George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford

Who was George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford?

George of York, 1st Duke of Bedford was the eighth child and third son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville.

He was a younger brother of Elizabeth of York, Mary of York, Cecily of York, Edward V of England, Margaret Plantagenet, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York and Anne of York. He was also an older brother of Catherine of York and Bridget of York.

He was born in Windsor Castle in March 1477, and was created Duke of Bedford in infancy, probably in 1478, after the former holder of the title, George Neville, was deprived of the title by act of Parliament, ostensibly for lack of money to maintain the style of a Duke. He was appointed the lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1478, one of a series of nominal and largely absent lieutenants.

George died aged two, reportedly due to the plague. This is considered likely to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague. He was buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.