Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset
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Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (1438? - May 6, 1471) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Wars of the Roses.
He was the son of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and became duke at the death of his brother Henry in 1464. (The dukedom was somewhat theoretical, depending on how one views the legitimacy of the forfeiture of the title by the 3rd duke during the reign of Edward IV, which was retracted by Henry VII long after Somerset's death.)
Edmund commanded the center of the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Barnet, (14 April 1471). Edmund also commanded the right of the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Tewkesbury, (4 May 1471) and was captured and then executed several days after the battle. His younger brother John Beaufort was slain during the Battle of Tewkesbury, making Edmund's death the end of the legitimate Beaufort line and, with the death shortly thereafter of Henry VI, left his cousin Margaret Beaufort and her son, Henry of Richmond, the future Henry VII, as the leading representatives of the House of Lancaster. Buried with his brother John Beaufort in Tewkesbury Abbey, in Gloucestershire.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Beaufort (Forfeit 1464) |
Duke of Somerset 1464–1471 |
Succeeded by Extinct |
