How was Richard III connected to the House of York?

Richard III was a member of the House of York, a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet, by direct patrilineal descent. His connection to the house was defined by the following key relationships:

• Parentage: He was the youngest surviving son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, who was the primary claimant to the throne for the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses.12
• Dynastic Lineage: The House of York based its claim to the English throne on the principle of primogeniture, tracing its descent from Lionel, Duke of Clarence—the second surviving son of Edward III—which they argued was superior to the Lancastrian claim derived from Edward III’s third surviving son, John of Gaunt.13
• Royal Succession: Richard III was the brother of Edward IV, the first Yorkist king, who secured the throne for the family after their father’s death in 1460. Richard III eventually ascended the throne himself in 1483, becoming one of the three kings provided by the House of York.23