Edward of Lancaster

I've often heard that Prince Edward was not the son of Henry VI. The
story goes that Henry VI was impotent and that Queen Margaret had
an affair with one of the Beauforts. Has anyone else heard of this?

--- In @y..., "lht1187" <lht1187@y...> wrote:
> I've often heard that Prince Edward was not the son of Henry VI.
The
> story goes that Henry VI was impotent and that Queen Margaret had
> an affair with one of the Beauforts. Has anyone else heard of this?


I have read several times something along these lines.
One book had it that H6 was too pious and too timid to engage in sex
with his queen; that she consequently took numerous lovers, not all
of them high-born. I can't recall reading of Edward being a Beaufort
by birth. But, as R3 has suffered from negative propaganda, so too
has Queen Margaret, imo. Was she really the ruthless horror she is
made out to be in various of the historical novels?!
Unfortunately, I can't supply the titles of the legitimately
scholarly books which gave me my ideas about Edward and Henry, as I
am presently living apart from them for a few months!

Ana

Edward, Prince of Wales (not 'Prince Edward' - that style was not
used in the 15th century) was born in October 1453 during Henry VI's
first attack of madness. When Henry recovered, over a year later, he
is said to have declared that the boy must have been fathered by the
Holy Ghost, for he had no recollection of doing so. This was, of
course, seized on by Yorlist propagandists, and the assumption seems
to have been that Edward's true father was Edmund Deaufort, 2nd Duke
of Somerset, killed at St Albans in 1455. He was certainly close to
Margaret of Anjou at the material time.

Circumstantial evidence against Henry VI being Edward's father comes
from the fact that his marriage to Margaret had taken place in 1444,
when she was 15 and therefore probably of childbearing age, but no
pregnancies are known before 1453 (and none after). Of course, it is
entirely possible that Henry and Margaret just weren't a very fertile
combination. From what is known of Edward, he seems to have been very
unlike Henry VI (but then Henry VI was totally unlike Henry V!)

Ann



--- In @y..., "lht1187" <lht1187@y...> wrote:
> I've often heard that Prince Edward was not the son of Henry VI.
The
> story goes that Henry VI was impotent and that Queen Margaret had
> an affair with one of the Beauforts. Has anyone else heard of this?

--- In @y..., oz_rain_walker <no_reply@y...>
wrote:
> --- In @y..., "lht1187" <lht1187@y...> wrote:
> > I've often heard that Prince Edward was not the son of Henry VI.
> The
> > story goes that Henry VI was impotent and that Queen Margaret had
> > an affair with one of the Beauforts. Has anyone else heard of
this?
>
>
> I have read several times something along these lines.
> One book had it that H6 was too pious and too timid to engage in
sex
> with his queen; that she consequently took numerous lovers, not all
> of them high-born. I can't recall reading of Edward being a
Beaufort
> by birth. But, as R3 has suffered from negative propaganda, so too
> has Queen Margaret, imo. Was she really the ruthless horror she is
> made out to be in various of the historical novels?!
> Unfortunately, I can't supply the titles of the legitimately
> scholarly books which gave me my ideas about Edward and Henry, as I
> am presently living apart from them for a few months!
>
> Ana

Well if he was too pious to sleep with her and then went mad I
wouldn't be surprised if she took lovers!

I have just returned from a weekend of Shakespeare's Henry VI
plays and Richard III and The Bard evidently believed the Duke
of Suffolk was the father of Edward of Lancaster - or so he inferred.
I have also heard Somerset put forth as a candidate for Edward's
Dad.
It seems nobody wants to give Henry VI the credit. :-)

Janet T.

--- In @y..., oz_rain_walker <no_reply@y...>
wrote:
> --- In @y..., "lht1187" <lht1187@y...> wrote:
> > I've often heard that Prince Edward was not the son of Henry VI.
> The
> > story goes that Henry VI was impotent and that Queen Margaret
had
> > an affair with one of the Beauforts. Has anyone else heard of
this?
>
>
> I have read several times something along these lines.
> One book had it that H6 was too pious and too timid to engage in
sex
> with his queen; that she consequently took numerous lovers, not
all
> of them high-born. I can't recall reading of Edward being a
Beaufort
> by birth. But, as R3 has suffered from negative propaganda, so too
> has Queen Margaret, imo. Was she really the ruthless horror she is
> made out to be in various of the historical novels?!
> Unfortunately, I can't supply the titles of the legitimately
> scholarly books which gave me my ideas about Edward and Henry, as
I
> am presently living apart from them for a few months!
>
> Ana

I notice that he became Prince of Wales today in 1454 (thankyou,
Neil). The word missing from the caption is either son or "son".

This is now very much in question!