Why did Richard of York claim the English throne in 1460? Flashcards
Longstanding ambition
Richard had never made any secret of his awareness of the royal blood in his veins. Between 1447 and 1453 he had been widely (if not officially) recognised as the heir presumptive.
As early as March 1450 York’s chamberlain, Sir William Oldhall, and others were alleged to have been plotting to depose Henry VI and put the Duke of York on the throne.
Richard’s role in the succession was on his mind in his manifesto to the people of Shrewsbury in February 1452 as he marched to London with a military force.
Oldhall and his associates were indicted on treason charges in 1453 and Oldhall was attainted.
Shortly after the birth of Prince Edward rumours circulated that the child was the illegitimate offspring of Queen Margaret and Edmund Beaufort (Somerset).
York was believed to have spread these and casting doubt upon the child’s legitimacy as well as suggesting treason from Somerset and Margaret benefitted him.
In 1456 James II of Scotland offered York support in asserting a claim to the English throne. He also wrote to Charles VII of France saying that York was the rightful king.
The Coventry parliament in 1459 which indicted and attainted York claimed that a desire to seize the throne had long motivated York’s actions.
York had expressly and repeatedly denied any desire to take the throne (except as a possible successor before Henry VI’s son was born in 1453).
Lack of alternatives to claiming the throne
York’s previous attempts to enact reform by claiming to speak on behalf of ‘the common weal’ or the ‘communitas’ had proved unworkable.
There could be no such thing as a ‘loyal opposition’. York could only enact reforms as the King of England and he had a claim that would allow him to do so.
The indictments laid against him at Coventry (‘Parliament of Devils’), the resulting attainder and charges laid out in Somnium Vigilantis were so serious that his only way to escape them was to invalidate them through claiming the throne – he could not be accused of treason if he himself were the king.
Claiming the throne was extremely high risk and, if he failed, would certainly be construed as treason.
Claiming the throne was extremely high risk and, if he failed, would certainly be construed as treason.
Part of a pre-conceived Yorkist plan
It has been suggested (Watts, Crawford) that the Yorkist lords who invaded from Calais in 1460 knew of York’s intentions and that it was part of their plan to take control of England – strengthening the position of the Yorkist lords against their enemies.
Given that Warwick had travelled to Ireland to consult and plan with York before his own invasion this is certainly possible.
Crawford (Historian) suggests that the lack of popular acclaim for York followed by the stunned silence of the lords had persuaded Warwick that the plan was a non-starter and that he told York that it was now unacceptable.
Meaning that it had been considered. Many contemporary accounts indicate that the Nevilles were as shocked and angry as any other nobles when York made his claim and that there were vicious arguments between York and the Nevilles immediately afterwards.
Many contemporary accounts indicate that the Nevilles were as shocked and angry as any other nobles when York made his claim and that there were vicious arguments between York and the Nevilles immediately afterwards.
York’s personal decision
It is possible that York had conceived the plan alone (Lander) and in the time that he had spent in Ireland in 1459-60 where he was largely isolated from the other Yorkist lords – and they did not know of his intentions: There was ten weeks between the return of the other Yorkists from Calais and York’s own return.
Maybe news of their success changed his goals. York may have convinced himself that he could issue a personal challenge for the throne as Henry Bolingbroke had successfully done in 1399.
He had even arranged for his own coronation to take place on 1 November 1460. This would have been a very risky undertaking alone.
Even after both protectorates York must have been aware that there was still a lack of noble support for him – which had undone his actions in both 1450 and 1452 and brought about the end of the Second Protectorate in 1456.
Acting without the, at least tacit, support of the Nevilles risked alienating them
Acting without the, at least tacit, support of the Nevilles risked alienating them
