The murder of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, 4 May 1471, at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England
Illustration from The History Scrap Book published circa 1889. Edward of Westminster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed aged seventeen at the Battle of Tewkesbury, making him the only heir apparent to the English throne to die in battle. Another account of Edward's death is given by three Tudor sources: The Grand Chronicle of London, Polydore Vergil, and Edward Hall. It was later dramatised by William Shakespeare in Henry VI, Part 3, Act V, scene v. Their story is that Edward was captured and brought before the victorious Edward IV and his brothers and followers. The king received the prince graciously, and asked him why he had taken up arms against him. The prince replied defiantly, "I came to recover my father's heritage." The king then struck the prince across his face with his gauntlet hand, and his brothers killed the prince with their swords. However, none of these accounts appear in any of the contemporaneous sources, which all report that Edward died in battle.
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