William de la Pole, 1st duke of Suffolk

William de la Pole, 1st duke of Suffolk (born October 16, 1396, Cotton, Suffolk, England—died May 2, 1450, near Dover, Kent) was an English military commander and statesman who from 1443 to 1450 dominated the government of the weak king Henry VI (ruled 1422–61 and 1470–71). He was popularly, although probably unjustly, held responsible for England’s defeats in the late stages of the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) against France.

William was the second son of Michael de la Pole, 2nd earl of Suffolk. When his father succumbed to disease at the Siege of Harfleur in September 1415 and his elder brother was killed fighting the French at the Battle of Agincourt the following month, William succeeded to the earldom of Suffolk. He served in all the French campaigns of King Henry V from 1417 to 1422 and became one of the most-trusted generals of Henry VI. In 1428 Suffolk was made commander in chief of the English army in France, but, on June 12, 1429, he was defeated and taken prisoner by Joan of Arc at Jargeau. Upon being ransomed, he held his former command until recalled to England late in 1431.

In the next decade, as a royal household official and a supporter of the predominant faction of Henry Cardinal Beaufort, Suffolk acquired considerable influence in the government. Beaufort’s retirement in 1443 brought Suffolk reluctantly to the forefront of politics. Like Beaufort, Suffolk had a genuine desire to achieve a peaceful settlement with France, but he had no clear practical plan for obtaining peace. His first success (for which he was made a marquess) was the securing in 1444 of a two years’ truce and the hand of Margaret of Anjou for Henry VI. Soon afterward, however, the English government was forced to surrender Anjou and Maine in return for a further extension of the truce, a concession which increased Suffolk’s growing unpopularity at home. Suffolk had his rival Humphrey Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester, arrested in February 1447. Humphrey’s death in custody led to rumours that Suffolk had had him killed. Nevertheless, William was created duke of Suffolk in 1448, and this marked the height of his power.

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Suffolk’s downfall came after the English treacherously captured Fougères—probably with his approval—in March 1449, thereby reopening hostilities. Soon the French recaptured almost all of Normandy. When Parliament met in November 1449, the whole Suffolk administration came under attack. The treasurer, Adam Moleyns, bishop of Chichester, was forced to resign, and, on February 7, 1450, the House of Commons presented articles of accusation against Suffolk himself. Although these dealt chiefly with alleged maladministration and the failure of the French policy, there was a charge of aiming at the throne by the betrothal of his son to the six-year-old Margaret Beaufort. Suffolk denied the accusations. Ultimately, the king sentenced him to banishment for five years. Suffolk left England on May 1. He was intercepted in the Channel by the ship Nicholas of the Tower and the next morning was beheaded in a small boat alongside.

Popular opinion at the time, followed by Yorkist chroniclers and Tudor historians, judged him a traitor, and later legend made him a paramour of Margaret of Anjou. These charges are not supported by any reliable evidence, and probably Suffolk was unfortunate in being made a scapegoat for an unpopular administration and policies for which others were as much responsible as he was.

Suffolk’s wife, Alice, was the widow of Thomas, earl of Salisbury, and granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer. William and Alice’s only son, John, became the 2nd duke of Suffolk upon William’s death.