Editing Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (section)

==Duchess of York==
In 1424, when Cecily was eight years old, she was betrothed by her father to his thirteen-year-old ward, [[Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York]]. Ralph Neville died in October 1425, bequeathing the wardship of Richard to his widow, Joan Beaufort. Cecily and Richard were married by October 1429. Their first child, [[Anne, Duchess of Exeter|Anne of York]], was born in August 1439 in Northamptonshire. When Richard became a king's lieutenant and governor general of France in 1441 and moved to [[Rouen]], Cecily moved with him. Their son Henry was born in February but died soon after.

Their next son, the future King [[Edward IV]], was born in Rouen on 28 April 1442 and immediately baptised privately in a small side chapel. He would later be accused of [[Bastard (law of England and Wales)|illegitimacy]] by his cousin, [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], and by his own brother, [[George, Duke of Clarence]], a common method of discrediting political enemies. George and Warwick were in dispute with Edward at the time and seeking to overthrow him as king. The claims would later be dismissed. Nonetheless, some modern historians give serious consideration to the question, and use Edward's date of birth as supporting evidence: assuming Edward was not premature (there being no evidence either way), Richard of York would have been several days' march from Cecily at the time of [[Conception (biology)|conception]] and the baby's [[baptism]] was a simple and private affair, unlike that of his younger brother [[Edmund, Earl of Rutland]], which was public and lavish. This is countered by other historians, however, who point out that Cecily's husband could easily, by the military conventions of the time, have returned briefly to Rouen, where Cecily was living at the time, while baptism conventions of the time meant that a low-key baptism would be more likely due to Richard of York's relatively low political standing at the time and fears for the baby's survival. If the difference in baptisms was to be taken as a disavowal of an otherwise acknowledged and cherished heir, it would not only be a humiliation of a wife Richard otherwise valued before and after Edward's birth, but also a personal and political humiliation. In any case, Richard acknowledged the baby as his own, which established legal paternity.

Around 1454, when Richard began to resent the influence of [[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset]] (a first cousin of his wife), Cecily spoke with [[queen consort]] [[Margaret of Anjou]] on his behalf. When Henry VI suffered a nervous breakdown later in the year, Richard of York established himself as a Protector.

After the outbreak of the [[Wars of the Roses]] in 1455, Cecily remained at their home, [[Ludlow Castle]], even after Richard fled to Ireland and [[Continental Europe]]. At the same time, she surreptitiously worked for the cause of the [[House of York]]. When a parliament began to debate the fate of the Duke of York and his supporters in November 1459, Cecily travelled to London to plead for her husband. One contemporary commentator stated that she had reputedly convinced the king to promise a pardon if the duke would appear in the parliament in eight days. This effort failed, and Richard's lands were confiscated, but Cecily managed to gain an annual grant of £600 to support herself and her children.

After the Yorkist victory at the [[Battle of Northampton (1460)|Battle of Northampton]] in July 1460, Cecily moved to London with her children and lived with the lawyer [[Paston Letters|John Paston]]. She carried the [[Coat of arms of England|royal arms]] before Richard in triumph in London in September. When the Duke of York and his heirs were officially recognised as Henry VI's successors in the [[Act of Accord]], Cecily became a queen-in-waiting and even received a copy of the English chronicle from the chronicler [[John Hardyng]].

But in the [[Battle of Wakefield]] on 30 December 1460, the Lancastrians won a decisive victory. The Duke of York, his second son [[Edmund, Earl of Rutland]], and Cecily's brother [[Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury|Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury]], were among the casualties. Cecily sent her two youngest sons, [[George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence|George]] and [[Richard III of England|Richard]], to the court of [[Philip III, Duke of Burgundy]]. This forced Philip to ally with the Yorkists.