Richard of Conisburgh

Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, was one of the chief conspirators of the Southampton Plot to eliminate Henry V and replace him with Edmund Mortimer. He had an impressive lineage. His father was Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (and son of King Edward III). His mother was Isabella of Castile, daughter of the sometime King of Castile called Pedro the Cruel.Isabella had tried to ensure a good life for Richard, naming King Richard II as her heir and asking him to grant an annuity of 500 marks to her son. Richard II did this, but by the time her son came of age and might have been eligible to receive additional favors, Richard II was no longer king, having been deposed by Henry IV. Henry IV had no reason to grant anything to young Richard, although Richard WAS created Earl of Cambridge at the Parliament of 1414.That title was not accompanied by any estate. No land meant no revenue flowing to the new earl. This may be part of why he conspired to assassinate Henry V in 1415.…