Death of Edward of Middleham

Death of Edward of Middleham

Edward of Middleham was the only child of King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville.

As with many children in the Middle Ages, strict records were not always kept, so there is debate about nearly everything to do with Edward, even his birth date.

Edward was born most likely in December 1473, but he may have been born as late as 1476, at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.
This would make him between 7 and 11 years of age when he died.

Edward’s birth is reputed to have taken place in the round tower at the south-west corner of the curtain wall of the castle – traditionally known as the Prince’s Tower.

As the nephew of the King, the son of a Duke, and an Earl in his own right, Edward was cared for and tutored as befitting his high status.

The prospect of Edward ever becoming King seemed quite unlikely.
His uncle was Edward IV the King of England.
Edward IV had two heirs – Edward, Prince of Wales and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.

On the death of King Edward IV in 1483, Edward’s father Richard, seized the throne from Edward’s young cousin, Edward V.
Richard was crowned as Richard III at Westminster Abbey on 6th July 1483.

Edward did not attend his parents glittering coronation, possibly due to his poor health.

Little is known about Edward’s life prior to his father’s accession to the throne.

On 24th August 1483, Richard III created Edward the Prince of Wales – the traditional title given to the monarch’s eldest son and heir.

Edward was invested in a lavish ceremony at York.
King Richard himself girded his young son with a sword, placed a gold ring on his finger, and a golden staff in his hand.

A sumptuous four hour long banquet followed, and Edward walked through the streets of York with his parents to much joy and cheering.

King Richard and Queen Anne were at Nottingham castle, when they were told that Edward had died on the 9th April 1484.

Coincidentally, it was the anniversary of the death of his uncle, Edward IV.

Many in that superstitious age were inclined to interpret the child’s death as divine retribution.

Richard’s implication in the usurpation and subsequent disappearance of the young sons of his brother Edward IV, led to his own son’s demise….

There is a lot of speculation concerning the whereabouts of Prince Edward’s remains.
No surviving record exists of his burial place.

It was said that King Richard buried his son, in a secret location.

A cenotaph which was long thought to be for Edward of Middleham, stands in the north-east corner of the medieval church of St. Helen and Holy Cross, in the Yorkshire village of Sheriff Hutton.

The cenotaph was tentatively identified as that of Edward, partly based on the presence of a small piece of fifteenth-century stained glass set into the window above the tomb.

The glass depicts the ‘Sun in Splendour,’ a symbol used by the House of York.

According to one story, Edward was buried in the church, but not beneath where the cenotaph now stands – but on the opposite southern side of the church.
This houses the ancestral chapel of the Nevilles, his mother’s family.

King Richard’s hopes of producing another heir were dashed when his wife became ill during the winter season of 1484.

Tragically, 11 months after the death of her son, Queen Anne died at the Palace of Westminster on 16th March 1485.

Anne was only 28 years old and had been Queen Consort of England for almost 2 years.

? The cenotaph thought to be for Edward of Middleham, in the medieval church of St. Helen and Holy Cross, in the Yorkshire village of Sheriff Hutton.