Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk

Who was Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk?

Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, an English nobleman, supported Henry IV against Richard II. He died during the Siege of Harfleur in 1415. He was a son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield, daughter of Sir John Wingfield.

His father fled abroad amid accusations of treason during the Merciless Parliament in 1388, forfeiting the title of Earl of Suffolk and the family estates. Over the next decade the younger Michael de la Pole made vigorous attempts to recover these lands, and obtained most of them piecemeal between 1389 and 1392, following his father's death. However, his close association with the Lords Appellant, particularly the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Gloucester prejudiced Richard II against him. He finally obtained the restoration of the earldom in January 1398.

While he obeyed the summons of the Duke of York to defend the kingdom against Henry Bolingbroke in July 1399, Suffolk did not object to the disbandment of York's army and consented to the deposition of Richard II in the summer of 1399. While the first Parliament of Henry IV technically upheld the forfeitures of the Merciless Parliament, Henry IV immediately restored de la Pole's estates and title in recognition of his support. However, he would spend the remainder of his life trying to obtain possession of the remaining estates which had not been restored.