History of the English line of succession Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was forcibly deposed by his third cousin twice removed, Edward, Duke of York, who became Edward IV. On the day of Edward IV's deposition, 3 October 1470, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was; However, Edward IV was deposed, and the throne was restored to Henry VI, the previous monarch, during the period known as the Readeption of Henry VI. On the day of Henry VI's second deposition, 11 April 1471, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was: However, the English nobility again became frustrated with Henry's inability to rule competently, and
Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 1471) Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 1471) Sir Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 4 October 1471) was the second son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Anne Neville, daughter of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Lady Joan Beaufort. Henry's elder brother, also named Humphrey, died before their father, and so it was Henry's nephew, also Henry, who became the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Stafford was the third husband of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby. The marriage was relatively long and successful and coincided roughly with the minority of Margaret's son, the future Henry VII