History Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1427 | Catherine (Henry V’s widow) secretly marries Owen Tudor |
| 1430 | Margaret of Anjou born Catherine bears Edmund Tudor to Owen |
| 1442 | Edward, son to Richard Duke of York, is born; later Edward IV |
| 1445 | Henry VI marries Margaret |
| 1449 | George, son to Richard Duke of York, is born |
| 1450 | York returns from Ireland (September) |
| 1452 | Richard, son to Richard Duke of York, is born; later Richard III |
| 1455 | Battle of Saint Albans (May 22), the first open conflict of the War of the Roses; Somerset killed Edmund Tudor (age 24) marries Margaret Beaufort (daughter of John Beaufort; age 12) |
| 1457 | widowed and 14 year-old Margaret Beaufort gives birth to Henry Tudor (Richmond) |
| 1460 | Battle of Wakefield (December 30): Rutland killed (possibly by Clifford), York killed in battle; York’s head cut off and put on the walls of the city with a paper crown on it |
| 1461 | Battle of Towton (March 28): Yorkist victory; Margaret, Henry and Edward flee to Scotland; Clifford killed in battle, his body hacked to pieces by Yorkists; Richard (8) and George (11) return from the Netherlands Coronation of King Edward IV; Richard sent to Middleham to train as a knight (June 29) |
| 1464 | Edward marries Lady Grey in secret (May 1) Warwick goes to France to negotiate Edward’s marriage to Lady Bonne (summer) Lady Grey introduced as Queen Consort (September 29) |
| 1467 | Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy dies; Charles the Bold takes over; Charles has feud with France; England must choose a side in the conflict; over Warwick’s advice, Edward chooses Burgundy |
| 1468 | Edward’s sister Margaret marries Charles the Bold Duke of Burgundy (this is Charles’ third marriage) Warwick offers older daughter Isabella to George Duke of Clarence as bride; Edward forbids the marriage |
| 1469 | George Duke of Clarence (age 20) marries Isabella Warwick (age 18); a Warwick supporter, Conyers, starts a rebellion in the north; Edward sends forces to quell it; Warwick and Clarence announce support for rebels; Battle of Edgecote Moor takes place on July 26–Lancastrian victory in which Pembroke is killed, after which Warwick and Clarence retreat to France (July) |
| 1470 | Through efforts of Louis XI, Warwick and Margaret of Anjou are reconciled; marriage between Prince Edward (age 17) and Warwick’s younger daughter Anne (age 14) arranged Henry VI is reinstated as King of England (October) Elizabeth (Lady Grey) gives birth to Edward while in sanctuary in Westminster Abbey (November 2) Richard given independent military command at age 17 Edward takes on Jane Shore as his mistress (one of many) Prince Edward (son of Henry VI) marries Anne Neville on December 13 |
| 1471 | Battle of Barnet (April 14): Yorkist victory; Warwick and Montague (the two Neville brothers) are killed; Margaret lands at Weymouth with her army; first major battle for Richard (age 18) Battle of Tewkesbury (May 4): Yorkist victory; Prince Edward captured and executed by George Duke of Clarence; Somerset captured and executed on May 6; Margaret escapes and flees to Coventry Margaret captured (May 11) Henry VI found dead in the Tower of London (May 22) Edward IV’s son Edward named Prince of Wales (June 26) |
| [Richard the Third (the play) seemingly begins here] | |
| 1472 | Richard marries Anne Neville |
| 1473 | Isabella Neville bears a daughter, Margaret, to George Duke of Clarence Anne Neville bears a son, Edward, to Richard |
| 1475 | Edward attempts but fails to invade France; as part of settlement old Queen Margaret is returned to France Isabella Neville bears a son, Edward, to George Duke of Clarence |
| 1476 | Isabella Neville dies at age 25, leaving George Duke of Clarence a widower |
| 1477 | Charles the Bold of Burgundy dies in battle, leaving behind only his twenty year-old daughter (from Charles’ previous marriage… before Margaret of York), Mary, as heir Edward IV forbids George Duke of Clarence to marry Mary of Burgundy |
| 1478 | George Duke of Clarence is found guilty of treason, imprisoned in the Tower of London (January 16), sentenced to death (February 7), then “privately executed” on February 18 |
| 1482 | Queen Margaret dies in France |
| 1483 | Edward IV names Richard Lord Protector of his sons Edward IV dies on April 9 Richard rides from the north, where he had been on a military campaign, to London; at the funeral, calls on all to swear allegiance to Edward V Richard arrests Rivers and Grey on April 30 Edward V arrives in London, escorted by Richard (whose party met Edward’s before Rivers and Grey’s arrest), on May 4 Richard, son of Edward IV, is released from sanctuary and set to be with his brother in the Tower on June 16 Grey executed on June 13 “Evidence” of Edward and Richard’s bastardy is presented on June 22 Richard declared the legitimate king on June 25 Richard crowned on July 6 Edward, son of Richard, is named heir to the throne, Prince of Wales |
| 1484 | Edward, son of Richard, dies on April 9 Edward, son of George Duke of Clarence, is named successor (at Queen Anne’s suggestion) |
| 1485 | Anne Neville dies, leaving Richard a widower, on March 16 Richard publicly denies any plan to marry Elizabeth (eldest daughter of Edward IV… his own brother) on April 11 Richard names John de la Pole, son of Richard’s sister Elizabeth, as heir to the throne, negating Edward’s claim Richmond invades from France on August 7 Richard dies at Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22 Richmond become Henry VII |
| 1486 | Henry VII marries Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of Edward IV, on January 18 |
| 1487 | John de la Pole executed under orders of Henry VII on June 16 |
| 1491 | Margaret, daughter of George Duke of Clarence, given in marriage to Richard Pole, by Henry VII Elizabeth delivers a son, Henry (later King Henry VIII), to Henry VII |
| 1499 | Henry VII orders the execution of Edward, son of George Duke of Clarence (and one time heir to Richard’s throne) |
| 1502 | James Tyrrell “confesses” to killing Edward V before his beheading in 1502 |