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1453 Prince of Wales Edward of Westminster Biography |
Edward of Westminster (October 13, 1453 - May 4, 1471) was the only Prince of Wales ever to die in battle.
He was the son of King Henry VI of England and his consort, Margaret of Anjou. Their only child, he was born at the Palace of Westminster. His father was at the time suffering from mental illness, and there were widespread rumours that the prince was the result of an affair between his mother and some unnamed lover. However, there is no real evidence for this. Edward was invested as Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 1454.
When King Henry VI signed away his son's birthright by agreeing to make Richard, Duke of York his heir, Queen Margaret immediately raised an army and attempted to fight the Yorkists. She and her young son went on the run, spending some time in both Scotland and Wales, before taking refuge in France. Margaret allied herself with the renegade Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Prince Edward was married off to Anne Neville, Warwick's younger daughter, in December 1470 -- although there is some doubt as to whether the marriage was ever solemnised.
Warwick succeeded in putting King Henry VI back on the throne. However, by the time Margaret and her son and daughter-in-law arrived back in England, a reversal of fortunes had taken place. Warwick had been defeated and killed at the Battle of Barnet, Edward IV was back on the throne, and the inexperienced prince and his mother led the remnant of their forces at the Battle of Tewkesbury with little real hope of success. The prince died either in the battle, or, according to rumour, during a later massacre of prisoners. He is buried at Tewkesbury Abbey. |
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