Richard III: His Life & Character Part 13

He resided sometimes at Sheriff Hutton, sometimes with his aunt, as a member of the King's household.[18]

It is a.s.serted by Rous that the King changed his mind soon afterwards, and declared his nephew the Earl of Lincoln to be his heir, closely imprisoning young Warwick.[19] Rous was a dishonest and unscrupulous writer, and this particular statement is disproved by doc.u.mentary evidence. For on May 13, 1485, the Mayor and Corporation of York determined to address a letter to the Lords of Warwick and Lincoln and other of the Council at Sheriff Hutton.[20] The precedence here given to young Warwick above Lincoln, and the fact of his being addressed as one of the Council, prove the statement of Rous to be false. It shows also that Warwick had not been superseded, and that he was still heir to the throne, just before the battle of Bosworth.[21] He was probably a member of the King's household, and one of the children mentioned in the Royal Ordinance of July 23, 1484.

Richard III. made a progress in the north of England during the summer of 1484, superintending the {139} coast defences, and in August he was again at Nottingham receiving an emba.s.sy from Scotland. The King gave audience to the Scottish envoys in the great hall of Nottingham Castle on September 16, seated under a royal canopy and surrounded by the chief officers of state. A truce was established for three years, and a marriage was agreed upon between the eldest son of James III. and the Lady Anne de la Pole,[22] niece of the King of England. At about the same time a friendly treaty was ratified between Richard and the Duke of Brittany.

In the autumn of 1484 the body of Henry VI. was, by the King's order, removed from Chertsey and interred in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, on the south side of the high altar, the tomb of Edward IV. being on the north side. The chapel was then nearly finished.

[Sidenote: Popularity of the King]

Richard III. returned to London on November 9. He was met by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen with upwards of four hundred citizens, who escorted him to his residence at the Wardrobe in Blackfriars. Christmas was kept at Westminster with all gaiety and splendour, the young niece Elizabeth being richly attired in a dress similar to that of the Queen, according to the gossiping old monk of Croyland. But the beloved consort of so many years, the playfellow of Richard's early days, who had shared all his joys and sorrows, the mother of his lost child, was pa.s.sing away. Like her sister Isabella, Queen Anne was delicate, and she was now in a rapid decline. She died on March 16, 1485,[23] and was buried in Westminster Abbey; her {140} sorrowing husband shedding tears over her grave.[24] As an aggravation of the King's grief, an odious report, probably originating in the wishes of the Queen Dowager and her daughter, was spread abroad that he meditated a marriage with his illegitimate niece. As soon as it came to Richard's ears, he gave it formal and public contradiction.[25]

As the spring of 1485 advanced it became known that, encouraged and aided by the French court, the Lancastrian malcontents intended to attempt an invasion of England, and that, probably at the suggestion of Bishop Morton, they had put forward a pretender as a claimant of the crown. This was Henry Tudor, who was born at Pembroke Castle on January 28, 1457. His father, Edmund Tudor, was the son of a Welsh esquire with whom the widow of Henry V. had formed a clandestine connection. Thus Edmund was a half-brother of Henry VI., who created him Earl of Richmond, and his brother Jasper Earl of Pembroke. Henry Tudor was born two months after his father's death, when the widow was only in her fifteenth year. She was daughter of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and at this time was the wife of Lord Stanley, her third husband. In 1471 Jasper Tudor fled into Brittany with his nephew Henry. Both Edmund and Jasper Tudor had been attainted and deprived of their earldoms. Edward IV. had created his brother Richard Earl of Richmond,[26] and the t.i.tle had since merged in the crown. The earldom of Pembroke had been conferred on King Edward's son Edward. Henry Tudor, {141} who was never Earl of Richmond, had lived in Brittany for many years, but in 1484 he had gone to France, where the desire to injure her English neighbours induced the Lady of Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI. and Regent for her young brother Charles VIII., to encourage the conspirators. Henry's claim to relations.h.i.+p with the Kings of the House of Lancaster was derived from his mother's descent from an illegitimate son of John of Gaunt.[27] It was afterwards considered unadvisable to put this untenable claim forward, except in vague terms, and Henry's t.i.tle was based on conquest.

[Sidenote: Threatened invasion]

The King, in antic.i.p.ation of the threatened invasion, took up a central position at Nottingham Castle in the spring of 1485, and issued commissions of array. In the early part of the year he had found the treasury nearly exhausted, and had been obliged to resort to a {142} loan, in order to raise funds for the defence of the country. His parliament had abolished the system of 'benevolences,' or forced contributions, which had often been resorted to by former kings and were very oppressive. Richard, in his difficulties, would not sanction this illegal practice, but he appealed to the people for a loan, delivering 'good and sufficient pledges' for its repayment.[28] Full payment was to be made in eighteen months, in two instalments. By Good Friday, April 1, about 20,000_l._ had been received, out of 30,000_l._ that had been asked for.

On June 23 a royal proclamation was issued declaring Henry Tydder alias Tudor and his followers to be traitors and outlaws, and announcing that this Henry, son of Edmund, son of Owen Tydder, actually pretended to have a t.i.tle to the crown. The Earl of Warwick and the King's niece Elizabeth were sent to Sheriff Hutton for safety. Edward and Richard, the young sons of Edward IV., must have been sent to the Tower with the same object.

Meanwhile the French Regent, although there was no war and no pretext for hostilities with England, furnished the necessary funds to enable an expedition to be fitted out at Harfleur, and allowed French troops to be embarked under the command of a French officer named Philibert de Shaunde. Thus supported and accompanied, Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven on August 8, 1485. He had with him a few Lancastrian exiles.

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PEERAGE OF RICHARD III.

(Those printed in italic type were present at the Coronation.)

DUKES

1. _Duke of Buckingham, K.G._ (Stafford),[1] held the train.

2. _Duke of Suffolk, K.G._ (Pole), bore the sceptre.

3. _Duke of Norfolk, K.G._ (Howard), bore the crown.

ROYAL MINORS

4. Earl of Salisbury (Plantagenet),[2] son of the King.

5. _Earl of Warwick_ " son of Clarence.

6. Earl of March and Pembroke, K.G. (Plantagenet), illegitimate son of Edward IV.

EARLS

7. _Earl of Lincoln_ (Pole),[2] bore the orb.

8. _Earl of Surrey, K.G._ (Howard),[2] bore the sword of state.

9. _Earl of Arundel, K.G._ (FitzAlan).[1]

10. _Earl of Northumberland, K.G._ (Percy),[1] bore the sword of mercy.

11. Earl of Westmoreland (Nevill), sick.

12. _Earl of Wilts.h.i.+re_ (Herbert), bore the queen's crown.

13. _Earl of Kent_ (Grey), bore the ecclesiastical sword of justice.

14. _Earl of Nottingham_ (Berkeley).

15. _Earl of Huntingdon_, bore the queen's sceptre.

16. Earl of Shrewsbury (Talbot) } minors 17. Earl of Ess.e.x (Bourchier) }

VISCOUNTS

18. _Viscount Lovell, K.G._, bore the civil sword of justice.

19. _Viscount Lisle_ (Grey),[1] bore the rod with dove.

BARONS

20. _Lord Abergavenny_ (Nevill).

21. _Lord Maltravers, K.G._ (Fitz-Alan).[2]

22. _Lord Grey of Codnor._ 23. _Lord Grey of Wilton._ 24. _Lord Grey of Powys._ 25. _Lord Morley._ 26. _Lord Scrope of Bolton, K.G._ 27. _Lord Scrope of Masham._ 28. _Lord Beauchamp._ 29. _Lord Lumley._ 30. _Lord Audley._ 31. _Lord Stourton._ 32. _Lord FitzHugh._ 33. _Lord Zouch._ 34. _Lord Dacre._ 35. _Lord Ferrers, K.G._ 36. _Lord Cobham._ 37. _Lord Stanley, K.G._,[1] bore the mace of constable.

[1] Turned traitors.

[2] Eldest sons raised to the Upper House.

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BARONS--_Continued_

38. _Lord Strange._[2]

39. _Lord Welles._[1]

40. Lord Greystoke, in the marches.

41. Lord Mountjoy, at Calais.

42. Lord Dudley, K.G., very old.

43. Lord Hungerford,[2] a minor.

44. Lord Ogle, in the marches.

45. Lord de la Warre, abroad.

PRELATES

1. _Archbishop of Canterbury_ (Bourchier).

2. _Bishop of Durham_ (Dudley).

3. " " _Rochester_ (Audley).

4. " " _Exeter_ (Courtenay).

5. " " _Norwich_ (Goldwell).

6. " " _Wells_ (Stillington).

7. " " _Salisbury_ (Woodville).

8. " " _Lincoln_ (Russell).

UNDER ATTAINDER