Richard of York - Childhood and Upbringing

Childhood and Upbringing

As an orphan, the income and management of Richard's lands became the property of the crown. Even though many of the lands of his uncle of York had been granted for life only, or to him and his male heirs, the remaining lands, concentrated in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire were considerable. The wardship of such an orphan was therefore a valuable gift of the crown, and in October 1417 this was granted to Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland, with the young Richard under the guardianship of Sir Robert Waterton. Ralph Neville had fathered an enormous family (twenty-three children, twenty of whom survived infancy, through two wives) and had many daughters needing husbands. As was his right, in 1424 he betrothed the 13-year-old Richard to his daughter Cecily Neville, then aged 9.

In October 1425, when Ralph Neville died, he bequeathed the wardship of York to his widow, Joan Beaufort. By now the wardship was even more valuable, as Richard had inherited the Mortimer estates on the death of the Earl of March. These manors were concentrated in Wales, and in the Welsh Borders around Ludlow.

Little is recorded of Richard's early life. On 19 May 1426 he was knighted at Leicester by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the younger brother of Henry V. In October 1429 (or earlier) his marriage to Cecily Neville took place. On 6 November he was present at the formal coronation of Henry VI in Westminster Abbey. He then followed Henry to France, being present at his coronation as King of France in Notre Dame on 16 December 1431. Finally, on 12 May 1432 he came into his inheritance and was granted full control of his estates.