invisible string | she-wolves au

I. The Making of A Dynasty

THE MAKING OF A DYNASTY
Prompt: Edmund of Rutland lives (I)

Many historians wonder how the world would look like today if the second of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York had succumbed to the injuries he received in Wakefield. The world would truly be a different place today and politics and geography would be greatly changed. This is what I aim to explore in this dissertation, after evaluating the life of Edmund of York (as he would be known throughout most of his life).

— William Rowell, Analysis of a Lion

Like most medieval women, the Neville sisters have been remembered primarily for their ancestry and marriage. Although recent years have shown a great improvement in remembering them for their actions, progress is slow and this book seeks to help portray a version of their dramatized lives in the highly tumultuous times they lived in.

The sisters were great heiresses, daughters of one of the most powerful nobles in England and they made greatly advantageous marriages. I hope to explore their lives and how their relationships impacted their decisions. My aim is to examine them as women of their time and as more than simply daughters, wives and mothers. Charlotte Neville has been studied as a woman — independent of her relationships — but her sisters have not. And few have studied how the relationship between the sisters shaped their actions and decisions throughout their lives.

- Author's Note in The Kingmaker's Daughters by Ellie Martin

Not much is known about the early years of Charlotte Neville. After all, when she was born, her parents were in disgrace from the court — having married without royal permission the year before. She had an impeccable lineage, with German blood inherited from her mother, Margaret of Gloucester* and Lancastrian blood inherited from both parents. Through both parents she was a descendant of John of Gaunt and through her mother, she was also a cousin to King Henry VI.

From what we know, she was born in her grandfather's castle and spent her early years there, sometimes traveling to visit the Yorks — who were her paternal family's fierce allies. We have records placing her in Ludlow with the York family when news of her mother's death came in 1449.

- Sophie Edwards, Heir of Warwick

*Alt daughter of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and and his first wife, Jacqueline of Hainhault and Holland

The decision by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and Richard of York to unite their families rightfully worried staunch Lancastrians - chief among them the Earl of Northumberland, Queen Marguerite and the Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk. It must be noted that the wish for the engagement of the eldest Neville girl and one of the York sons had been obvious and not kept a secret since they were children, yet the Lancastrians still acted blindsided when it was announced - shortly after the birth of Prince Edouard of Westminster.

The Queen and Somerset did everything possible to stop the match from going through — records indicate they offered the infant prince for Lady Charlotte and the hands of various noblewomen, the most notable being Margaret Percy, Northumberland's daughter for the Earl of Rutland. Their efforts were in vain, even when they sent an emissary to Pope Nicholas V, hoping His Holiness would refuse to grand York and Warwick the dispensation needed.

— Kayla Irwin, Early Years of York

One might wonder what caused Warwick and York to move forward the wedding between their children. Since the war had started, they had delayed it, wishing their children would have one of the first big events of the Yorkist rule dedicated to them, but following the Act of Accord, the wedding started being organized and it was held three weeks later in Westminster Abbey with much of the nobility present. It's good the date was moved up, because less than six weeks after their wedding it was clear the escalating tensions were going to result in another battle.