The white Rose of York

30 December 1460

Before the series the White Queen

The year is 1460, to be precise, December 30th. It was a cold winter's day, there was snow outside and not a single sound could be heard.

Except now, around midday. There were screams from Cecily Neville, whose labor had just started. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a difficult birth; at 45 years old, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Cecily only hoped that she would survive and that her husband and son Edmund would come home safely to her and their children.

Her ladies in waiting looked after her as best they could and prayed that their mistress would manage to bring the child into the world safely.

After hours of pain, a healthy baby was born that evening. Cecily was happy but also exhausted that she had managed to bring her husband's child into the world at such a difficult time. It was the time of the Wars of the Roses.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of her chambers. Voices could be heard - children's voices.

One of her ladies opened the door and greeted the children. They immediately rushed to their mother's bed to see her and the baby.

"Mother, Mother, the baby is healthy and she's healthy, can we see it?" said her 14-year-old daughter Margaret, with a broad smile on her face.

"Mother, first of all, you need to rest, she's just given birth to our little brother or sister," said Edward, the eldest at 18. He's grown up so much, Cecily thought.

"No, it's OK, Edward, I'm fine, so who wants to see their new sister?" said Cecily proudly. Her children's eyes widened when she heard the word sister. "Mother, what's her name then?" asked her youngest son Richard, who was named after her husband.

Cecily thought for a moment and after a few seconds she had the perfect name for her little daughter. "You should be called Isabella. Her name means God is abundance, God swears, the eternally beautiful."

The children were amazed. "A perfect name for our little sister," said George. At 11 years old, he is the second youngest of her children.

"But you all promise me one thing. Your father has introduced me to one of his family traditions. It is that the youngest child of the family must be present at all of their siblings' weddings, otherwise the weddings will not be accepted in the family and will be considered void."

The room was silent. Her children were not yet married, so that was not a problem, but what could be a problem is that their children would agree.

"Of course you don't have to stick to it, but your father really wanted you to continue this tradition. You have until tomorrow to decide and we will put it down on paper. It will be certified."

All of her children nodded their heads because they were speechless and just looked at their lay mother. Cecily knew that this would happen, she had an idea.

"So, who of you wants to hold Isabella once?" With this question, she had freed her children from their paralysis. It was a very nice day for the York family, but that was to change the next morning.

The next morning, when everyone was sitting at the dinner table and eating breakfest. Her sons were talking about their sword arts. Margaret was reading a book. and next to her, one of her ladies in waiting was rocking her daughter's baby bed.

A letter arrived at the House. The servant immediately handed it to the mistress of the house. Cecily immediately took it in her hand and read it through. She couldn't believe it; she couldn't speak and had tears in her eyes.

"Mother, what's wrong?" asked Edward. He was worried about his mother who had a shocked and sad face at the same time.

Cecily couldn't speak, she could only cry; she helped Edward read the letter. He took it and read it through. He couldn't believe it; his brother and his father were dead.

They had been murdered in cold blood by Lancaster troops yesterday at the Battle of Wakefield. His brother Edmund was only 17 years old. Edmund was stabbed to death by Lord Clifford. His father was killed. Edmund and Richard were taken to York and impaled on stakes at Micklegate Gate. Richard's head was crowned with a crown of straw and paper in mockery.

It just sounded brutal. Edward was now the Duke of York, the head of the family.

His sister would now grow up without her father and would never see him.

He promised himself right then and there that he would be there for Isabella no matter what and be there for her like a father. Edward ran to his mother and comforted her.

He shared the terrible news with his siblings. That their father had died yesterday, December 30th, the day their sister was born.

During the day, the funeral of their father and brother took place Their coffins were however beautifully decorated with white roses and gold decorations.

The baptism of their sister took place on the day to. The priest was from York and had known her father well. He washed Isabella like water from York and gave her a white shower in her little hair, which of course no longer had any thorns. The same day after much consideration they all signed the contract that their mother had told them the day before; they did not want to deny their father his last favor.

And so the days of sadness and joy came. Now they had to think about the future and they little white roses of York.