Tudor, Jasper, 1st earl of Pembroke and 1st duke of Bedford

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Tudor, Jasper, 1st earl of Pembroke and 1st duke of Bedford (c.1431–95). The second son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, Jasper was created earl of Pembroke in 1452, at the same time as his elder brother Edmund became earl of Richmond. He was one of the few die-hard Lancastrians. Ruling Wales on behalf of Henry VI from 1457, he refused to come to terms with Edward IV after 1461. He led an expedition to Wales in 1468, and returned again in 1470 during the restoration of Henry VI. But after the defeat of the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury in May 1471, he fled once more, taking with him his 13-year-old nephew Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond (later Henry VII). He remained in exile for fourteen years, returning in triumph in 1485. Thereafter, back in Wales, and promoted duke of Bedford, he remained until his death Henry VII's principal lieutenant in the principality and the marches.

Anthony James Pollard

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