George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence

Third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English Kings Edward IV and Richard III (1449-1478)

Fame55.0
Momentum0.0
Wikipedia14.2K

Source-basedStable

Lived 1449–1478, aged 29United Kingdom

United Kingdom PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
33 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1449–1478
Aged 29
Awards
1
recognised work

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

Brother to two kings, traitor to both sides, drowned—so the story goes—in a barrel of sweet wine. George Plantagenet's execution remains one of the stranger exits from the Wars of the Roses, and Shakespeare made sure no one forgot it.

Biography

About

George Plantagenet was born 21 October 1449, the third surviving son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. His brothers would become Edward IV and Richard III; he would become the one who couldn't pick a side. Though born into the House of York, George switched allegiance to the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses before swinging back to the Yorkists. The reversals caught up with him. Convicted of treason against Edward IV, he was executed on 18 February 1478, allegedly by drowning in malmsey wine. Shakespeare cast him in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III, pinning the de…

Gallery