Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales ( or 1476 9 April 1484), was the son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of King Richard III of England by his wife Anne Neville. He was Richard's only legitimate child and died aged ten.

Birth and titles

Edward was born at Middleham Castle, a stronghold close to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

that became Richard and

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

's principal base in northern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.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." 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. 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. 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 Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first created for Patrick de S ...

, previously held by the attainted

George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the ...

. 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, which was probably due to illness. He was created

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

in a splendid ceremony in

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

on 8 September 1483, following his parents' royal progress across England.

Death

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. Similarly,

John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1460 – 16 June 1487) was a leading figure in the Yorkist aristocracy during the Wars of the Roses. After the death of his uncle Richard III, de la Pole was reconciled with the new Tudor regime, but two year ...

also seemed to have been designated as Richard's heir-presumptive, but was never publicly proclaimed as such. 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,

Edward V of England Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland fro ...

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 A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

("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

* * , - , - , - , - {{authority control 1473 births 1484 deaths English royalty Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Princes of Wales Heirs apparent who never acceded 15th-century English nobility 15th-century Welsh people Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Children of Richard III of England People from Middleham Barons Monthermer Earls of Salisbury Royalty and nobility who died as children Sons of kings