Katherine Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort, was married first to John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. The pair had only one child – a boy named John. He’s the chap who turned up late to Towton in Easter 1461 and helped the Yorkists to win. He died in 1461and was succeeded by his son also named John – this particular Duke of Norfolk as well as being Katherine Neville’s grandson was also the one who had the on-going feud with the Paston family about Caistor Castle.
Meanwhile Katherine had been married off to Thomas Strangeways with whom she had two children; Joan and Katherine. I posted about Katherine earlier in the week. After Strangeways died Katherine Neville married for a third time to John, Viscount Beaumont. He was a member of the Lincolnshire gentry and a trusted Lancastrian advisor. He was Constable of England between 1445 and 1450. It was in this capacity helped make the arrest of Good Duke Humphrey back in 1447 and he had been around for Jack Cade’s Rebellion which came about partially as a result of the disastrous French campaign. By 1460 he was part of Henry VI’s bodyguard – this position was to cost him his life on the 10 July when the Lancastrians lost the Battle of Northampton.
The Earl of Warwick returned from Calais where he had gone after fleeing the scene of Ludford Bridge the previous year and demanded to see the king. This was denied him. His army marched north from Kent whilst Henry VI’s army came south. The Lancastrians camped at Delapre Abbey with their backs to the River Nene. Lord Grey of Ruthin ordered his men to lay down their weapons. It turns out that one of the reasons he changed sides was over a property dispute. The Earl of Warwick’s men were able to get to the very heart of Henry VI’s camp where John Beaumont was killed. His death is recorded in John Stone’s Chronicle. History also has his will which was made four years previously in 1456 – a sensible precaution given the unsettled nature of the times.
In 1465 – Katherine then aged sixty-five was provided with a new spouse by Edward IV. Her groom was one of Elizabeth Woodville’s brothers – John, aged just nineteen. The marriage was scandalous at the time and there are various tales told after the fall of the Woodvilles which suggest that she was not so keen on the idea. One chronicler described the whole affair as “diabolical-” though admittedly the writer William of Worcester did think that Katherine was closer to eighty than sixty. It has been suggested that this marriage was one of the straws which broke the Earl of Warwick’s loyalty to his cousin.
It all seems a bit odd when all is said and done. Katherine was aunt to both the earl of Warwick and Edward IV. When Edward was crowned Katherine was present with Edward’s mother, Duchess Cecily of Raby, who was after all her sister. It can’t have helped that Katherine’s fourth husband was the same age as her grandson from her first marriage who doesn’t seem to have regarded the marriage favourably either – it should be remembered that his grandmother held a considerable portion of the Norfolk estates as part of her dower – which John Woodville now benefitted from. Most historians are of the view that it all came down to providing wealth and status to the Woodville clan. Certainly John benefitted financially from his marriage to Katherine and even gained land from William Beaumont, her step-son from her third marriage, who was as Lancastrian as his father.
John Woodville was executed in 1469 by the Earl of Warwick and George Duke of Clarence who had joined in rebellion against Edward. John was with his father who was also executed. History does not record Katherine Neville’s view on her bereavement.
Katherine survived until 1483 – possibly with the help of various medications prescribed by the king’s apothecary John Clark which she did not pay for – a case was presented to the Court of Common Pleas on the matter. Robes were issued so that she could play her role in Richard III’s coronation. There is no further record of Katherine nor do we know where she is buried.
The image that I have used for the last few posts depicting Joan Beaufort with her daughters comes from the Neville Book of Hours
Kleineke, Hannes (2015) “The Medicines of Katherine, Duchess of Norfolk, 1463–71” in Medical History 2015: Oct; 59(4): 511-524 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595958/
Joan’s daughter Katherine married John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk when she was about twelve. He died in 1432. Katherine then remarried to Thomas Strangeways of Castle in Yorkshire. It can be supposed that Katherine’s second marriage which seems a bit of an odd one for a duchess to make says more about the Nevilles’ political aspirations in the north than anything else. The Strangeways family was an important one within the Yorkshire and Durham gentry. The name features as justice of the peace during the period- clearly the Neville family sought to create a powerful political affinity through a series of marital alliances.