George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the sixth child and third surviving son of
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...
, and
Cecily Neville, and the brother of
English kings
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
and
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle between rival factions of the
Plantagenets now known as the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
.
Though a member of the
House of York
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
, he switched sides to support the
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...
, before reverting to the Yorkists. He was later convicted of treason against his elder brother, Edward IV, and executed, allegedly by drowning in
malmsey wine. He appears as a character in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays ''
Henry VI, Part 3
''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...
'' and ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'', in which his death is attributed to the machinations of Richard.
Life
George was born on 21 October 1449 in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
at a time when his father, the Duke of York, had begun to challenge
Henry VI for the crown. His godfather was
James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond. He was the second of the three sons of Richard and Cecily who survived their father and became a potential claimant for the crown. His father died in 1460. In 1461 his elder brother, Edward, became King of England as Edward IV and George was made
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...
. Despite his youth, he was appointed as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
in the same year.

Having been mentioned as a possible husband for
Mary, daughter of
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, Clarence came under the influence of his first cousin
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and in July 1469 was married in
Église Notre-Dame de Calais to the earl's elder daughter
Isabel Neville.
Clarence had actively supported his elder brother's claim to the throne, but when his father-in-law (known as "the Kingmaker") deserted Edward IV to ally with
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou (; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453. Born in the ...
, consort of the deposed King Henry, Clarence supported him and was deprived of his office as Lord Lieutenant. Clarence joined Warwick in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, taking his pregnant wife. She gave birth to their first child, a girl, on 16 April 1470, in a ship off
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
. The child died shortly afterwards. Henry VI rewarded Clarence by making him next in line to the throne after
his own son, justifying the exclusion of Edward IV both by
attainder
In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...
for his treason against the House of Lancaster as well as his
alleged illegitimacy. After a short time, Clarence realized that his loyalty to his father-in-law was misplaced: Warwick had his younger daughter,
Anne Neville
Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was List of English royal consorts , Queen of England from 26 June 1483 until her death in 1485 as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard N ...
, Clarence's sister-in-law, marry Henry VI's son in December 1470. This demonstrated that his father-in-law was less interested in making him king than in serving his own interests and, since it now seemed unlikely that Warwick would replace Edward IV with Clarence, Clarence was secretly reconciled with Edward.
Warwick's efforts to keep Henry VI on the throne ultimately failed and Warwick was killed at the
Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a War of succession, dynastic conflict of England in the Middle Ages, 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured t ...
in April 1471. The re-instated King Edward IV restored his brother Clarence to royal favour by making him Great Chamberlain of England. As his father-in-law had died, Clarence became ''
jure uxoris
''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...
'' Earl of Warwick, but did not inherit the entire Warwick estate as his younger brother,
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had married () Anne Neville, who had been widowed in 1471. Edward intervened and eventually divided the estates between his brothers.
Clarence was created, by right of his wife, first Earl of Warwick
[Hicks, Michael]
"George, duke of Clarence"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', 23 September 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019. on 25 March 1472, and first Earl of Salisbury in a new creation.
In 1475 Clarence's wife Isabel gave birth to a son,
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, later
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which has been created four times in English history. The name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation came in 1088, and the title was held b ...
. Isabel died on 22 December 1476, two months after giving birth to a short-lived son named Richard (5 October 14761 January 1477). George and Isabel are buried together at
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Conside ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. Their surviving children,
Margaret
Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
and
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, were cared for by their aunt,
Anne Neville
Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was List of English royal consorts , Queen of England from 26 June 1483 until her death in 1485 as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard N ...
, until she died in 1485 when Edward was 10 years old.
Death
Though most historians now believe Isabel's death was a result of either
consumption or
childbed fever, Clarence was convinced she had been poisoned by one of her ladies-in-waiting,
Ankarette Twynyho, whom, as a consequence, he had judicially murdered in April 1477, by summarily arresting her and
bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
a jury at Warwick into convicting her of murder by poisoning. She was hanged immediately after trial with John Thursby, a fellow defendant. She was posthumously pardoned in 1478 by King Edward. Clarence's mental state, never stable, deteriorated from that point and led to his involvement in yet another rebellion against his brother Edward.
According to the bill of attainder passed against him, Clarence made a number of his servants swear personal loyalty to him and sent them into various parts of the kingdom to stir up rebellion against Edward, claiming that Edward intended to disinherit him and that he had used witchcraft to poison his subjects. It was also alleged that he had plotted to have a "strange child" pose as his son, while he intended to send his son into Ireland or Flanders to get assistance against Edward, but this plan was not successful. Clarence was also said to have secretly kept a document signed by Henry VI, specifying that Clarence was to become king in the event of his death.
In 1477 Clarence was again a suitor for the hand of Mary, who had just become
duchess of Burgundy. Edward objected to the match, and Clarence left the court.
The arrest and committal to the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
of one of Clarence's retainers, an Oxford astronomer named
John Stacy
John Will Stacy (born March 29, 1953) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives who represented district 71 from 1993 to 2015. He was first elected to the house in 1992, defeating Democrat ...
, led to his confession under torture that he had "imagined and compassed" the death of the king, and used the black arts to accomplish this. He implicated
Thomas Burdet, and Thomas Blake, a chaplain at Stacey's college (
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
).All three were tried for treason, convicted, and condemned to be drawn to
Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...
and hanged. Blake was saved at the eleventh hour by a plea for his life from
James Goldwell, Bishop of Norwich, but the other two were put to death as ordered.
This was a clear warning to Clarence, which he chose to ignore. He appointed John Goddard to burst into Parliament and regale the House with Burdett and Stacey's declarations of innocence that they had made before their deaths. Goddard was a very unwise choice, as he was an ex-Lancastrian who had expounded Henry VI's claim to the throne. Edward summoned Clarence to Windsor, severely upbraided him, accused him of treason, and ordered his immediate arrest and confinement.
Clarence was imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
and put on trial for treason against his brother Edward IV. Clarence was not present – Edward himself prosecuted his brother, and demanded that Parliament pass a
bill of attainder
A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a ...
against his brother, declaring that he was guilty of "unnatural, loathly treasons" which were aggravated by the fact that Clarence was his brother, who, if anyone did, owed him loyalty and love. Following his conviction and attainder, he was "privately executed" at the Tower on 18 February 1478, by tradition in the Bowyer Tower, and soon after the event, a rumour spread that he
had been drowned in a
butt of malmsey
A butt of malmsey was a measuring unit in Medieval England for the transport of malmsey wine. First recorded in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'' in the late 14th century, it was a vessel of varying size until it was standardised in the ...
wine.
A reason for Edward to have his brother executed may have been that George had "threatened to question the legality of the royal marriage"
and he may have discovered from Bishop
Robert Stillington of Bath and Wells that George "had probably let slip the secret of the
precontract" for Edward's marriage with
Lady Eleanor Talbot, although others dispute this.
In Shakespeare
Clarence is a principal character in two of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's history plays: ''
Henry VI, Part 3
''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...
'' and ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
.'' Shakespeare portrays Clarence as weak-willed and changeable. His initial defection from Edward IV to Warwick is prompted by resentment at the favours bestowed by Edward to the family of his queen Elizabeth Woodville. Despite several speeches proclaiming loyalty to Warwick, and to Henry VI, Clarence defects back to Edward's side when he sees his brothers again; it takes only a few lines for his brothers to shame him into rejoining the Yorkist party. Several lines reference his penchant for wine.
''Richard III'' opens with Gloucester having framed Clarence for treason, using a soothsayer to sow doubt in the King's mind about his brother, and in the first scene Clarence is arrested and taken to the Tower. Gloucester nimbly stage-manages Clarence's death, fast-tracking the order of execution and intercepting the King's pardon when Edward changes his mind. In Act One Scene Four, Clarence recounts a terrifying nightmare in which he has been pushed (accidentally) into the ocean by Gloucester and drowns, then finds himself in hell, accused of perjury by the ghosts of Warwick and Prince Edward. When he is attacked by assassins sent by Gloucester, he pleads eloquently and nobly but is stabbed and drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. It is Clarence's death that sends Edward into a fatal attack of remorse. Clarence is the first character to die in the play; his ghost later appears to Gloucester, then already Richard III, and Henry Tudor, the future
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henr ...
, before the
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of House of Lancaster, Lancaster and House of York, York that extended across England in the latter half ...
, cursing his brother and encouraging Henry.
Children
Clarence married
Isabel Neville in Calais, at that time controlled by
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on 11 July 1469. Together they had four children:
* Anne of Clarence (16 April 1470c. 17 April 1470), who was born and died in a ship off Calais. Identified by some sources as a girl but by others as an unnamed boy.
[Hicks, Michael (1998). ''Warwick the Kingmaker'', p. 287. Blackwell, Oxford. .]
*
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 147328 May 1541); married
Sir Richard Pole; executed by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
.
*
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (25 February 147528 November 1499); executed by
Henry VII on grounds of attempting to escape from the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.
* Richard of Clarence (5 October 14761 January 1477); born at
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Conside ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
; died at
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William I of England, William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon, Warwic ...
and buried in
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
.
Genealogy
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarence, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke Of
1449 births
1478 deaths
15th-century English nobility
Normans in Ireland
Burials at Tewkesbury Abbey
301
Earls of Salisbury
Clarence, George, Duke of
People convicted under a bill of attainder
Executions at the Tower of London
Heirs presumptive to the English throne
George, Duke of Clarence
Knights of the Bath
Knights of the Garter
People executed by drowning
People executed under the Plantagenets for treason against England
People executed under the Yorkists
Nobility from Dublin (city)
People of the Wars of the Roses
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Younger sons of dukes
Lords of Glamorgan
Executed people from County Dublin
Children of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Peers jure uxoris