Sir Edmund supported Henry Tudor and was knighted by him at Bosworth as was Rhys ap Thomas. It was said that Rhys ap Thomas put Richard's crown on Henry's head.
"The castle remained in the hands of the influential Carew family who built, in various phases, the strong medieval castle that stands today. Its history, however, was without major incident until about 1480, when Sir Edmund Carew mortgated it to Rhys ap Thomas in 1480."
As far as I know, Rhys ap Thomas was not related to the Carew family. He was the son of Thomas ap Gruffydd who was the son of Gruffydd ap Nicholas of the royal house of Dinefwr, and Mabli, daughter of Maredudd Dwn, leader of the Yorkist in the west, and granddaughter of Henry Dwn, one of the chief supporter of the famous Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndwr. Owain and Sir Edmund were both directly descended from Rhys ap Tewdwr of Dinefwr (died 1093), the last King of Deheubarth (South Wales).
Sir Edmund was the son of Sir Nicholas Carew and Margaret, daughter of Sir John Dinham. Sir Edmund was their elder son, the younger was Sir John. Sir Nicholas died 16 Nov 1470. He and Margaret are both buried in St. Nicholas Chapel at Westminster Abbey.
It is not known how many illegitimate children Rhys ap Thomas had, but it is certain that he had at least fourteen. Rhys ap Gruffydd, grandson of Rhys ap Thomas, was executed by Henry VII for conspiracy.
Sir Edmund married Katherine, daughter of Sir William Huddesfield, attorney general to Edward IV.
Sir Edmund died heavily in debt in 1513 while fighting in France. He was buried at Calais. His heirs were unable to keep up the mortgage payments and Carew castle was lost. It eventually became a crown possession, and was regained by the Carews about 100 years later.
Contributed by Tom Magness
magnesst@mindspring.com
See . . .
World Wide Web:
http://www.castlewales.com/rhysap.html and
World Wide Web:
http://www.castlewales.com/carew.html