[MR] Wikipedia: Death of the Duke of Clarence

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1478, George Plantagenet, aka The Duke of Clarence, was
executed in the Tower of London for treason on the orders of his brother
King Edward IV. Whether he was actually drowned in a butt of malmsey wine
is questionable (sometimes said to be at his own request), but it does make
a good story:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Plantagenet,_1st_Duke_of_Clarence .
Shakespeare probably gets it wrong in attributing Clarence's death to
Richard of Gloucester, but then Richard is almost everybody's favorite
villain.

What I learned from this Wikipedia article is that Clarence was at one time
considered a possible husband for Mary of Burgundy, sole surviving child of
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. This is actually not surprising,
considering the close anti-French ties between the Yorkist kings and
Burgundy. The possible marriage was floated again in 1477 following
Charles' death at the Battle of Nancy. Mary wisely chose Archduke
Maximilian of Austria, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Had she
been married off to Clarence, it would have made him one of the richest and
most powerful men in Europe, but given his mercurial personality it
probably would have been a disaster.

Here's a bio page about Mary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy
. I am very sympathetic to Mary, given the tragedies of her brief life. Her
marriage to Max was short-lived, but apparently very happy.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿