"Soon after this his dinner was served, and then he was called on by five great nobles of the realm, one of whom, Viscount Beaumont, High Constable of England, told him that by the king's command he was under arrest. His own attendants were removed, and a serjeant with two yeomen of the guard took charge of the duke's person. This was on Saturday. During the following week, cut off from his friends and retainers, he slowly lapsed into a state of coma, from which he recovered sufficiently to make his last confession and to receive the sacrament, before he sank again and died about three in the afternoon of Thursday, 23 February 1447. Was he murdered, or was his end the natural end of a man of over fifty, worn out by debauchery, disappointment and disgrace? Contemporary opinion does not help, since every possible view is voiced, so that we are thrown back on surmise."
Six Medieval Men & Women, "Henry, duke of Gloucester," H. S. Bennett (1955).
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