The basic premise my idea is centered around is that Henry VI suddenly dies when he has his first bout of mental incapacity in August 1453. From the information I’ve gathered Henry’s illness is described as ‘a disease and disorder of such a sort overcame the King that he lost his wits and memory for a time, and nearly all his body was so unco-ordinated and out of control that he could neither walk nor hold his head up, nor easily move from where he sat.’ The sources I’ve read was that Henry was seemingly unwell beginning in early August and complained of feeling unnaturally sleepy on the 15th, the next day he was incapacitated. With this is mind this is my initial beginning…
The night of 15 August 1453 was thought to be like any other for those in attendance of King Henry VI of England. The ‘court’ was staying at the King’s hunting lodge in Clarendon, near Salisbury in Wiltshire where Henry had learned of the shocking news of the defeat of Castillon and the defeat of the Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot. The King had been feeling unwell since the early days of the month and it seemed to grow worse upon the news of Castillon. That night Henry VI complained that he felt unnaturally sleepy at dinner, he stood and announced he was retiring for the night but told his court not to leave on his account. As the King exited the dining hall, his body started to spasm out of his control and suddenly he feel forward and struck his head on a corner of one of the wooden tables with a loud crack. The room erupted as noblemen, attendants, and most importantly the Queen rushed to check on the King. Henry was unconscious with a large bruise on part of his forehead.
Queen Margaret, seven months pregnant, had to be restrained by several of the men as the King was taken to his bed and doctors were called. The ‘excitement’ resulted in the Queen going into labor the next day as Henry remained unconscious, the male child was stillborn and the Queen was beside herself in grief. The King never awoke and in the early morning 21 August 1453, Henry VI of England died having reigned 30 years and 355 days. The King’s condition and death couldn’t be kept secret, especially as individuals in his ‘court’ looked to the future and word had secretly been sent north to Ludlow Caste, the home of Richard Plantagenet the 3rd Duke of York, as to the condition of and then death of the King.
Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, head of the government under Henry VI was thought of as one of the two men though to be heir presumptive, the other was his political rival, the Duke of York. Somerset immediately set about to present himself as Henry’s successor by leading the procession of Henry’s body to London. However to his astonishment the Duke of York and several of his political allies joined the procession at Windsor. Neither man would declare himself King, yet, but the political maneuvering had already begun.
Henry VI of England was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey near to his favorite saint and predecessor, Edward the Confessor, on 5 September 1453. The great magnates of the realm where in London and the Lord Mayor instantly knew that there was going to be trouble and tried to keep the peace as best he could. Finally on 11 September 1453, both Somerset and York put forward their claims for the throne during a Grand Council of the Realm. The Lord Mayor, Sir John Norman, quickly gained support for his proposal to call parliament to decide the matter. York was quick to accept the proposal knowing that the Commons had been in demand of reforms to the government headed by Somerset. Somerset was savvy enough to realize that if he outright opposed it any support from the Commons would disappear, but if he agreed to the proposal then lost in Parliament and tried to contest for the throne in the future he would find himself at a distinct disadvantage. Somerset replied that he would go with what ever the Council decided, the vote wasn’t close and Parliament was called for the 1st of December. In the meantime, a Regency Council that included the Lord Mayor and both claimants was selected to govern the country.
The ‘Interregnum Parliament’ opened and quickly asked for all those that contested the throne to submit their claim by the 7th, on that day York and Somerset submitted their claims and then suddenly rose Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter and submitted his claim to the throne in move that would lead to war across not only England, but Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
The Claimants:
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Age: 47
Wife: Eleanor Beauchamp, 2nd daughter of the 13th Earl of Warwick
Issue: Henry (b.1436), Edmund (b.1439), and 4 daughters
Basis for Claim: Direct male heir of John of Gaunt, 3rd son of Edward III
Arguments for: Henry IV was declared King after Richard II because he was the most senior male descent of Edward III through John of Gaunt thus Edmund as the next direct male heir of Gaunt is next in line; Beaufort legitimacy was enshrined in law passed by Parliament while Henry IV barring the Beauforts from the throne wasn’t; the crown can not pass through the female line
Arguments against: A descendant of the 3rd son of Edward III; the legitimacy of the Beauforts is suspect not withstanding Parliament; barred by Henry IV to inherit the throne should his line fail; Somerset’s governance of England under Henry VI
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter
Age: 23
Wife: Anne of York, eldest daughter of the 3rd Duke of York
Issue: None
Basis for Claim: The general heir of Henry IV’s ‘body’ (law term) through Henry IV’s sister whose descendants stayed in England
Arguments for: When Parliament gave Henry IV the crown it was for heirs of the blood but his body as well and Henry is the senior legitimate heir to Henry IV; the Beauforts are barred from the throne by Henry IV who denied them right to inherit through his body
Arguments against: A descendant of the 3rd son of Edward III; descent through a woman; not a direct blood descent of Henry IV which Parliament seemed to allude to
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
Age: 42
Wife: Cecily Neville, daughter of 1st Earl of Westmoreland
Issue: Edward (b.1442), Edmund (b.1443), George (b.1449), Thomas (b.1451 might still be alive) Richard (b.1452), and 3 daughters including Anne of York Duchess of Exeter
Basis for Claim: The most senior line of descent from Edward III through his 2nd son Lionel of Antwerp
Arguments for: Descent through the female is accepted law because of Henry II (through Mathilda) and the English claim on the French throne starting with Edward III; the direct legitimate male heir of Edward III through his 4th son Edmund of Langley; Parliament gave Henry IV and his natural descents the throne once that line died out (Henry VI) the line reverts to the natural order through any descendents of Lionel of Antwerp; Wealthiest man in England; Chief proponent for reform in government under Henry VI
Arguments against: Descent through a woman; direct male heir only through the 4th son of Edward III; not one of the bodily heirs of Henry IV; the attainment of his father Richard of Conisburgh for attempting to kill Henry V
Basically that is my starting point so far. I realize that several more individuals would probably submit their claims even though they had no chance of gaining the crown, the Lancasterian relations in Portugal and Castile to name a few, for it to be recorded as what happened in Scotland during the Great Cause BUT I'm keeping it to the three men I'm going to focus the TL on.
Also I realize I might have throughly messed up in describing some of the legal terms, but I did my best and would welcome any corrections.
This post is basically for your thoughts and comments as I slowly continuing putting this TL together.
Thanks