Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507) was an English Princess and the third, but eventual second surviving, daughter of
Edward IV, King of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and his
queen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
,
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Lady
Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, daughter of
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl RiversRichard Woodville , 1st Earl Rivers, KG was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV....
.
Birth and Family
Cecily was born in Westminster Palace. She was a younger sister of
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
and
Mary of YorkMary of York was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.-Family:...
, and an older sister of
Edward V of EnglandEdward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
; Margaret of York;
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
; Anne of York;
George Plantagenet, Duke of BedfordGeorge Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford was the eighth child and third son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville....
;
Catherine of YorkCatherine or Katherine of York was the ninth child and sixth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. From birth to death, she was daughter to Edward IV, sister to Edward V, niece to Richard III, sister-in-law to Henry VII and aunt to Henry VIII.-Early life:She was born in Eltham...
; and
Bridget of YorkBridget of York was the tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.-Family and life:She was a younger sister of Elizabeth of York, Mary of York, Cecily of York, Edward V, Margaret of York, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, Anne of York, Countess of Surrey and...
. She was a niece of
Richard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, senior sister-in-law of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, an aunt of
Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, and a great-aunt of
Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
,
Mary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, and
Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Reign of Edward IV
In 1474, Edward IV contacted a marriage alliance with
James III of ScotlandJames III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
, whereby Cecily was betrothed to the future
James IV of ScotlandJames IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. Because of this she was for a time styled
Princess of Scots. This agreement was, however, unpopular in the
Kingdom of ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
, and later military conflicts between Edward IV and James III negated the marriage arrangement.
With her older sisters, Cecily was present at the wedding of their brother the Duke of York in 1478. In 1480, Cecily was named a
Lady of the Garter, along with her next elder sister Mary.
In 1482, Cecily was betrothed to
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyAlexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
, the younger brother of James III, who had recently allied with her father and had personal ambitions for the Scottish throne. He was killed on 7 August 1485, without the marriage having taken place, but the death of Edward IV in 1483 had already changed the marriage prospects for his daughters in any case.
Reign of Richard III
After the death of their uncle Richard's wife
Anne NevilleLady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, it was rumoured that Richard was considering marriage with one of his nieces. These rumours included Cecily, who was now the second eldest surviving daughter of Edward IV. According to Commines, only two of the elder daughters of Edward IV were declared illegitimate at the time that their younger brothers were excluded from the throne by the Act of
Titulus RegiusTitulus Regius is a statute of the Parliament of England, issued in 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England....
.
First marriage
Cecily was married to a Ralph Scrope of Upsall, a younger brother of Thomas Scrope, 6th Baron Scrope of Masham, and a supporter of Richard, but the marriage was annulled on the accession of her future brother-in-law, Henry Tudor, as King
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
. Many published works fail to note this earlier, nullified, marriage. Years later, Cecily's discarded first husband succeeded another elder brother to the family barony becoming Ralph Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Masham. He died circa 1515.
Reign of Henry VII of England
The Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, had announced at Rennes, France that he intended to unite the rival royal houses of Lancaster and York, by marrying a daughter of Edward IV, and thus bring to an end the conflicts of generations of descendants of
Edward IIIEdward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
now known as the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. His first choice was
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
, the eldest of the late king's daughters, but had she died, Henry's marital intentions would have turned to Cecily herself, as he stated explicitly in his declaration.
Second marriage
In 1487, after the accession of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and his marriage to her older sister Elizabeth, Cecily was married to a staunch Lancastrian nobleman,
John Welles, 1st Viscount WellesJohn Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, KG was an English Lancastrian Nobleman who was made a Knight of the Garter.John was born about 1450 to Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles and Margaret Beauchamp...
, the son of Lionel Welles, 6th Lord Welles and
Margaret Beauchamp of BletsoMargaret Beauchamp, of Bletso, Bedfordshire, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire was the daughter of John Beauchamp, of Bletso and Edith Stourton...
. Her new husband was a maternal half-brother of Lady Margaret Beaufort, and thus an uncle of the half-blood of Henry VII, and a royal
favouriteA favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
by both politics and blood.
Cecily had two children: Elizabeth and Anne Welles. Elizabeth and Anne both died young and unmarried. Viscount Welles died on 9 February 1499. Cecily's grief was considerable, and all the correct heraldic and religious honours were paid to her husband.
Courtier
Cecily played a role in various major royal ceremonies during the earlier years of Henry VII's reign, as befitted her position in the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, as sister of a queen consort and sister-in-law of a king regnant. She carried her nephew
Arthur, Prince of WalesArthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
, at his christening; attended her sister Elizabeth of York at her coronation as queen consort; and bore the train of
Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
at her wedding to Prince Arthur. There is also a record of her lending money to her sister, the queen, in 1502.
Third marriage
Despite her apparent mourning, some three years into her first widowhood, and having lost two of the children by her late husband, she contracted a marriage which has been described as being "rather for comfort than credit" (see Fuller's
Worthies, vol. 2, p. 165). Cecily's third and final marriage, to Thomas Kyme, Kymbe, or Keme, an obscure Lincolnshire squire, otherwise called Sir John Keme or Kene, of the Isle of Wight, took place sometime between May 1502 and January 1504. It is thought to have been a love match, entered into entirely from the princess's own liking.
Green states that she chose a partner to suit herself who was also someone so unthreatening as to be beneath the notice of the king or likely to arouse his jealousy. This wedding took place without the king's approval or permission. The princess appears to have miscalculated her brother-in-law's attitude. The king banished Cecily from court and all her estates were confiscated.
After the intervention of the king's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, some of Cecily’s lands were restored. She was to enjoy only a lifetime interest in those remaining to her, and to have nothing to pass on to her husband, or to any children of their union.
Later life
Cecily lived out the balance of her life quietly, far from court. In the royal account books, there is a gap in the record of her final years. Existing details about her final years in this last marriage are scanty and conflicting. Two children, Richard and Margaret (or Margery) are mentioned in the enhanced copy, dated 1602, of the heraldic Visitation of Hampshire (1576) made by Smythe, Rouge Dragon pursuivant at the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, indicating that they lived, married, and had offspring. The children of the princess and her last husband were granted no royal titles or styles, nor did they enjoy any royal favours, lands, or positions at court, nor, indeed, any public recognition whatsoever. Over the centuries, any memory of them has been obscured, and thus the veracity their historical existence is now difficult to substantiate.
Princess Cecily died in 1507, at the age of 38, only a few years after contracting her last marriage. She lived at East Standen in the Isle of Wight, not in great wealth.
According to
Edward HallEdward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
's
Chronicle, she was buried in relative obscurity in
Quarr AbbeyQuarr Abbey is a monastery between the villages of Binstead and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The name is pronounced as "Kor" . It belongs to the Order of St Benedict. The present imposing brick construction was completed in 1912. A community of about a dozen monks maintains...
,
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Horrox disputes this pointing to evidence from the Beaufort account books that states she died at
HatfieldHatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, after a three-week sojourn there, and was buried at a place that must have been local, known as "the friars" (perhaps the friary at
Kings LangleyKings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...
, associated with the House of York and where
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of YorkEdmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons who lived to adulthood, of this Royal couple. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his...
was buried). The writ of
diem clausit extremum, which supplies her death date, styles her as "late wife of John, late Viscount Wells", omitting any reference to her last husband or their children. If she was indeed buried in the precincts of Quarr Abbey, near her last home, then Cecily's tomb and any record of its precise location was lost when Quarr Abbey was destroyed during the Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Quarr's building materials were reused.
A stained glass portrait of Cecily, originally from a larger "royal window" depicting Edward IV's family is in the north transept of
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, and another stained panel is now in Glasgow's
Burrell CollectionThe Burrell Collection is an art collection in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated in Pollok Country Park on the south side of the city.-History:...
. These are, along with another window in the parish church of
Little MalvernLittle Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
,
WorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, her only surviving memorials.
Ancestry
Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507) was an English Princess and the third, but eventual second surviving, daughter of
Edward IV, King of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and his
queen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
,
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Lady
Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, daughter of
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl RiversRichard Woodville , 1st Earl Rivers, KG was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV....
.
Birth and Family
Cecily was born in Westminster Palace. She was a younger sister of
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
and
Mary of YorkMary of York was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.-Family:...
, and an older sister of
Edward V of EnglandEdward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
; Margaret of York;
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
; Anne of York;
George Plantagenet, Duke of BedfordGeorge Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford was the eighth child and third son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville....
;
Catherine of YorkCatherine or Katherine of York was the ninth child and sixth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. From birth to death, she was daughter to Edward IV, sister to Edward V, niece to Richard III, sister-in-law to Henry VII and aunt to Henry VIII.-Early life:She was born in Eltham...
; and
Bridget of YorkBridget of York was the tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.-Family and life:She was a younger sister of Elizabeth of York, Mary of York, Cecily of York, Edward V, Margaret of York, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, Anne of York, Countess of Surrey and...
. She was a niece of
Richard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, senior sister-in-law of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, an aunt of
Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, and a great-aunt of
Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
,
Mary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, and
Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Reign of Edward IV
In 1474, Edward IV contacted a marriage alliance with
James III of ScotlandJames III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
, whereby Cecily was betrothed to the future
James IV of ScotlandJames IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. Because of this she was for a time styled
Princess of Scots. This agreement was, however, unpopular in the
Kingdom of ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
, and later military conflicts between Edward IV and James III negated the marriage arrangement.
With her older sisters, Cecily was present at the wedding of their brother the Duke of York in 1478. In 1480, Cecily was named a
Lady of the Garter, along with her next elder sister Mary.
In 1482, Cecily was betrothed to
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyAlexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
, the younger brother of James III, who had recently allied with her father and had personal ambitions for the Scottish throne. He was killed on 7 August 1485, without the marriage having taken place, but the death of Edward IV in 1483 had already changed the marriage prospects for his daughters in any case.
Reign of Richard III
After the death of their uncle Richard's wife
Anne NevilleLady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, it was rumoured that Richard was considering marriage with one of his nieces. These rumours included Cecily, who was now the second eldest surviving daughter of Edward IV. According to Commines, only two of the elder daughters of Edward IV were declared illegitimate at the time that their younger brothers were excluded from the throne by the Act of
Titulus RegiusTitulus Regius is a statute of the Parliament of England, issued in 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England....
.
First marriage
Cecily was married to a Ralph Scrope of Upsall, a younger brother of Thomas Scrope, 6th Baron Scrope of Masham, and a supporter of Richard, but the marriage was annulled on the accession of her future brother-in-law, Henry Tudor, as King
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
. Many published works fail to note this earlier, nullified, marriage. Years later, Cecily's discarded first husband succeeded another elder brother to the family barony becoming Ralph Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Masham. He died circa 1515.
Reign of Henry VII of England
The Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, had announced at Rennes, France that he intended to unite the rival royal houses of Lancaster and York, by marrying a daughter of Edward IV, and thus bring to an end the conflicts of generations of descendants of
Edward IIIEdward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
now known as the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. His first choice was
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
, the eldest of the late king's daughters, but had she died, Henry's marital intentions would have turned to Cecily herself, as he stated explicitly in his declaration.
Second marriage
In 1487, after the accession of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and his marriage to her older sister Elizabeth, Cecily was married to a staunch Lancastrian nobleman,
John Welles, 1st Viscount WellesJohn Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, KG was an English Lancastrian Nobleman who was made a Knight of the Garter.John was born about 1450 to Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles and Margaret Beauchamp...
, the son of Lionel Welles, 6th Lord Welles and
Margaret Beauchamp of BletsoMargaret Beauchamp, of Bletso, Bedfordshire, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire was the daughter of John Beauchamp, of Bletso and Edith Stourton...
. Her new husband was a maternal half-brother of Lady Margaret Beaufort, and thus an uncle of the half-blood of Henry VII, and a royal
favouriteA favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
by both politics and blood.
Cecily had two children: Elizabeth and Anne Welles. Elizabeth and Anne both died young and unmarried. Viscount Welles died on 9 February 1499. Cecily's grief was considerable, and all the correct heraldic and religious honours were paid to her husband.
Courtier
Cecily played a role in various major royal ceremonies during the earlier years of Henry VII's reign, as befitted her position in the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, as sister of a queen consort and sister-in-law of a king regnant. She carried her nephew
Arthur, Prince of WalesArthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
, at his christening; attended her sister Elizabeth of York at her coronation as queen consort; and bore the train of
Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
at her wedding to Prince Arthur. There is also a record of her lending money to her sister, the queen, in 1502.
Third marriage
Despite her apparent mourning, some three years into her first widowhood, and having lost two of the children by her late husband, she contracted a marriage which has been described as being "rather for comfort than credit" (see Fuller's
Worthies, vol. 2, p. 165). Cecily's third and final marriage, to Thomas Kyme, Kymbe, or Keme, an obscure Lincolnshire squire, otherwise called Sir John Keme or Kene, of the Isle of Wight, took place sometime between May 1502 and January 1504. It is thought to have been a love match, entered into entirely from the princess's own liking.
Green states that she chose a partner to suit herself who was also someone so unthreatening as to be beneath the notice of the king or likely to arouse his jealousy. This wedding took place without the king's approval or permission. The princess appears to have miscalculated her brother-in-law's attitude. The king banished Cecily from court and all her estates were confiscated.
After the intervention of the king's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, some of Cecily’s lands were restored. She was to enjoy only a lifetime interest in those remaining to her, and to have nothing to pass on to her husband, or to any children of their union.
Later life
Cecily lived out the balance of her life quietly, far from court. In the royal account books, there is a gap in the record of her final years. Existing details about her final years in this last marriage are scanty and conflicting. Two children, Richard and Margaret (or Margery) are mentioned in the enhanced copy, dated 1602, of the heraldic Visitation of Hampshire (1576) made by Smythe, Rouge Dragon pursuivant at the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, indicating that they lived, married, and had offspring. The children of the princess and her last husband were granted no royal titles or styles, nor did they enjoy any royal favours, lands, or positions at court, nor, indeed, any public recognition whatsoever. Over the centuries, any memory of them has been obscured, and thus the veracity their historical existence is now difficult to substantiate.
Princess Cecily died in 1507, at the age of 38, only a few years after contracting her last marriage. She lived at East Standen in the Isle of Wight, not in great wealth.
According to
Edward HallEdward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
's
Chronicle, she was buried in relative obscurity in
Quarr AbbeyQuarr Abbey is a monastery between the villages of Binstead and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The name is pronounced as "Kor" . It belongs to the Order of St Benedict. The present imposing brick construction was completed in 1912. A community of about a dozen monks maintains...
,
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Horrox disputes this pointing to evidence from the Beaufort account books that states she died at
HatfieldHatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, after a three-week sojourn there, and was buried at a place that must have been local, known as "the friars" (perhaps the friary at
Kings LangleyKings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...
, associated with the House of York and where
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of YorkEdmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons who lived to adulthood, of this Royal couple. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his...
was buried). The writ of
diem clausit extremum, which supplies her death date, styles her as "late wife of John, late Viscount Wells", omitting any reference to her last husband or their children. If she was indeed buried in the precincts of Quarr Abbey, near her last home, then Cecily's tomb and any record of its precise location was lost when Quarr Abbey was destroyed during the Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Quarr's building materials were reused.
A stained glass portrait of Cecily, originally from a larger "royal window" depicting Edward IV's family is in the north transept of
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, and another stained panel is now in Glasgow's
Burrell CollectionThe Burrell Collection is an art collection in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated in Pollok Country Park on the south side of the city.-History:...
. These are, along with another window in the parish church of
Little MalvernLittle Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
,
WorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, her only surviving memorials.
Ancestry
Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507) was an English Princess and the third, but eventual second surviving, daughter of
Edward IV, King of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and his
queen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
,
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Lady
Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, daughter of
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl RiversRichard Woodville , 1st Earl Rivers, KG was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV....
.
Birth and Family
Cecily was born in Westminster Palace. She was a younger sister of
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
and
Mary of YorkMary of York was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.-Family:...
, and an older sister of
Edward V of EnglandEdward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
; Margaret of York;
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
; Anne of York;
George Plantagenet, Duke of BedfordGeorge Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford was the eighth child and third son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville....
;
Catherine of YorkCatherine or Katherine of York was the ninth child and sixth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. From birth to death, she was daughter to Edward IV, sister to Edward V, niece to Richard III, sister-in-law to Henry VII and aunt to Henry VIII.-Early life:She was born in Eltham...
; and
Bridget of YorkBridget of York was the tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.-Family and life:She was a younger sister of Elizabeth of York, Mary of York, Cecily of York, Edward V, Margaret of York, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, Anne of York, Countess of Surrey and...
. She was a niece of
Richard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, senior sister-in-law of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, an aunt of
Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, and a great-aunt of
Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
,
Mary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, and
Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Reign of Edward IV
In 1474, Edward IV contacted a marriage alliance with
James III of ScotlandJames III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
, whereby Cecily was betrothed to the future
James IV of ScotlandJames IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. Because of this she was for a time styled
Princess of Scots. This agreement was, however, unpopular in the
Kingdom of ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
, and later military conflicts between Edward IV and James III negated the marriage arrangement.
With her older sisters, Cecily was present at the wedding of their brother the Duke of York in 1478. In 1480, Cecily was named a
Lady of the Garter, along with her next elder sister Mary.
In 1482, Cecily was betrothed to
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyAlexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
, the younger brother of James III, who had recently allied with her father and had personal ambitions for the Scottish throne. He was killed on 7 August 1485, without the marriage having taken place, but the death of Edward IV in 1483 had already changed the marriage prospects for his daughters in any case.
Reign of Richard III
After the death of their uncle Richard's wife
Anne NevilleLady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, it was rumoured that Richard was considering marriage with one of his nieces. These rumours included Cecily, who was now the second eldest surviving daughter of Edward IV. According to Commines, only two of the elder daughters of Edward IV were declared illegitimate at the time that their younger brothers were excluded from the throne by the Act of
Titulus RegiusTitulus Regius is a statute of the Parliament of England, issued in 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England....
.
First marriage
Cecily was married to a Ralph Scrope of Upsall, a younger brother of Thomas Scrope, 6th Baron Scrope of Masham, and a supporter of Richard, but the marriage was annulled on the accession of her future brother-in-law, Henry Tudor, as King
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
. Many published works fail to note this earlier, nullified, marriage. Years later, Cecily's discarded first husband succeeded another elder brother to the family barony becoming Ralph Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Masham. He died circa 1515.
Reign of Henry VII of England
The Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, had announced at Rennes, France that he intended to unite the rival royal houses of Lancaster and York, by marrying a daughter of Edward IV, and thus bring to an end the conflicts of generations of descendants of
Edward IIIEdward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
now known as the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. His first choice was
Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
, the eldest of the late king's daughters, but had she died, Henry's marital intentions would have turned to Cecily herself, as he stated explicitly in his declaration.
Second marriage
In 1487, after the accession of
Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and his marriage to her older sister Elizabeth, Cecily was married to a staunch Lancastrian nobleman,
John Welles, 1st Viscount WellesJohn Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, KG was an English Lancastrian Nobleman who was made a Knight of the Garter.John was born about 1450 to Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles and Margaret Beauchamp...
, the son of Lionel Welles, 6th Lord Welles and
Margaret Beauchamp of BletsoMargaret Beauchamp, of Bletso, Bedfordshire, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire was the daughter of John Beauchamp, of Bletso and Edith Stourton...
. Her new husband was a maternal half-brother of Lady Margaret Beaufort, and thus an uncle of the half-blood of Henry VII, and a royal
favouriteA favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
by both politics and blood.
Cecily had two children: Elizabeth and Anne Welles. Elizabeth and Anne both died young and unmarried. Viscount Welles died on 9 February 1499. Cecily's grief was considerable, and all the correct heraldic and religious honours were paid to her husband.
Courtier
Cecily played a role in various major royal ceremonies during the earlier years of Henry VII's reign, as befitted her position in the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, as sister of a queen consort and sister-in-law of a king regnant. She carried her nephew
Arthur, Prince of WalesArthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
, at his christening; attended her sister Elizabeth of York at her coronation as queen consort; and bore the train of
Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
at her wedding to Prince Arthur. There is also a record of her lending money to her sister, the queen, in 1502.
Third marriage
Despite her apparent mourning, some three years into her first widowhood, and having lost two of the children by her late husband, she contracted a marriage which has been described as being "rather for comfort than credit" (see Fuller's
Worthies, vol. 2, p. 165). Cecily's third and final marriage, to Thomas Kyme, Kymbe, or Keme, an obscure Lincolnshire squire, otherwise called Sir John Keme or Kene, of the Isle of Wight, took place sometime between May 1502 and January 1504. It is thought to have been a love match, entered into entirely from the princess's own liking.
Green states that she chose a partner to suit herself who was also someone so unthreatening as to be beneath the notice of the king or likely to arouse his jealousy. This wedding took place without the king's approval or permission. The princess appears to have miscalculated her brother-in-law's attitude. The king banished Cecily from court and all her estates were confiscated.
After the intervention of the king's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, some of Cecily’s lands were restored. She was to enjoy only a lifetime interest in those remaining to her, and to have nothing to pass on to her husband, or to any children of their union.
Later life
Cecily lived out the balance of her life quietly, far from court. In the royal account books, there is a gap in the record of her final years. Existing details about her final years in this last marriage are scanty and conflicting. Two children, Richard and Margaret (or Margery) are mentioned in the enhanced copy, dated 1602, of the heraldic Visitation of Hampshire (1576) made by Smythe, Rouge Dragon pursuivant at the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, indicating that they lived, married, and had offspring. The children of the princess and her last husband were granted no royal titles or styles, nor did they enjoy any royal favours, lands, or positions at court, nor, indeed, any public recognition whatsoever. Over the centuries, any memory of them has been obscured, and thus the veracity their historical existence is now difficult to substantiate.
Princess Cecily died in 1507, at the age of 38, only a few years after contracting her last marriage. She lived at East Standen in the Isle of Wight, not in great wealth.
According to
Edward HallEdward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
's
Chronicle, she was buried in relative obscurity in
Quarr AbbeyQuarr Abbey is a monastery between the villages of Binstead and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The name is pronounced as "Kor" . It belongs to the Order of St Benedict. The present imposing brick construction was completed in 1912. A community of about a dozen monks maintains...
,
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Horrox disputes this pointing to evidence from the Beaufort account books that states she died at
HatfieldHatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, after a three-week sojourn there, and was buried at a place that must have been local, known as "the friars" (perhaps the friary at
Kings LangleyKings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...
, associated with the House of York and where
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of YorkEdmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons who lived to adulthood, of this Royal couple. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his...
was buried). The writ of
diem clausit extremum, which supplies her death date, styles her as "late wife of John, late Viscount Wells", omitting any reference to her last husband or their children. If she was indeed buried in the precincts of Quarr Abbey, near her last home, then Cecily's tomb and any record of its precise location was lost when Quarr Abbey was destroyed during the Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Quarr's building materials were reused.
A stained glass portrait of Cecily, originally from a larger "royal window" depicting Edward IV's family is in the north transept of
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, and another stained panel is now in Glasgow's
Burrell CollectionThe Burrell Collection is an art collection in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated in Pollok Country Park on the south side of the city.-History:...
. These are, along with another window in the parish church of
Little MalvernLittle Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
,
WorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, her only surviving memorials.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Cecily of York, Viscountess of Welles