlier. In 1397 there are several references to John in the household of Margaret Marshal, duchess of Norfolk, and in June of that year, Henry is described as 'existenti in domo domini ducis Lancastriae' so he was clearly spending time with his grandfather, John of Gaunt. It is all the more interesting that these records survive, as the household of Henry Bolingbroke in the 1390s is likely to have been typical of many noble households; there was, of course, no question at that time that Henry's children were receiving the special treatment reserved for the heirs to the throne.

Elizabeth Gue, The Education and Literary Interests of the English Lay Nobility, c.1150 - c.1450 (PhD thesis, 1983)

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

June: Brown Redux

Belgravia (s1 e1) / Naomi Frederick as the Duchess of Bedford

This scene is set at one of the Duchess' novel new "afternoon tea parties" in 1841. She's wearing what looks like a silk dress, with a floral pattern, trimmed with lace. The V-shape on the bodice is very typical for the 1840s.

[poorshadowspaintedqueens]

The Tudor chest- who has a podcast with some historians that come on, on Instagram said Elizabeth woodville was a commoner who captured the kings heart. Is this true?

The whole 'commoner' thing bugs me because, in absolutely every sense of the word, Elizabeth Woodville was not a commoner. She was, on her father's side, the daughter of a well-known and quite celebrated knight who fought alongside some of the top brass during the early part of Henry VI's reign. Her father also held a high position in the household of John duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI and the English regent in France. His family had held lands in Northamptonshire for more than a century and several of his ancestors had served as sheriff. Which is all to say that the Woodville family, while not amongst the highest echelons of nobility, were firmly part of the landed gentry.

And that doesn't even take into account Elizabeth's mother, Jacquetta de St. Pol, whose father was a liegeman of the dukes of Burgundy, and whose extended family had married into both the French and the Burgundian royal families. She was also married, for several years, to the aforementioned John duke of Bedford, which made her the literal second lady in England after the dowager queen Catherine of Valois. After Bedford's death, she scandalously married Richard Woodville, but it is worth keeping in mind that she continued to style herself Duchess of Bedford until her death.

So, no, Elizabeth Woodville was not in any sense a commoner. A lot of that rhetoric comes from anti-Woodville propaganda spread first by Richard earl of Warwick, and eventually picked up by George of Clarence and Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III), from whence it made its way into the official Tudor historiography of the civil wars.

[heather123fan-blog]

medieval women week day 2: Favorite non-Queen or Queen-adjacent royal woman: Jacquetta of Luxembourg Duchess of Bedford and Mother to Queen Elizabeth Woodville

Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the eldest child of the French Count of St Pol; her family descended from Charlemagne and were cousins to the Holy Roman Emperor. She grew up with war between France and England raging around her.

John, Duke of Bedford was the youngest son of King Henry IV. Having lost his wife to plague in 1432, he arranged to marry the seventeen-year-old Jacquetta, who was his social equal by her birth. Although married for two years they were childless when John died in September 1435. The King instructed Jacquetta to come to England and ordered Sir Richard Woodville, to arrange it.

However, Jacquetta and Richard fell in love, but Richard was a poor knight, far below Jacquetta in social status. Nonetheless, they married secretly thus thwarting any plans King Henry may have had to marry her off to a wealthy English lord. Theirs was a morganatic marriage, where one of the partners, most often the wife, was socially inferior. Henry was enraged and fined the couple £1000. He did however allow their heirs to inherit, which was unusual for morganatic marriages in England.

Being the widow of Henry V’s brother and aunt to the King, royal protocol gave Jacquetta the highest rank at court of any female except Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, to whom Jacquetta was related by marriage. She even ‘outranked’ the King’s mother and was referred to as the ‘Duchess of Bedford,’ retaining the title from her first marriage. Richard and Jacquetta lived in their manor house at Grafton Regis near Northampton producing fourteen children, the eldest, Elizabeth being born in 1437.

In 1448 Richard was created Lord Rivers: his advancement ensured his family supported Henry VI in the dynastic feuding of the Wars of the Roses. The situation changed with the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Towton in 1461 and the seizure of the throne by Edward IV. By the spring of 1464, Jacquetta’s daughter Elizabeth was a widow, her Lancastrian husband having been killed in 1461. Within a few months, Elizabeth was married to the young King Edward IV.

Jacquetta died in 1472 aged 56 and was buried at Grafton, though no record of her tomb survives. Recently, one legacy has come to light. Research by gene specialists indicates that Jacquetta was a carrier of the rare Kell-Antigen-Mcleod syndrome causing impaired fertility and psychotic behavioural changes in the male descendants of the family.

Written by Michael Long. I have over 30 years experience teaching History in schools and examiner History to A level. My specialist area is England in the 15th and 16th centuries. I am now a freelance writer and historian.

[wonder-worker]

why did the wydevilles and richard III hate each other that much during edward iv's reign?

Hi! To get straight to the point – there is no evidence of hostility between the Woodvilles and Richard of Gloucester before 1483. On the contrary, their relationship during Edward IV’s reign seems to have been cordial and mutually cooperative. Elizabeth made Richard steward of some of her estates in 1469, increased his fee in 1473, and seems to have backed him against Clarence over the Warwick inheritance. Both of them clearly benefitted by Clarence’s downfall. Richard supported her sites of patronage, like Queen’s College, and he included her among those to ask prayers for when founding two new colleges at his northern homes, Bernard Castle and Middleham, in 1478 (we shouldn't see this as a mere formality, as his own mother was not included in the list). He also seems to have been on amicable terms with Elizabeth’s family: in 1481 her eldest son and her brother Anthony served under his command in Scotland; he raised Edward Woodville to a banneret; and in late March 1483 (just a few weeks before Edward IV’s death), Anthony had trusted Richard enough to nominate him as an arbiter in one of his disputes. Richard was also close to Katherine Haute, wife of Elizabeth’s cousin James, giving her a generous annuity from his estates. Historians have theorized she was his mistress as she shared the same name as his illegitimate daughter Katherine, but whatever the specifics of their dynamic, it does indicate closeness.  Also, as Rosemary Horrox points out in Richard III: A Study of Service, “the local interests of the duke and the Woodvilles coincided at several points, notably in Wales and East Anglia but also (briefly) in Richmondshire, where the queen’s mother, the dowager duchess of Bedford, held one third of the honour until 1472. Had the two interests been hostile, one would expect some evidence of local friction, but there is none”. Rather, Elizabeth and Richard engaged in independent land transactions with each other – for example, she bought the highly lucrative FitzLewis manors from him.

So while we don't know what they personally felt about each other, we do know that 1) there is no evidence at all of hostility on either side, and 2) the evidence we do have is one of mutual cooperation.

This is important to keep in mind when talking about the events in 1483. Most modern historians (Charles Ross, AJ Pollard, etc) have blamed Edward IV for his son’s deposition by claiming that he failed to reconcile the Woodvilles and Richard during his life, paving the way for tensions to erupt between their so-called factions after his death. Twisted leap of logic aside, this is ridiculously unfair: Edward cannot be blamed for “failing” to remedy tensions which literally did not exist during his life. He was not a prophet; he could not control events from the grave. There is no need to blame him for Richard’s shocking betrayal that we already know contemporaries were not able to foresee. During his life, Edward would have had every reason to believe that his wife and his brother would work together during his son’s minority. And he had good reason to believe this: while conflict between the Woodvilles and Richard did erupt in 1483, it was not inevitable and should not be viewed as such. Rather, in the aftermath of Edward’s death, Elizabeth Woodville seems to have expected to work with Richard. She took the king’s place in listening to his council, and Croyland reports that Richard was sending her deferring letters “[promising] to come and offer submission, fealty, and all that was due from him to his lord and king, Edward V, the first-born son of his brother the dead king and the queen”. Croyland also writes that the new king, Edward V, sent Anthony Woodville and Richard Gray, to “submit the conduct of everything to the will and discretion of his uncle the Duke of Gloucester”. We know that Edward V was planning on having an immediate coronation thanks to a letter he wrote to the burgesses of King’s Lynn, and according to Mancini, who quotes the young king, “as for the government of the kingdom, he had complete confidence in the peers of the realm and the queen [Elizabeth].” Considering what Croyland wrote above, the “peers of the realm” would have surely included his uncle Richard. Indeed, Anthony and Richard Gray trusted Richard enough to walk blindly into a trap; it’s difficult to understand how this was possible or why they weren’t better prepared if they truly disliked Richard (or, for that matter, if they had tried to exclude him from power). It’s possible - imo, very likely - that the Woodvilles would have been the most influential and dominant after Edward V’s coronation; that does seem to have been the view of contemporaries. But since the coronation never took place, and since Elizabeth and her family clearly wanted and expected to work with the council and peers of the realm – including (arguably especially) Richard – it’s not possible to read them as anything other than cooperative.  At the very least, based on what we know right now.

I don’t want this post to get too speculatory, because it’s not like we have video recordings of 1483 to know exactly what went down, but my basic point is that going by the information we have, it was entirely plausible for Richard and “the Queen’s kin” (which is what "the Woodvilles" were actually known as to contemporaries, both administratively and in chronicles) to work together. They had done so during Edward IV’s life, and the impression I get is that Eizabeth at least seems to have expected it to continue after his death. Presumably, Anthony and Richard Gray did as well.

I think there are two reasons most chroniclers and historians are so willing to believe the Woodvilles and Richard were "rivals":

One is hindsight: their explosive conflict in 1483 is retrospectively read backwards and applied to Edward IV’s reign as a whole despite the abundance of evidence (see: Anthony trusting Richard to arbitrate a dispute mere weeks earlier) that proves otherwise.

Historically speaking, however, the idea of a rivalry primarily stems from Ricardian propaganda that sought to vilify Elizabeth Woodville, reviving and doubling down on Warwick's earlier propaganda against her. She was framed as a disruptive queen and transgressive woman with an “ignoble” social-climbing family who dominated the government and "controlled" the king. His propaganda at that time also aimed to cast "the Woodvilles as the aggressors and [Richard] as the victim of circumstance", as Horrox has pointed out. Hence why you have Mancini claiming that Richard and Elizabeth hated each other and that her "jealousy" kept him out of court, or why Thomas More claimed that “the Queene and the Lordes of her bloode whiche highlye maligned the kynges kinred (as women commonly not of malice but of nature hate them whom their husbands love)’. This, as we should know by now, is nonsense. The conflict between Richard and the Woodvilles (most probably) originated in 1483 because of the existence of an unexpected minority and because of his actions against them, not by non-existent simmering tensions during Edward IV's reign.

Hope this helps!

*Thomas Gray Marquis of Dorset's alleged boast that "we are so important that even without the king's uncle we can make and enforce these decisions", as quoted by Mancini, is often taken as proof that the Woodvilles wanted ultimate dominance during Edward V's minority. However, there are ... a great many problems with this interpretation. One, we don't know if Dorset actually said something like this: after all, Croyland never claims any such thing in his own chronicle. Additionally, while it was (and is) popularly assumed that Elizabeth and Dorset wished to exclude Richard because they started the council without him, this makes no sense in context: Anthony Woodville, Richard Gray and the young King himself were also not present at that time. Does it make any sense at all to assume that the council was insulting these three figures (again, including the actual King) by convening before they arrived in London? Then why is it automatically assumed that it was meant to be an insult to Richard? Why are more pragmatic reasons never considered? After all, there was a 20+ day gap between Edward IV's death and Richard's arrival in London - governance of the entire country couldn't exactly be put on pause until then. Long story short, it's possible Mancini could misunderstood Dorset's statement/intent or - more likely - that he was unknowingly reflecting Ricardian propaganda specifically aimed to present Dorset in a bad light (as an aggressor who tried to exclude Richard, with Richard merely claiming his "rightful" place). And either way, even if he did say something along those lines, Dorset was not the senior or most influential member of the family: that was Elizabeth Woodville and his uncle Anthony. So Dorset's words - if he actually said something like that - can hardly be taken as evidence that his entire family felt the same, especially since Anthony & Dorset's own brother Richard Gray clearly went to dine with Richard in peace. Especially since we know Thomas obeyed his mother: he went with her into sanctuary, and he apparently tried to return to England from exile as she asked him to after she made a deal with Richard.

**The Woodvilles and Hastings do seem to have been at odds. This didn't stop them from working together during Edward's reign (we have plenty examples of them cooperating, there is no evidence of a divide between them in Edward IV's charters as there was for the Woodvilles & Nevilles in the 1460s, Hastings praised Elizabeth in 1480 and clearly recognized her superior influence with Edward IV, etc), but - unlike the case with Richard - there is genuine evidence of hostility between them. We don't know if this would have mattered as much if Edward V was an adult, or if he'd already been present at London at the time of Edward IV's death. But either way, we shouldn't exaggerate this or act as though it meant Edward V was doomed. It was very normal for different parties/families to have conflicts during minorities; it had happened to pretty much all minor kings prior to 1483, it had never stopped them from working together before, and it sure as hell had never led to usurpation. Moreover, if the Woodvilles and Richard had been able to work together, animosity between the Woodvilles and Hastings would not have mattered. There are indications that cooperation between them was entirely possible: Horrox has observed that the commissions agreed upon by the first council after Edward's death tried to balance out their interests. Lastly, we ... probably shouldn't overexaggerate Hastings' position after Edward IV's death, imo. He was very important and influential, yes, but he was also not a member of the immediate royal family; it's a pretty massive stretch to automatically assume he would have been as relevant as Elizabeth, the Woodvilles, or Richard during Edward V's minority. This can be supported by evidence: after Edward IV's death, his council gathered around Elizabeth, not Hastings; Richard sent messages promising to arrive and swear fealty to her, not Hastings; the final authority when it came to the young king rested with her, not Hastings. Moreover, once Richard and Buckingham came to power, Croyland explicitly states that Hastings wanted to "serve" them and "earn their favor". In other words, he was not leading the council himself. His reaction to Richard & Buckingham and Elizabeth & the Woodvilles may have been the opposite, but either way, the impression I get of Hastings' position in both scenarios seems to have been exactly the same: he was important and influential, but he was not the one in charge. Of course, this is just my personal interpretation - my main point is simply that while the Woodvilles and Hastings may have had problems, at the very least, there is no reason at all to assume this would have affected Edward V's position as King. His deposition was entirely unexpected, and very much the result of Richard's own unprecedented decisions.

[wessexroyalfamily]

Pictured: (foreground) Crown Princess Elizabeth, Prince Thomas, and Queen Anne II (background) The Earl of Gloucester, and The Duke of Chelsea.

Members of the Royal Family gathered this weekend at Woodstock Palace for the recognition ceremony of His Royal Highness The Prince Edmund David Paul Francis Leopold of Wessex.

Prince Edmund is the second child of Crown Prince William and Crown Princess Elizabeth of Wessex. William additionally has a teenage through his first marriage to, Princess Margaret of Lancaster.

Edmund additionally holds the title of Serene Count of Chester as a paternal member of the House of Synklar, thanks to his grandfather The Earl of Gloucester.

The recognition ceremony is traditionally done a few months after the birth of a new member of the Royal Family. The ceremony dates back to medieval times when the sovereign would publicly recognize potential heirs to the throne.

Each new royal is formally presented by either his/her parents or "sponsors" to the Sovereign and rest of the court and blessed by the Bishop of Winchester. It is during the ceremony that the official title and styles of the child are made public.

Prince Edmund holds the rank and titular privileges as if he was child of the Sovereign. Holding the style of "His Royal Highness" along with the title of "The Prince" and territorial designation "of Wessex" giving all children of the Crown Prince the rank of "son of the Sovereign".

Like the ceremony of his older brothers, Prince Edmund's ceremony took place at Beaumont Chapel, the second most senior Chapel Royal.

Pictured: Crown Princess Elizabeth holding Prince Thomas and Crown Prince William holding Prince Edmund.

Since the recognition ceremony of his older cousins, the ceremony has become less formal at the behest of the Queen's son, Crown Prince William. In attempts to modernize, neither court or formal dress are no longer required, and the access the press once had has greatly diminished. The ceremony has since become a private family affair with only select images released by the royals following the ceremony.

Queen Anne II pictured with her youngest granddaughter Princess Maud of Chelsea and oldest grandson, and second in line, Prince Richard of Wessex

The ceremony marks also the Queen's first official appearance in public, since the funeral of her nephew Andreas von Bedford. The Palace reports that The Queen will remain in the capital until the national Fall Day of Thanks celebrations later this month and once again retreat to Fogmorre Castle after.

Affectionately called Leo by family, Prince Edmund is the youngest of the Queen's and Earl of Gloucester's six grandchildren, yet fourth in the line of succession following his father and two older brothers.

HRH Crown Prince William of Wessex, The Duke of Dorset,

HRH The Prince Richard of Wessex

HRH The Prince Thomas of Wessex

HRH The Prince Edmund of Wessex

HRH The Prince George of Wessex, The Duke of Chelsea

HRH Prince Patrick of Chelsea

HRH Caroline, The Princess Royal

HRH Princess Maud of Chelsea

Pictured: Prince Thomas of Wessex standing next to his mother Crown Princess Elizabeth of Wessex holding Prince Edmund.

Pictured: The Duchess of Chelsea with her eldest daughter Caroline, The Princess Royal

Pictured (left to right): Prince Richard of Wessex ; Crown Prince William of Wessex ; Prince Thomas of Wessex ; Crown Princess Elizabeth of Wessex ; Prince Edmund of Wessex

Pictured Standing (left to right): Prince Richard of Wessex ; Princess Albie, The Duchess of Chelsea ; Prince George, The Duke of Chelsea Pictured Sitting (left to right): Queen Anne II of Wessex ; Crown Prince William of Wessex holding Prince Thomas of Wessex ; Crown Princess Elizabeth of Wessex holding Prince Edmund of Wessex ; Prince Christian, The Earl of Gloucester