Princess Mary Carnarvon of Wessex

Princess Mary Carnarvon of Wessex was the only child and daughter of King Edmund I and Queen Yolanda of Wessex. Mary is the last legitimate descendant of King Henry I of Wessex in the male line,  meaning she is the only living member and the sole heir of the  House of Carnarvon.

Mary married Sir Edward Beaufort who was created the The Duke of Worcester, by her father, before thier marriage, thus Mary is also The Duchess of Worcester the title which is least known by. The Duke and Duchess of Worcester currently have four children: King Henry II of Wessex, who is the current monarch of Wessex, Sir Edmund Beaufort, The Duke of Chelsea, Lady Anne Beaufort, and Sir William Beaufort, The Earl of Somerset.

The Duchess of Worcester is the third highest ranking person in the country, behind her son and his wife Queen _, both through marriage and by her own right as a royal princess. Mary and her family currenly live between Woodstock Castle and Langley Palace.

Events Prior to Birth
According to the The First Act of Succession the throne of Wessex can only be passed through the male line of the House of Carnarvon and those legitmate descendants of King Henry I of Wessex. A year prior to Mary's birth the line of succession only included three individuals. Mary's father, (1) Prince Edmund, The Duke of Lancaster, (2) Sir Henry Carnarvon, The Duke of Chelsea, (3) and Lord Richard Carnarvon.

Only The Duke of Lancaster and Lord Richard Carnarvon were married. And despite being married for more that ten years Lord Richard and his wife Lady Julia Carnarvon had not produced a living child.

Edmund's father, King Edward II of Wessex soon died and Edmund now became King Edmund I of Wessex. This now meant that the individuals who had a claim to the throne were Edmund's I two older cousins. The country was desparate for the birth of an heir, and when Queen Yolanda of Wessex found out she was pregnant, their was much hope that the pregancy would result in the birth of a son and heir.

Birth
Mary was born in the middle of the night at King's Langley Palace, she would become the only child of King Edmund I of Wessex and Queen Yolanda of Wessex. The Queen gave birth in her private chambers, with only her mid-wivies and one lady-in-waiting in attendance. On hearing the birth of his daugher Edmund was reported to have wepted saying, "troubles fall onto a country without an heir".

Though Mary's birth marked the first birth of a member of the House of Carnarvon since her aunt, Anne, The Countess of Gloucester. Mary being a female was barred from ascending to the Throne, thus besides Edmund I's own two older cousins, The Duke of Chelsea  and Lord Richard Carnarvon, there were no other individuals who could lawfully succeed to the throne as stated under the First Act of Succession.

None the less being of Royal Blood, Mary was recognized by her father as a legitimate male-line descendant of Henry I of Thebes. She was honored one day after her birth, her godparents being: Lord Richard Carnarvon; The Earl of Norwich; and her maternal aunt Princess Elisabeth Abbot.

She put in the care of a governess, Helen James, as tradition among royal and aristocratic children. Mary was raised at Langley Palace for a large portion of her early life, but also spent time at Fogmorre Castle being educated by an array of tutors and scholars.

Mary's mother was extremely protective of her during her early life. She was given her own set of rooms, away from the nursery, with her governess only a room away. The Queen had trouble conciving after Mary's birth, and hoped that her daughter would be proclaimed heir to the throne.

The North Rebellion
The fact that their were no male heirs to the House of Carnarvon the corwn appeared unstable as the succession was not secure. Sir Malcolm Lascelles, The 2nd Earl of Medford was the largest land owner in the north. The Lascelles Family had been the chief supporter of the crown financially, yet the family had few honors bestowed on them. The 2nd Earl of Medford is often thought to have _ money to the rebels He _ though the edvidence that The Earl of Medford was financially supporting rebellion was insuffecient to charge him with Treson

The prevent more revolts or the threat of a civil war, Edmund I and his nobles passed the Enfield Agreement, which would allow the male heirs of Princess Mary Carnarvon of Wessex, who was the only legitimate child of Edmund I, to have sole rights to the throne in the event of the _ of the male-line of the House of Carnarvon.

The agreement was protested by most nobles, who feared that a foreign prince would be chossen for the Princess, thus putting Wessex in the influence of another great power. When the Duke of Chelsea found out that his mistress Sarah Hastings was pregnant and expecting a child, the hope that the child would be the god-send son, sparked more revolts to put an end to the Enfield Agreement. The Duke of Chelsea even tried to get his marriage to his wife Lady Eleanor Carnarvon, The Duchess of Chelsea dissolved, in order to marry Sarah Hastings and ensure that the child would be recognized as a legitimate contender to the throne.

The Duke of Chelsea supported the new revolts and riots that were springing up throughout the country, created a bigger rift between himself and the rest of the Royal Family. Fearing that the brith of a son would cause a rebellion that would force Edmund of his throne, Edmund has Sarah Hastings taken to Piers Castle to give brith, where the child would be in the saftey of the King's Forces, rather than enemy hands.

Eventually The Duke of Chelsea's promises turned out to be nothing but empty hope, as Chelsea's mistress gave birth to a daughter, Diane Hastings, not the promised son and future King of Wessex. Both mother and child would stay at the Castle, until Diane was sent to live at Hagley Park with her father.

With no hope that any of the three living male descendants of Henry I would produce a male heir, The Enfield Aggreement became the accepted document for the succession, the government quickly made plans to pass The Second Act of Succession.

Mary's father signed the The Second Act of Succession

York House

Early Teen Life
After the signing and universal acceptance of the Second Act of Succession. Mary's mother gave her daughter her own household at Woodstock Castle. Queen Yolanda placed Lady Jane Seymour, The Countess of Salem in charge of Mary's Household. Mary herself was shocked that her governess, Helen James, was not given the post of Mistress of the Household, but eventually warmed up to the idea and _ of The Countess of Salem.

The decision on who Mary would marry was decided five days before she aged into a Young Adult. Edward Beaufaufort was the son of Henry Beaufort and Elizabeth Beaufort. Edward was

The Duchess of Worcester
Upon her marriage, Mary's husband was created a peer, and given the title of The Duke of Worcester by her father. The new Duke and Duchess of Worcester took up residence at Woodstock Castle, the home and main household of Princess Mary.

The two seemed to develop a deep connection with each other.

Birth of Children
Mary found out she was expecting her first child only a few months after her marriage. The news was quickly shared with Edmund I, who quickly rejoiced and with celebrations throughout the capital over the birth of the future heir. The country were hopeful that that child the Duchess was carrying was indeed the promised male-heir to Edmund's throne. Edmund was now an elder, and had an expected few years to live. The birth of a male heir would ensure the succession plans, as laid out by the Second Act of Succession, and prevent civil war over who would sit on the throne.

The Duchess of Worcester traveled back to Langley during the later stages of her pregnancy to give birth to the hopeful heir in the presence of the royal court. Both Mary and her husband The Duke of Worcester were given rooms at Langley Palace, and the nursery was prepared for the birth.

Mary, who was extremely close to her aunt since the death of her mother, and The Countess of Gloucester spent days before the birth praying at Langley's Chapel in hopes that a healthly baby boy would be born.

In the early afternoon Mary went into labor and was quickly taken to the nursery by her ladies in waiting for the birth. She soon gave birth to twin boys, and successfully securing the succession. Her two sons were quickly created peers, given titles by their grandfather. The elder Sir Henry Beaufort was created The Duke of Harrington and the younger twin, Sir Arthur Beaufort, was created The Duke of Taunton.

Mary had her sons raised within her household at Woodstock Castle. They were placed in the care of a governess  Helen James, who was Mary's own governess.

Henry II's Early Reign and Minority
Mary was told of the death of her father when the then Lord Stewart, Sir Arthur Moore, and the Duchess's brother-in-law Thomas Beaufort arrive at Woodstock Castle to inform her young son, The Duke of Harrington, that he was now King. Though the Duchess of Worcester and her family were popular among the nobility and general public, she feared that because her family was away from the capital that there wouldn't be a smooth succession.

_,

The Duke of Worcester was made Regent during Henry's minority. Thomas Beaufor t was made Lord Chamberlin

The birth of Sir Edmund Beaufort, The Duke of Chelsea

The Duke of Beverly created himself Lord Stewart

Once again, Mary was now pregnant again and was expected to give birth. She gave birth to a second set of twins at Langley. Her only daughter, Lady Anne Beaufort, was the first of the twins to be born, the second would be her youngest son, Sir William Beaufort. William was later given the title of "Earl of Somerset" as the heir to his father's titles of "Duke of Worcester".

The Duke of Beverly had Mary and her younger children sent to _ Woodstock Castle _ King Henry and The Duke of Taunton were sent to the nearby York House.

Titles, Styles, and Honors
From birth Mary was known as Princess Mary Carnarvon of Wessex as the daughter of the current monarch. When Mary married her husband Edward Beaufort, she and Edward were created The Duke and Duchess of Worcester by King Edmund I of Wessex.

Places of Residence
Born: Langley Palace

Leeds Castle