Ward's Book of Days.
Pages of interesting anniversaries.
What happened on this day in history.
FEBRUARY 18th
On this day in history in 1478, died George, Duke of Clarence.
Clarence was a royal prince of the House of York who plotted with the Lancastrians against his brother, King Edward IV, and was assassinated by drowning in a butt of malmsey wine.
George
of Clarence was the second son of Richard, Duke of York, claimant to the
throne of England. Richard fought a series of battles with king Henry VI, in
the Wars of The Roses, but was eventually defeated and killed in battle. His
elder son, Edward, carried on the conflict, deposing Henry VI, and proclaiming
himself king Edward IV in 1461.
The
new king elevated his brother, George, to the title of Duke of Clarence, but
the young duke conspired with Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, against
Edward. Clarence married Warwick’s daughter, Isabel, forming an alliance and
the two conspirators raised a force in the North and led an uprising against
Edward, deposing him from the throne in 1470. They restored the ineffectual,
and by now insane, monarch Henry VI to the throne, using him as a puppet king
while they had power over the kingdom.
But
Clarence soon became embittered with Warwick’s government and reconciled
himself with his brother, fighting another series of battles, deposing Henry
VI and restoring Edward to the throne once more in 1471.
But
Edward, now restored to the throne, did not trust his younger brother. He
suspected that he was plotting against him again and had him thrown into the
Tower. Edward complained to Parliament that Clarence had been preparing yet
another rebellion and Parliament passed a ‘Bill of Attainder’ sentencing
Clarence to death by beheading.
The
circumstances of Clarence’s death are unclear. Some say that he was beheaded
secretly, some say that he was murdered by his younger and more ambitious
brother, Richard of Gloucester, later Richard III, but the most prevalent
rumour was that he had been despatched by drowning in a in a butt of malmsey
wine. A body, supposedly that of Clarence, was later exhumed from the Tower,
but the corpse was intact complete with head, and was buried as Clarence in
Tewksbury Abbey. [Church Street, Tewksbury, Gloucester, GL20 5RZ]
Edward IV died mysteriously in 1483, and was succeeded by his son, Edward V, who was deposed and murdered by the third brother, Richard III.
For other unusual royal deaths see 24th March.
©2006 Ward’s Book of Days