Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Short Biography

Richard, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster conventionally called Richard of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460) was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III. He inherited great estates, and served in various offices of state in France at the end of the Hundred Years' War, and in England, ultimately governing the country as Lord Protector during Henry VI's madness. His conflicts with Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, and other members of Henry's court were a leading factor in the political upheaval of mid-fifteenth-century England, and a major cause of the Wars of the Roses. Richard eventually attempted to claim the throne but was dissuaded, although it was agreed that he would become King on Henry's death. Within a few weeks of securing this agreement, he died in battle.