Duke William de la Pole of Suffolk 
William was born on October 16th, 1396 in Suffolk, England. William's father was Earl Michael de la Pole of Suffolk and his mother was Catherine Stafford. His paternal grandparents were Michael de la Pole and Katherine Wingfield; his maternal grandfather was Hugh de Stafford and his maternal grandmother is Philippa de Beauchamp. He had a sister named Isabel. He was the younger of the two children. He died at the age of 53 on May 2nd, 1450 in Kent, England.General Notes
1st Duke of Suffolk
# A1: 1st Duke.
# _FA2: Impeached by the House of Commons for plotting to make his son John King.
# _FA3: He did this by marrying son John to Margaret Beaufort when they were children.
# Note:
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Marquess of Suffolk, Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Suffolk (b. Oct. 16, 1396, Cotton, Suffolk, Eng.--d. May 2, 1450, near Dover, Kent), English military commander and statesman who from 1443 to 1450 dominated the government of the weak king Henry VI (ruled 1422-61 and 1470-71). He was popularly, although probably unjustly, held responsible for England's defeats in the late stages of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) against France.
When his father, Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, was killed fighting the French at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, William succeeded to the earldom of Suffolk. He served in all the French campaigns of King Henry V from 1417 to 1422 and became one of the most trusted generals of Henry VI. In 1428 Suffolk was made commander in chief of the English army in France, but on June 12, 1429, he was defeated and taken prisoner by Joan of Arc at Jargeau. Upon being ransomed, he held his former command until recalled to England late in 1431.
During the next decade Suffolk served as a royal councillor and emissary. He acquired considerable influence in the government by joining the faction of Henry Cardinal Beaufort, which dominated the king, and, after Beaufort's retirement in 1443, Suffolk became Henry VI's chief adviser. In an effort to end the war, he secured a two-year truce in 1444, but he enraged his countrymen by ceding the provinces of Maine and Anjou to France. Nevertheless, he was created Duke of Suffolk in 1448, and this marked the height of his power.
Suffolk's downfall came after the English treacherously captured Fougères--probably with his approval--in March 1449, thereby reopening hostilities. Soon the French recaptured almost all of Normandy. Parliament laid the blame for the disaster on Suffolk, and with great reluctance the king banished the duke from the realm for five years. Suffolk left England on May 1, 1450, but he was intercepted in the English Channel by some of his enemies and beheaded. He died without surviving issue, and his titles became extinct. [Encyclopædia Britannica CD '97, WILLIAM DE LA POLE, 1st DUKE OF SUFFOLK]
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.~ 1257 in Montgomeryshire, Wales d.1293
- b.~ 1275 in Ravenser Odd, Yorkshire, England d.<Dec 1328 in Hull, Yorkshire, England
- b.~ 1266 in Moreton, Oswestry, Shropshire, England
- b.1302 in Ravenser, Oddingham, Yorkshire, England d.21 Jun 1366/1367 in Ravenser, Oddingham, Yorkshire, England
- b.~ 1257 in Hull, Yorkshire, England d.> 1287 in Hull, Yorkshire, England
- b.~ 1287 in Hull, Yorkshire, England
- b.~ 1331 in Yorkshire d.05 Sep 1389 in Paris, France
- b.1255 in Norfolk, England
- b.~ 1280 in Sculthorpe, Norfolk, England d.1329 in Stoke, Norfolk, England
- b.~ 1306 in Stoke, Norfolk, England d.28 Jan 1381/1382 in Yorkshire, England
- b.1253/1255 in Mettingham, Suffolk, England
- b.~ 1282 in Norfolk d.< 1343 in Stoke, Norfolk, England
- b.~ 1361 in Yorkshire, England d.14 Sep 1410 in Harfleur, England
- b.~ 1279 in Wingfield, Suffolk, Kent, England d. in Norfolk, England
- b.1305 in Suffolk d.1327 in Suffolk
- b.~ 1281 in Suffolk
- b.1330 in Suffolk d.1358
- b.1283 in Suffolk, England
- b.1309 in Suffolk
- b.1285 in Wingfield, Suffolk, England
- b.~ 1349 in Suffolk d.<10 Oct 1386
- d.1280
- b.~ 1269 in Wingfield, Suffolk, England
- b.1308/1325 in Suffolk, England
- b.~ 1265 in Stinton, Norfolk, England
- b.~ 1300 in Stinton, Norfolk, England
- b.ABT 1270/1282 in Stradbroke, Hartismere, Suffolk, England
- b.16 Oct 1396 in Suffolk, England d.02 May 1450 in Kent, England
- b.~ 1246 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England
- b.15 Jul 1272/1273 in Clifton Campville, Stafford, England d.26 Aug 1308 in Clifton, Staffordshire, England
- b.~ 1250 in Stafford d.<01 Aug 1287
- b.24 Sep 1299/1301 in Tunbridge, Speldhurst, Kent, England d.31 Aug 1372 in Tunbridge Castle, Speldhurst, Kent, England
- b.~ 1242 in Stafford d.31 Dec 1299
- b.~ 1280 in Drayton, Stafford, England
- b.~ 1239 in Staffordshire
- b.1334 in Staffordshire d.16 Oct 1386 in England
- b.~ 1250 in Audley, Staffordshire, England
- b.1289 in Oxfordshire d.10 Nov 1347 in France
- b.~ 1270 in Wigmore, Herefordshire, England d.1328
- b.~ 1312 in Staffordshire d.07 Sep 1347 in England
- b.02 Sep 1243 in Christchurch, Hampshire, England d.07 Dec 1295 in Monmouth Castle, Monmouthshire, England
- b.~ 1292 in Gloucestershire d.09 Apr 1342 in France
- b.1272 in Akko, Hazafon, Israel d.23 Apr 1307 in Clare, Suffolk, England
- b.~ 1376 in Staffordshire d.08 Apr 1419
- b.~ 1227 in Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England d.09 Jun 1298 in Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England
- b.1272 in Elmley Castle, Worcestershire d.12 Aug 1315 in Warwickshire
- b.~ 1237 in Shere, Surrey, England d.16 Apr 1301 in Grey Friars, Worcestershire, England
- b.14 Feb 1314/1315 in Warwickshire d.13 Nov 1369 in France
- b.1255 d.1295 in Gascony
- b.08 Jan 1282 in Flamsted, Herefordshire, England d.01 Jan 1325
- b.1260 d.> 1283
- b.~ 1334 in Gloucestershire
- b.1252/1261 in Wigmore, Herefordshire, England d.17 Jul 1304 in Wigmore, Herefordshire, England
- b.03 May 1287 in Netherwood, Thornbury, Herefordshire, England d.29 Nov 1330 in Elms, Tyburn, Warwickshire, England
- b.ABT 1262/1270 in Wigmore, Herefordshire, England d.7 Feb 1333/1334
- b.1309 in Wigmore, Hereforedshire, England d.Aug 1369
- b.1256 in Dublin, Dublin, Ireland d.Jun 1292
- b.2 Feb 1285/1286 in Ludlow, Shropshire, England d.19 Oct 1356
- b.~ 1262 in Lusignan, Vienne, France d.1323
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They had a son named John.
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Children
Duke John de la Pole of Suffolk
John was born on September 27th, 1442 in Lincolnshire. He died before October 27th, 1492 in Suffolk.
He had a biological daughter named Joan.
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