Richard's heir

Does anyone other than myself wonder whether Lincoln was really
richard's heir?

I don't know if it was Kendall who started it, but he argues that he was
propobably richard's heir because R. appointed him Lieutenant of Ireland
and that was a position the yorkists reserved for the heir to the
throne. Which leaves everybody puzzling as to Lincoln's real aims in the
"Lambert Simnel" rebellion.

But the only contemporary word, as far as I remember, comes from Rous,
who says Richard appointed Warwick as his heir. Of course, at the time
he died it was said he didn't know a goose from a capon, but there is no
evidence that there was anything wrong with his head before Henry VII
shut him up in the Tower.

Also, I've been considering this claim that the lieutenancy of Ireland
was something the House of York gave to the heir to the throne. And I
don't see that it was.

True, Edward appointed George of Clarence Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
when he was still Edward's heir. But that was rather because he was born
in Ireland. Birthplace was deemed at that time to be hugely significant,
and the Anglo-Irish certainly seemed to see George as an Irishman even
though he'd been brought back to England at under 1 year old. He was
also Lieutenant of Ireland for the Lancastrians in 1470-1.

However, during his second reign Edward's heir was his son Edward Prince
of Wales, but it was Clarence who was again was reappointed Lord
Lieutenant in April 1471. This grant was extended the next year for 20
years.
Hicks says that immediately after Clarence's death, on 10 March 1478,
the lieutenancy was granted to Edward's brother-in-law Suffolk by
letters patent. However, according to Ross, Edward IV's lieutenants
after Clarence were his baby son, also George, until his death, then his
next youngest son Richard Duke of York. At no point was Edward Prince of
Wales ever Lieutenant of Ireland.

So when Richard appointed his heir Lieutenant in 1483 he was not
following a well established pattern at all. My feeling is that he was
sending a message about how seriously he took the government of Ireland.
I think Lincoln's appointment should also be seen in that light.

So I don't think there is any reason to believe that Richard either
appointed Lincoln as his heir or regarded him as such. And this makes
much more sense of his having fought to back other Yorkist candidates in
1487.

Marie