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Was there a jasper tudor9/7/2023 ![]() ![]() While Henry was disabled, Margaret and Richard Duke of York wrestled for power. His queen Margaret of Anjou gave birth to a son Edward in October. In the summer of 1453, King Henry VI succumbed to a bout of severe mental illness and was incapacitated and unable to govern. Undoubtedly, King Henry intended for one of the brothers to marry her and it was eventually decided she would marry Edmund in two years’ time. It was also at this time that the guardianship and marriage of Margaret Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset, one of the wealthiest heiresses in England and a descendant of King Edward III, was given to the brothers. They were both named to the king’s Privy Council. In March of that year, they were recognized by Parliament as legitimate brothers of the king, born of the same mother. Jasper and Edmund were knighted at the Tower of London on January 5, 1453. The king also made sure the brothers had a magnificent wardrobe to match their enhanced status. Jasper’s ownership of these vast lands in that part of Wales gave the area a new, strong and stable regime which had been lacking since the death of the Duke of Suffolk in 1450. In addition to all the estates and lands of the lordship of Pembroke, Jasper received the lordship of the Welsh castle of Builth and the fee-farm of Hereford and £20 per annum. Jasper was given the title of Earl of Pembroke and Edmund was made Earl of Richmond. On November 23, 1452, Henry ennobled Jasper and Edmund as high ranking earls. Henry was fond of his half-brothers and later took them into his household. The boys remained there for five years and when they reached adolescence, the abbess took them to court to bring them to the attention of their half-brother the king, probably to seek funds as none had been given for their maintenance. Little is known of their time at the abbey but they were undoubtedly treated well. During the summer, guardianship of Jasper and Edmund was consigned to Katherine de la Pole, abbess of Barking and sister of the William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk. When Jasper was six years old, his mother died. There is no historical written proof the couple were married but Jasper and Edmund were recognized as legitimate by their contemporaries so we can assume there was a marriage. After King Henry V died, Catherine supposedly married Owen Tudor who worked in her household. So Jasper and his elder brother Edmund were half-brothers of the Lancastrian king. Catherine was the French princess who married King Henry V of England and gave birth to King Henry VI. He was the second son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois. His contribution was to loyally fight for the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses and to shepherd his nephew Henry Tudor to the throne. But he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Tudor dynasty of kings and queens in England. Like his elder brother Edmund, Jasper is an enigmatic figure. ![]() (Photo copyright of Xenophon from Wikimedia Commons) Jasper Tudor from a window in Cardiff Castle, Wales. ![]()
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