22 December 1476 | Death of Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence

Isabel died on 22 December 1476, two months after giving birth to a short-lived son named Richard. Though most historians now believe Isabel’s death was a result of either consumption or childbed fever, George, duke of Clarence [Isabel’s husband] was convinced she had been poisoned by one of her ladies-in-waiting, Ankarette Twynyho… as a consequence, he had [her] judicially murdered in April of 1477, by summarily arresting her and bullying a jury at Warwick into convicting her of murder by poisoning. Ankarette was hanged immediately after trial with John Thursby, a fellow defendant. Clarence’s mental state, never stable, deteriorated from that point and led to his involvement in yet another rebellion against his brother King Edward IV…Clarence was imprisoned in the Tower of London and put on trial for treason against his brother Edward IV. Clarence was not present - Edward IV himself prosecuted his brother, and demanded that Parliament pass a Bill of Attainder against his brother, declaring that he was guilty of ‘unnatural, loathly treasons’ which were aggravated by the fact that Clarence was his brother, who, if anyone did, owed him loyalty and love. Following his conviction, he was “privately executed” at the Tower on 18 February 1478, and soon after the event, the rumour gained ground that he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. [x]