Richard de la Pole facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard de la Pole
Arms of Edmund de la Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk
Born	Unknown England
Died	24 February 1525 Pavia, Duchy of Milan
Known for	Being last member of the House of York to actively and openly seek the crown of England
Children	Marguerite de la Pole
Parent(s)	John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk
Relatives	Richard III of England

Richard de la Pole (died 24 February 1525) was a person who claimed to be the rightful King of England. He was often called "White Rose." He was the last person from the House of York family to openly try to become king of England.

Richard lived away from England after many of his family members were executed. He became friends with Louis XII of France during a war. King Louis saw Richard as a better friend and a possible king for England than Henry VIII of England.

In 1514, Richard was ready to invade England. He was in Brittany with 12,000 hired soldiers. They were heading to St. Malo to sail to England. But France and England made peace, so the invasion was stopped.

Later, when Francis I of France became king, Richard made a new plan in 1523. He wanted to invade England again. However, this plan never happened. Richard died fighting for Francis I at the Battle of Pavia two years later.

Richard's Family Background

Richard de la Pole was the seventh and youngest son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk. His mother was Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk. Elizabeth was the second daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. She was also the younger sister of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England.

His grandparents on his father's side were William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Alice Chaucer. William was an important English soldier during the Hundred Years' War. He was also a high-ranking official in England.

Alice Chaucer was the daughter of Thomas Chaucer. Thomas was a very important person in the English government. He was the Speaker of the English House of Commons many times.

Thomas Chaucer's father was Geoffrey Chaucer. Geoffrey was a famous English author and poet. He is sometimes called the "father of English literature." He is best known for his book The Canterbury Tales. He also helped make the English language popular for writing.

Claiming the English Throne

Richard's oldest brother, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln, was once thought to be the heir to the throne. This was because his uncle, Richard III of England, favored him. But when Henry VII of England became king in 1485, John promised to be loyal to the new king.

In 1487, John joined a rebellion and was killed in battle. Richard's second brother, Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, then became the Duke. Edmund lost some of his family's lands. He had to pay Henry VII a lot of money to get some of them back.

Edmund later went to see Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. He hoped Maximilian would help him become king of England. Because of these actions, Henry VII arrested Edmund's brother William. Edmund was declared an enemy of the king.

In 1506, Edmund was given to Henry VII. He was kept prisoner until 1513. Henry VIII, the new king, had Edmund executed. This happened when Richard, his brother, began fighting with the French king.

Richard de la Pole had joined Edmund in another country in 1504. He stayed in a city called Aix-la-Chapelle to help with his brother's debts. People who were owed money threatened to give Richard to Henry VII. But Richard found a safe place in Buda with King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary.

When Henry VIII became king, Richard was not forgiven. In 1512, Louis XII of France went to war with England. He supported Richard's claim to the English crown. Louis gave Richard a command in the French army.

In 1513, after Edmund was executed, Richard took the title of Earl of Suffolk. In 1514, he was given 12,000 German soldiers. They were meant to invade England. Richard led them to St. Malo. But peace was made with England, so they could not sail. Richard had to leave France. He settled in Metz, in Lorraine.

While in Metz, Richard met Pierre Alamire. Pierre was a composer and music copyist. He was also a spy for Henry VIII. However, Richard cleverly used Alamire as a spy against Henry. Alamire never returned to England after being suspected of not being loyal.

Richard de la Pole met with King Francis I of France many times. In 1523, he was allowed to plan an invasion of England. He worked with John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, who was the Scottish ruler. But this invasion never happened.

Richard was with Francis I at the Battle of Pavia on February 24, 1525. He was killed there. He was buried in a church called San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. A painting of the battle shows his body. It has the words "The Duke of Suffolk, known as White Rose."

Richard's Daughter

Richard de la Pole was never married. But he did have a daughter with a woman he was with. Her name was Marguerite de la Pole.

• Marguerite de la Pole was a lady-in-waiting to Marguerite of Angoulême, the Queen of Navarre. In 1539, Marguerite de la Pole signed a marriage contract. She married Sibeud de Tivoley. He was an officer for Queen Eleanore of Austria.

Marguerite and her husband had three sons and five daughters:

• Jean, who became the Lord of Brenieu.
• Pierre, who became a priest.
• Claude, who also became a priest.
• Catherine, who married Gilbert de Colomb.
• Eleanore, who married Jean de Secondat de Montesquieu. The famous writer Charles-Louis de Secondat was one of her descendants.
• Marguerite, who married Claude d'Orgeoise.
• Louise, who married Jean de Montchenu.
• Sebastienne, who married Andre Berenger du Gua.

Marguerite de la Pole's will, which is a legal document about her wishes, was written in 1599.

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