Plantagenent Answers

Here are the answers to the quiz written by Marlene Eilers Koenig, D.C.R.E.

1. My first cousin was king, and I was the next in line. My cousin did not have any children, and after my death, my son became my cousin’s heir. When my son died, my grandson became the heir, but when my dear cousin, the King died, the throne was usurped. In spite of this usurpation of the throne, the right line of succession was eventually resolved. Who am I?

Philippa (1355-1382), Countess of Ulster in her own right. Philippa was the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, and Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster. Lionel was the second son of Edward III. She married Edmund Mortimer, the 3rd Earl of Mortimer, circa 1368. Philippa was next in line to the throne to Richard II, her first cousin. Richard II did not have any children. When she died in 1382, her son, Roger Mortimer, became Richard’s heir. Three years later, Richard acknowledged Roger as his heir. Roger died in 1398, and his son, Edmund, 3rd earl of March, became Richard’s heir.

But after Richard’s death, Henry of Bolingbroke usurped the throne. The throne came back to the right line, genealogically, with the succession of Edward IV.


2. I was a grandchild of Edward III, who married a lady of superior lineage. My wife died in childbirth, leaving me with a son and daughter. I lost my titles and property, and my life for plotting against the king.

Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, also known as Richard of Conisburgh, second son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. Richard’s wife was Anne Mortimer, granddaughter of Philippa, Countess of Ulster.


3. I was never a king, but I was father to a king and two queens. My descendants have sat on thrones in Scotland and in England, although I would never have thought it legal! My ducal title is still extant.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399)


4. Let’s just say I was a very pushy mother, determined to see my only son on the throne. Although I was born one side of the War of the Roses, I saw the need to bring the two houses together, by conspiring with my enemies. I lived to see my son and grandson become kings.

Lady Margaret Beaufort, daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, who was a grandson of John of Gaunt and his third wife, Katherine Swynford.


5. I was a very, very important – and I mean important – player in the War of the Roses. I had riches and power as a peer. I had all the right connections, made the right marriage, changes sides, arranged for removal of two kings. Proud Papa, too, as my two daughters made THREE VERY IMPORTANT MARRIAGES! I did what I needed to do ... for the family, and for England. I gave my life for the cause.

Richard Neville, earl of Warwick. Grandson of Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. His daughters were Isabel, who married George, Duke of Clarence, and Anne, first married to Henry VI’s son, Edward the Prince of Wales, and then to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III.