Lady Cecylee Neville, the protagonist of my first novel Thwarted Queen, was the youngest daughter of Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, and his second wife Joan de Beaufort.
Earl Ralph was a shrewd operator. As a relatively young man, he became a protégé of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and so, when his first wife died in June 1396, he married John’s nineteen-year-old daughter Joan in November of that year. His second wife had royal blood flowing through her veins as her father John of Gaunt was the third son of King Edward III (1312-1377).
When Richard, Duke of York was orphaned in 1415, Earl Ralph acquired his wardship. This meant that he had total legal control over four-year-old Richard who would not achieve his majority until 1432, when he turned 21. In October 1424, as was his right, Earl Ralph betrothed his nine-year-old daughter Cecylee to thirteen-year-old Richard. This was a splendid match for not only would Richard be rich once he received his inheritance, he was also the closest male relative to the King of England, making him Heir Presumptive to the throne.
However, Earl Ralph had a problem. As Warden of the Western Marches charged with repelling the maraudering Scots, Earl Ralph was obliged to keep a standing army at Castle Raby, the family seat. But he couldn’t allow his lovely daughter to be pestered by young men. After all, it wouldn’t be seemly for the would-be wife of the Duke of York and Heir Presumptive to the Throne to be caught in a rough soldier’s embrace. And so he locked her up in The Keep.
In Thwarted Queen, I have Cecylee confront her father over the issue of her personal freedom, and get severely punished for her insolence.
Earl Ralph put his most trusted men on the ground floor of The Keep, while his daughter resided in the top of the tower. The main room was large, having plenty of room for a canopied bed, chests, chairs and tables. Off to one side is a much smaller room where her damsel would sleep. There are windows, but they are very high up, making it difficult to see out of the window without standing on a chair. And so Cecylee was caged up, waiting for the time when her marriage to Richard of York could finally take place.
If this has whetted your appetite for Thwarted Queen, please click here.
