Part V
27
Richard III is quite possibly the most controversial king ever to rule England. Many people think of him as an evil monster of a man, mostly due to his unfair portrayal in Shakespeare’s historical plays. On the other end of the spectrum we have the Ricardians, a group of Richard III superfans who started a movement to glorify Richard III who they say is a much maligned, misunderstood king. With such drastically different viewpoints, who was the real Richard III? Was he a disfigured, plotting, scheming murderer, or was he a loyal, chivalrous, underappreciated ruler?
The future King Richard III was born Richard Plantagenet on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. He was the eleventh of twelve children born to Richard of York, the infamous duke who nearly succeeded in wrestling the crown away from King Henry VI. Richard III’s mother, Cecily Neville, was also of high noble blood. She was the daughter of an earl, the aunt of Warwick the Kingmaker, and the sister of the earl of Salisbury, who was among the men killed alongside her husband Richard and son Edmund at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460.
Richard’s eldest son Edward, Earl of March, became the de facto leader of the House of York after the death of Richard at Wakefield. With his family thrown into turmoil, 8-year-old Richard was too young to offer any real help, he could only stand by helplessly and pray that God would keep his brother Edward safe and grant him victory over the Lancastrians. Undoubtedly this early childhood experience would have a great effect on his future role as Edward’s most loyal councillor. As a young boy Richard resolved to become a mighty warrior so he could serve his eldest brother in his pursuit of the throne of England.
It wasn’t long after Richard of York’s death that Edward got the chance to show his skills on the battlefield. On 29 March 1461, Edward scored a resounding victory against the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton. Edward’s destruction of the Lancastrian army was so complete that it caused Queen Margaret and King Henry VI to flee England for the next four years. When 19-year-old Edward made his victorious procession through the city of London as their new king, his younger brothers Richard and George were by his side.1 They were created Knights of the Bath and given dukedoms shortly after Edward’s coronation. George, the second eldest brother, became the duke of Clarence and Richard became the duke of Gloucester.
Edward treated his brothers very well and made sure they received the best education possible so they could be of service to him when they became adults. Edward arranged for Richard to enter the household of the great duke of Warwick, otherwise known as The Kingmaker. Richard spent several years at Warwick’s Middleham Castle where he trained to be a chivalrous knight, adept at weaponry, hunting, hawking, as well as the more refined skills of a royal prince, such as playing the harp, singing, and dancing.2
By the spring of 1465, 13-year-old Richard was considered old enough to leave Warwick’s wardship and enter his brother’s court in London.3 Richard unknowingly entered a very tense environment as a result of his brother Edward’s surprise marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in the year prior. The royal court was being overrun by the ambitious Woodville faction while Richard’s mentor Warwick was slowly but surely falling out of royal favour. Warwick deeply resented Edward IV for pushing him out of his inner circle of councillors and replacing them with his new Woodville relatives. Young Richard was unfairly put in the middle and felt pressure to choose sides.4
Richard’s loyalty was severely tested in 1469 when Warwick came out in open rebellion against King Edward. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Richard soon learned that his brother George was in on Warwick’s scheme. George was in fact the figurehead of the insurrection and their plan was to depose Edward in order to place George on the throne. Richard had to choose between two brothers and his mentor, which must have been incredibly difficult for him, but in the end he chose his brother Edward.
While Edward marched his royal army from London to northern England in the summer of 1469 to deal with uprisings that Warwick had instigated, Warwick sailed to Calais with his eldest daughter Isabel and the king’s brother, George. Against Edward’s order, Warwick had Isabel and George married on 11 July 1469. If Warwick could place George on the throne, then his daughter Isabel would be queen of England and he himself would hypothetically be the grandfather of the next king of England. The day after the forbidden marriage took place, Warwick issued a public manifesto against Edward’s evil councillors (i.e. the Woodvilles) and invited those who wished to join his cause to muster at Canterbury on 16 July 1469.5
Edward and Richard were at Nottingham Castle mustering their own troops as Warwick and his rebel army quickly tore across England. Warwick’s forces easily overcame Edward’s trusted ally, the earl of Pembroke, as he was on his way to meet up with king. When Edward learned of Pembroke’s fate, he tried to hide but Warwick’s men found him and took him prisoner. Warwick could not kill an anointed king without serious repercussions, but he could rule through him as he had done with King Henry VI. However, Warwick’s coup did not go according to plan. When news of the king’s capture made its way around England, law and order effectively broke down and the country was consumed with little uprisings everywhere. Warwick did not have the resources or the manpower to handle all the insurrections. He had no choice but to release King Edward from captivity, allowing him to resume control of the kingdom.6
As a result of his loyalty throughout their recent family crisis, King Edward showered Richard with rewards and titles, including Constable of England (the leading law enforcement officer in the entire country) and Chief Justice of South Wales, and the earldom of March.7 Surprisingly, Edward did not punish Warwick, rather, he staged a formal reconciliation between the three York men. During the Christmas 1469 celebrations, Edward hosted both Warwick and George at his court in London. Edward believed it to be a true reconciliation but just months later, Warwick and George would betray him again.
By March 1470, Warwick and George were stoking considerable uprisings in the north. Their goal was to lure the king away from London so they could ambush him. This time Warwick meant to put a permanent end to Edward since his previous plan of holding him as prisoner and ruling through him had not worked out. However, Warwick’s plan backfired when King Edward easily overtook Lord Welles’ rebel army at the Battle of Losecote Field on 12 March 1470. The battle got its name ‘Losecote’ not from the location of the battle but for the way the Yorkist soldiers dropped their coats emblazoned with Warwick’s livery as they fled the battlefield.8 In one of these jackets, Edward’s men discovered letters confirming the involvement of Warwick and George in the recent northern uprisings. In response, Edward summoned Warwick and George to appear before him to explain themselves. They feared they would be arrested if they put themselves in the king’s presence so they decided to flee England for France. In a terrible stroke of luck, Warwick’s daughter Isabel went into labour during their voyage across the English channel. When they arrived at Calais, they were denied entrance and had to drift off the coast with no help from a midwife for Isabel. Her first child, a son, was stillborn.9
Turned away from his former stronghold of Calais, Warwick managed to find safe refuge with King Louis XI of France. Warwick nurtured the king’s support in his bid to overthrow King Edward IV and was willing to do anything to gain control of England. In a shocking turn of events, Warwick agreed to forge an alliance with his old enemy, Queen Margaret of Anjou. Now instead of placing Edward’s brother George on the throne, Warwick’s new strategy was to free King Henry VI from the Tower, reinstate him as king of England, and rule through him. At first, Queen Margaret was very distrustful of Warwick’s proposal, but she knew it was the best option available to her. The two former adversaries came together at Angers Cathedral on 22 July 1470 to finalise their alliance. They sealed the deal with the marriage of their children, Prince Edward and Anne Neville.
All throughout the summer of 1470, King Edward IV was actively preparing for an invasion from the newly combined duo of Warwick and Margaret. Although George had flipped to Warwick’s side, Richard stayed loyal to Edward and was with him in the Midlands during all the war preparations.10 When Warwick began a fresh round of northern uprisings, Richard rode with his brother Edward and the royal army to put down the minor revolts. While Edward was in northern England, Warwick took the opportunity to sail his invasion fleet, landing at Plymouth in southwest England on 13 September 1470. His plan was to march his enormous army to London to free King Henry VI from the Tower and take over the city.
When King Edward got work of Warwick’s landing, he immediately gathered his men and headed south from York with all the speed they could muster. After seventy kilometres travelled, the king halted his army at Doncaster.11 This is where he planned to rendezvous with Marquess Montagu’s army so they could ride to London together. At Doncaster, Edward received the shocking news that Montagu had defected to Warwick’s side and was presently approaching Doncaster with orders to capture Edward.
With no time to think, Edward and his adherents jumped on their horses and fled Doncaster before Montagu arrived. They dashed 160 kilometres southeast until they reached the coast, eventually ending up at King’s Lynn in Norfolk. It was there they boarded a ship and set sail for Burgundy on 2 October 1470. Burgundy would be a safe place for Edward to hide because his sister Margaret was the reigning duchess there. She would be able to supply him with ships and soldiers to fight Warwick and gain control of England. With Edward in Burgundy were his most loyal noblemen, including his brother Richard, plus Lord Hastings and Lord Rivers.12
With King Edward in political exile, London was Warwick’s for the taking. After landing in England on 13 September 1471, Warwick and George headed northeast to face down King Edward. Along the way they gathered supporters and their army was said to be as large as 30,000 men.13 Warwick was at Coventry when he received the delightful news that King Edward had fled the kingdom. Warwick then rode to London as fast as he could and promptly freed Henry VI from the Tower on 6 October 1470. One week later, Henry was re-coronated as King of England with Warwick by his side. Now Warwick was the effective ruler of the realm.
It wasn’t long before Warwick’s power would truly be tested. In Burgundy, Edward wasted no time preparing his own English invasion to take back his throne from Warwick. He had also used his in time in Burgundy to mend rifts with his brother George, who through the use of secret messengers, conveyed to his brother Edward that he planned to desert Warwick and flip back to Edward’s side.14
On 11 March 1471, Edward set sail from Burgundy with a small army of 1,500 men.15 The following morning, he tried to come ashore on English soil but found that many of the port towns were blocking his entry at the commandment of Warwick. Even in York, his own duchy, the capital city turned him away at first. The citizens only allowed him entry after he promised him to seek the restoration of his dukedom, not the throne. As he moved south towards London, men flocked to his banners and his army soon grew, but it was not as large as the army Warwick was leading north to stop him. When Edward learned of Warwick’s location at Coventry, he tried to force the earl into battle, but Warwick retreated inside the castle walls and refused to fight.
With the earl unwilling to give battle, Edward swung his army around and marched with all speed to London where he was heartily welcomed by the citizens on 11 April 1471.16 That evening Edward heard good news that his plan to draw Warwick out of his castle had finally worked. Edward’s scouts reported Warwick’s army was located at St Albans, a mere thirty kilometres from London. The very next morning, King Edward marched his large army out of London and headed towards the inevitable confrontation with Warwick. When he arrived at Barnet that evening, he discovered that Warwick’s army was on the other side of the town less than two kilometres ahead. Under the cover of darkness, Edward ordered his men into battle position and around 4.00 am that morning. Edward commenced the battle in those early morning hours, taking Warwick and his troops completely unaware.17
What won the Battle of Barnet for Edward on 14 April 1471 may have been the weather. A misty rain and thick fog had descended on the battlefield, causing confusion among Warwick’s army. Some of Warwick’s men mistook their fellow soldiers for Edward’s men and began slaying each other. The battlefield rang with cries of treason and the disoriented Lancastrian soldiers fled for their lives.18 Soon Warwick himself was running away from the battlefield but he was quickly hunted down by Edward’s men and stabbed in the throat.19 Edward’s mentor-turned-nemesis was dead, leaving only Queen Margaret and the last of the Lancastrian stragglers standing in Edward’s way.
Queen Margaret and Jasper Tudor had planned to join up with Warwick’s army prior to the Battle of Barnet, however, the weather had delayed their sailing. Upon arriving on English soil on 14 April at Weymouth in southwest England, Margaret received the devastating news of the loss at Barnet and the death of Warwick. Undeterred, the queen moved her army on, intent to face down Edward and win back the throne for her husband and young son, Prince Edward. Her supporters had raised men in southwest England and Margaret led them north at breakneck speed to reach Jasper Tudor in Wales before King Edward IV could hunt her down.
Edward received news of Margaret’s landing on 16 April 1471, giving her a two-day head start. Within a week he raised an army large enough to confront Margaret’s impressive Lancastrian army. Edward and his soldiers left London on 24 April and by 3 May they arrived at Tewkesbury, covering an impressive 190 kilometres in only ten days.20 Margaret had also been thrashing her army, forcing them to march for two days straight without rest or refreshment.21 She had nearly made it to the safety of Wales but was having difficulty finding a safe place to cross the swollen Severn River. That’s when Edward’s army arrived and pinned Margaret’s army up against the uncrossable river. Her exhausted soldiers had no choice but to stand and fight for their lives.
On the morning of 4 May 1471, Margaret of Anjou’s army lined up in battle array against the army of King Edward IV. By Edward’s side were his brothers Richard and George, as well as his closest friend, Lord Hastings, all of whom were his military commanders. King Edward struck the first blow and after a fierce bout of hand-to-hand fighting, Margaret’s army began to fall back. They were losing ground against the king’s superior fighters and before long they completely fell apart. Margaret’s men began fleeing the field, their only escape route was by river. As it was too high to cross safely, many of her men chose to drown while trying to make their escape rather than being cut down by the Yorkists.22
Queen Margaret’s son, Prince Edward, was not immune to the devastation. King Edward’s men found the young prince on the battlefield and immediately slayed him.23 Some of Margaret’s men hid in sanctuary at a local abbey but King Edward had them dragged out, tried, and beheaded in the marketplace of Tewkesbury. Queen Margaret herself was found hiding in a different abbey a few days later and was taken as King Edward’s prisoner. The Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury effectively destroyed the House of Lancaster. It would be twelve years before a little-known exile named Henry Tudor would revive the Lancastrian cause and challenge the House of York.