Richard Plantagenet, third duke of York (1411-1460)

Richard Plantagenet, third duke of York (1411-1460), was a controversial figure who played a major part in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, although his motives for opposing the Court party are unclear. His death in 1460 came just after he had been acknowledged as heir to the throne, and cleared the way for his rather more able son Edward, earl of March, to seize the throne as Edward IV.