Thwarted Queen (55 page)
Authors: Cynthia Sally Haggard
Tags: #Fiction, #Historical, #15th Century, #England, #Medieval, #Royalty
JOHN DE VERE, 12th EARL OF OXFORD
(1408-1462), the son of Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, he married the wealthy heiress Lady Elizabeth Howard (who is portrayed in ONE SEED as Cecylee’s dear friend Bess). In later life, he became a Lancastrian supporter. He was convicted of high treason and beheaded by the Edward IV on Tower Hill in 1462.
LAMBERT SIMNEL
(born circa 1477, died circa 1525). Of humble origins in Oxford, his family background is obscure. Noting a striking similarity to Edward IV (who had many bastards), a local priest named Roger Simon or Richard Symonds spread a rumor that he was the Earl of Warwick, son and heir of George, Duke of Clarence. John de la Pole, one of Cecylee’s grandsons and Richard III’s designated heir joined the rebellion, and Lambert was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on May 24, 1487. After the collapse of the rebellion, Lambert was pardoned by Henry VII, who put him to work in the castle kitchens as a turn-spit. He later became a laborer and died of natural causes in 1525.
LOUIS XI “LOUIS THE SPIDER” (1423-1483) KING OF FRANCE
from 1461. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Marie d’Anjou. Shrewd and often vicious, he spun webs of plot and conspiracy which earned him the nickname “THE SPIDER.” When he died in August of 1483, few people mourned his passing.
MARY OF GUELDERS (born circa 1434, died December 1463) QUEEN CONSORT OF SCOTLAND from 1449, QUEEN REGENT
from 1460, she was the daughter of Arnold of Guelders and wife of James II of Scotland. She acted as regent for her son James III of Scotland until her death in 1463. When Marguerite d’Anjou fled north to Scotland in 1461, Mary at first helped her, later switching sides to support Edward IV.
MELUSINE
is a figure of European legends and folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers. The Counts of Anjou are supposedly descended from her. Thus she would have been an ancestress of both Cecylee (via Henry II and Edward III) and Élisabeth Woodville (via Henry II and Alainor of Aquitaine’s granddaughter Eleanor Plantagenet).
PERKIN WARBECK
(born circa 1474, died 1499) may have been the son or foster-son of Jehan de Werbecque. His mother may have been Werbecque’s wife Katherine de Faro. Alternatively, he may have been the illegitimate son of Edward IV and Katherine de Faro, fathered during Edward’s enforced stay in Burgundy during 1470-1471. Or he may have been Richard, Duke of York (born 1473), younger son of Edward IV, who had been smuggled out of London by his mother Élisabeth Woodville. Perkin Warbeck was executed by Henry VII in 1499.
PHILIPPE DE SAVOY, COUNT OF GENEVA
(1417-1444). Youngest son of Count Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who became the Antipope Felix V. Little is known about Philippe de Savoy, except that he never married.
ROBERT STILLINGTON (1420-1491) BISHOP OF BATH & WELLS
, from 1465, he served as Chancellor of England twice under Edward IV. He married Edward IV to Lady Eleanor Talbot probably sometime in 1462.
THOMAS BOURCHIER (born circa 1404, died 1486) BISHOP OF ELY from 1443, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
from 1454. He was a younger brother to Henry, Viscount Bourchier, and therefore brother-in-law to Cecylee’s husband Richard of York.
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