Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset
Overview
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
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He was the son of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...
and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp
Lady Eleanor Beauchamp
Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, Baroness de Ros and Duchess of Somerset at Wedgenock, Warwickshire, England, was the second daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth de Berkeley.-First marriage:...
, and became heir to the dukedom of Somerset at the death of his elder brother Henry
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, since the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died...
in 1464. However, the title had been forfeited by Henry during the reign of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
.
In 1470, when Queen Margaret
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
and the Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick reconciled to restore Henry VI, Somerset was unenthusiastic over the reconciliation of and made little effort to co-operate.
