Edmund Tudor 1430-1456 Biography

 

Edmund Tudor was the son of Catherine of Valois, widowed wife of Henry V and mother of King Henry VI, by Owen Tudor, a commoner and keeper of Catherine’s wardrobe. In November 1455, Edmund Tudor married 12 year old heiress, Margaret Tudor. Their son would later become King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty.

 

Childhood

Edmund Tudor was born in 1430 to Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor. Catherine was the widow of King Henry V and mother of King Henry VI. She had began a liaison with Owen Tudor, keeper of Catherine’s wardrobe and the pair had secretly married. After the death of King Henry V, parliament had passed a law stating that Catherine was not allowed to remarry without permission from the King. 

The exact date of Edmund’s parents’ marriage is not known and it is believed that Edmund may have been their second son. An earlier son, if he did exist is thought to have been given to the church to be raised as a monk. Edmund’s brother, Jasper was born in 1431.

Edmund’s mother died soon after giving birth to a daughter on 3rd January 1437. Edmund’s father was arrested shortly afterwards and imprisoned for marrying without the King’s permission. Edmund and his younger brother, Jasper, were brought up by Katherine de la Pole, abbess of Barking and sister of the Duke of Suffolk. They remained in the care of the abbess until 1442 when Henry VI took charge of his two half brothers.

Edmund was created Earl of Richmond on 15th December 1449 and given land and property. He was knighted in 1453 and had become one of the King’s advisers.

 

Margaret Beaufort

On 24th March 1453 King Henry VI made young Margaret Beaufort, heiress to the Beaufort fortune, a ward of both Edmund and his brother Jasper. 

On 1st November 1455 Edmund married his ward, Margaret Beaufort. She was aged twelve at the time of her marriage while Edmund was twenty-five. Edmund shocked his contemporaries by consummating the marriage. Although many marriages took place while the girls were children it was usual to wait until the girl was fourteen or fifteen before consummation took place. It is likely that Edmund did not want to risk losing access to Margaret’s fortune. Margaret became pregnant early the following year.

 

Richard Duke of York

In the summer of 1453 Henry VI suffered a bout of mental instability and was unfit to rule the country. The Duke of Somerset took over control of the country but his rule was not popular and the nobility, including Edmund and Jasper Tudor, voted Richard Duke of York as Protector.

Henry VI regained his mental faculty the following year and reappointed Somerset. This led to Richard of York raising forces against the King. Edmund and Jasper decided to remain loyal to the King. 

 

Capture and Death

Edmund was dispatched to Wales in the Summer of 1456 to put down an uprising by Gryffydd ap Nicholas. He succeeded in his mission but was then captured by the forces of Richard Duke of York and imprisoned. While in prison he contracted bubonic plague and died on 3rd November 1456. His posthumous son, Henry was born on 28th January 1457.

 

Published 2017 – Updated – Nov 16 2024