The House of York began not with a crown, but with a marriage that wove together two distinct lines of the Plantagenet family tree, creating a claim to the English throne that would eventually shatter the kingdom. Edmund of Langley, the fourth surviving son of King Edward III, was created the first Duke of York in 1385, establishing the cadet branch that would eventually challenge the reigning House of Lancaster. While Edmund's first marriage to Isabella of Castile produced two sons, the true power of the dynasty lay in the second marriage of his grandson, Richard of Conisburgh, to Anne Mortimer. Anne was the great-great-granddaughter of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, Edward III's second surviving son, and through her, the Yorkists inherited a claim to the throne that was arguably superior to that of the Lancastrians under the rules of cognatic primogeniture. This complex genealogy allowed Richard of York, the third Duke of York, to be the first to assume the Plantagenet surname in 1448, emphasizing his dual descent from Edward III through both his father and his mother. By inheriting the March and Ulster titles, Richard became the wealthiest and most powerful noble in England, second only to the king himself, setting the stage for a conflict that would define the second half of the 15th century.
The Kingmaker's Shadow
Despite his elevated status and immense wealth, Richard Plantagenet was systematically denied a position in government by the advisers of the weak King Henry VI, particularly John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, and the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou. The Wars of the Roses began the following year with the First Battle of St Albans, where Richard aimed only to purge his Lancastrian political opponents from positions of influence over the king. It was not until October 1460 that he claimed the throne for the House of York, a move that turned a political struggle into a civil war for the crown. Richard and his second son Edmund were killed at the battle of Wakefield on the 30th of December 1460, leaving the claim to the throne to his son Edward. With the support of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as The Kingmaker, Edward, already showing great promise as a leader of men, defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. While Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou were campaigning in the north, Warwick gained control of the capital and had Edward declared king in London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out.The King's Tragic End
The early reign of Edward IV was marred by Lancastrian plotting and uprisings in favour of Henry VI, but the true tragedy of the House of York unfolded within the walls of the Tower of London. Warwick himself changed sides, and supported Margaret of Anjou and the king's jealous brother George, Duke of Clarence, in briefly restoring Henry in 1470, 71. However, Edward regained his throne, and the House of Lancaster was wiped out with the death of Henry VI himself, in the Tower of London in 1471. In 1478, the continued trouble caused by Clarence led to his execution in the Tower of London, where popular legend holds he was drowned in a butt of malmsey wine. On Edward's death in 1483, the crown passed to his twelve-year-old son Edward V. Edward IV's younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed Protector, and the young king, and his brother Richard, were accommodated into the Tower of London. The famous Princes in the Tower's fate remains a mystery, as today it is unknown whether they were killed or who might have killed them. Parliament declared, in the document Titulus Regius, that the two boys were illegitimate, on the grounds that Edward IV's marriage was invalid, and as such Richard was heir to the throne. He was crowned Richard III in July 1483.