Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond

Edmund Tudor
Earl of Richmond
Tomb Effigy of Edmund Tudor
Spouse(s)	Lady Margaret Beaufort
Issue
Henry VII of England
Father	Owen Tudor
Mother	Catherine of Valois
Born	11 June 1431
Died	3 November 1456(1456-11-03) (aged 25)

Coat of arms of Edmund Tudor, first Earl of Richmond

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (1430 – 1 or 3 November 1456), also known as Edmund of Hadham (Welsh: Edmwnd Tudur), was the father of King Henry VII of England and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, North Wales.

Birth and early life

Edmund Tudor was born either at Much Hadham Palace in Hertfordshire or at Hadham in Bedfordshire, an older son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois (widow of King Henry V of England). It is not known for certain whether he was born legitimately after his parents were secretly married.

In 1436, his mother retired to Bermondsey Abbey where she died in 1437. Therefore he and his brother Jasper were brought up in the care of Katherine de la Pole, abbess of Barking, with whom they remained till 1442. The abbess then brought them to Henry VI's notice, who in turn sent them over as the charges of certain priests to be educated. When Edmund grew up, Henry kept him at his court. Edmund was knighted on 15 December 1449, summoned to parliament as Earl of Richmond 30 January 1452, and created Earl of Richmond and premier earl on 6 March, acceeding on 23 November, while Jasper was created Earl of Pembroke. In the parliament of 1453 Edmund was formally declared legitimate. Henry made him large grants, particularly in 1454.

Lineage

Ednyfed Fychan d. 1246

Goronwy ab Ednyfed d. 1268

Tudur Hen (also known as Tudur ap Goronwy) d. 1311

Goronwy ap Tudur Hen d. 1331

Elen ferch Tomos (mother of Owain Glyndwr)

Marged ferch Tomos

Tudur ap Goronwy d. 1367

Maredudd ap Tudur d.1406

Rhys ap Tudur d. 1409

Gwilym ap Tudur d. 1413

Owen Tudor (Owain Tudur)

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond d. 1456

Jasper Tudor d.1495

Henry VII of England d. 1509

Marriage to Margaret Beaufort

In 1452 Lady Margaret Beaufort, the nine-year-old daughter of the Duke of Somerset was summoned to the court of her second cousin, King Henry and, at Bletsoe Castle on 1 November 1455, married to Edmund. After Somerset's fall Margaret had jointly been the ward of Edmund and his brother Jasper. She was twelve years old at the time of the marriage and became pregnant in the following year.

Capture, captivity and death

Tomb of Edmund Tudor, St David's Cathedral

However, the Wars of the Roses had begun and Edmund (a Lancastrian) was captured by Yorkist partisan William Herbert in mid-1456. Herbert imprisoned him at Carmarthen Castle in South Wales, where he died of the plague on 3 November 1456, and was buried at Carmarthen Grey Friars. His elegy was written by Lewis Glyn Cothi. His remains were at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 removed to the choir of St David's Cathedral.

Edmund's only child, the future Henry VII, was born at Pembroke Castle, almost three months after his death.

Peerage of England
Preceded by John of Lancaster	Earl of Richmond 1452–1456	Succeeded by Forfeit, next held by George of Clarence

References

• Timeline
• Tudor history