The story of the York brothers is part of the story of the English throne. I’m so grateful to Thomas Penn for his wealth of research on the relationships of these brothers. 

We typically think of the Wars of the Roses as a cousins’ war, which at times it was. We think of it as York versus Lancaster, which is part of it. But it’s also the story of the three York brothers, of York versus York, brother versus brother, uncle versus nephew. And I think an important and usually overlooked element of the story is the brother we don’t usually think about: George.

When George does show up in the story, he’s typically dismissed as feckless or weak. He’s a malcontent who betrays his brother Edward and then betrays his father-in-law Warwick. He’s most remembered for the method of his death: he’s rumored to have been drowned in a butt of malmsey wine.

I think there’s more to George than that. And I think taking a closer look at George might give us a little bit of insight into the choice Richard makes after Edward’s death.

History shows us what's possible.