Earl of Richmond rather than the English crown. It was then held either by members of the English royal families of Plantagenet and Tudor, or English nobles closely associated with the English crown. It was eventually merged into the English crown during the reign of Henry VII and has been recreated as a Dukedom. The title Earl of Richmond is associated with the now extinct Earldom, the earlier Lords of Richmond who held the Honour of Richmond, one of the most important fiefs in England, and eventually the Dukes of Richmond. The title Earl evolved from the French-Breton-Norman title Count ("Comte") from the
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond eldest of John of Gaunt's bastard sons, John Beaufort. She had been previously married to John de la Pole, whose father, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk had intended to seek the claim to the throne of her and any children should Henry fail to produce any heirs. William was murdered in 1450, and the marriage between Margaret and John was annulled in the first months of 1453 to enable her to be remarried to Edmund. It was this marriage on 1 November 1455 at Bletsoe Castle which enabled any offspring to lay claim to the English throne