Cecily Neville

Wife to Richard, Duke of York, mother to Edward IV and Richard III, and aunt to the famous ‘Kingmaker’, Richard, Earl of Warwick, Cecily Neville was a key player on the political stage of fifteenth-century Britain England.

Mythologically rumoured to have been known as ‘the Rose of Raby’ because of her beauty and her birth at Raby Castle, and as ‘Proud Cis’ because of her vanity and fiery temper, Cecily’s personality and temperament have actually been highly speculated upon. In fact, much of her life is shrouded in mystery. Putting aside Cecily’s role as mother and wife, who was she really?

Matriarch of the York dynasty, she navigated through a tumultuous period and lived to see the birth of the future Henry VIII. From seeing the house of York defeat their Lancastrian cousins; to witnessing the defeat of her own son, Richard III, at the battle of Bosworth, Cecily then saw one of her granddaughters become Henry VII’s queen consort.

Her story is full of controversy and the few published books on her life are full of guess-work. In this highly original history, Dr John Ashdown-Hill seeks to dispel the myths surrounding Cecily using previously unexamined contemporary sources.

---

Some books that may interest you

RMS Titanic By: Peter Davies-Garner Foreword by: Ken Marschall	Veterans By: Richard van Emden	Sparta: Unfit for Empire By: Godfrey Hutchinson
Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1943-1945 By: Robert Forczyk	German Paratroops 1939-45 By: Bob Carruthers	The Gods of Battle By: Chris Webber
Journal of the American Revolution: Annual Volume 2019	Juno Beach By: Major Tim Saunders	Cheshire Bantams By: Stephen McGreal