The Plantagenet Vendetta (57 page)

Used fictitiously, though the real order still exists and has done so since it was established in the early 1200s by the Spanish monk, St Dominic, on the back of his undertaking of a mission in the Languedoc, preaching against heresy. Pope Honorius III approved the order in 1217 and the first base in England was set up in 1221. Dubbed the Watchdogs of God, the blackfriars – so named due to the colour of their dress – were successful in their attempts to rid the Languedoc of the Cathars thanks largely to their hard approach. They were the official interrogators in the Inquisition, during which torture was promulgated. In England, every king from Henry III to Richard II had a Dominican as his confessor.

The political parties in this book are fictitious. The Democrats were loosely inspired by two of the main political parties in the UK, while the Tories are a fictitious use of the Conservative Party. The Whig Party indeed existed and was once the main opposition to the Tory Party. The Whigs ceased to exist in 1868 when they became the Liberal Party.

Edward III and the Wars of the Roses (1377–1461)

Describing this period of English history in detail would require a book of its own. For those of you who are satisfied with a short overview, here goes:

Edward III, who inherited the throne from his father, Edward II, in 1327, reigned till 1377 and had fourteen children with his queen, Philippa of Hainault, including five boys who lived into adulthood. They were, Edward (The Black Prince), Lionel of Antwerp, John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock. To placate his sons, Edward created England’s first ever dukedoms, respectively Cornwall, Clarence, Lancaster, York and Gloucester.

With the Black Prince dead, the Crown eventually fell to his young son, henceforth Richard II. With Lionel of Antwerp also dead, Richard’s main
adviser was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

The unpopular government of Richard II, notably Gaunt, coupled with England’s loss of what remained of the Angevin Empire, eventually led to the Peasants’ Revolt. Richard exiled Gaunt’s eldest son, Henry Bolingbroke, in 1398 and, following Gaunt’s death in 1399, denied him his birthright. His return and rebellion won him the throne, and Richard died, probably starved to death, in Pontefract Castle.

Following Henry IV’s death in 1413, Henry V ruled for nine years. Following him was his infant son, Henry VI. Despite Henry V’s general popularity, he did have to contend with one plot shortly before Agincourt, by one Richard of Conisburgh, son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. Conisburgh’s execution left his four-year-old son, Richard, later 3rd Duke of York, fatherless.

Henry V’s younger brothers themselves produced no heirs, apart from Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, leaving the distantly related Beauforts as the next upholders of the House of Lancaster. With this, ineffective meddlers surrounded the young king. When his uncle the Duke of Bedford died in 1435, Henry’s one remaining uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, sought to become protector. Gloucester encountered opposition from the Duke of Suffolk, who had Gloucester arrested for treason. Gloucester died awaiting trial in 1447, while Suffolk was murdered soon after being stripped of office and was replaced by the Lancastrian Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset.

At the time, Henry VI’s lieutenant in France was Richard, 3rd Duke of York. With the war in France going badly, York sought a change in policy. In 1452 York returned to England and marched on London, demanding Somerset’s removal. Despite being jailed, York was released in 1453, and as Henry VI’s mental health deteriorated, York became Lord Protector and one of a new council of Regents. Two years later, Henry’s queen, Margaret of Anjou, forced York from court. Soon after, York resorted to hostilities. The Battle of St Albans saw the beginning of the war, and the end of Somerset. York’s victory saw him reinstated. In 1456 Henry then ousted him and, after a brief reconciliation between Yorkists and Lancastrians in 1458, plotting resumed. In 1459 battle occurred at Blore Heath in Staffordshire, and again at Ludford Bridge, forcing York to flee to Ireland. Plotting between York and the powerful Earl of Warwick (later dubbed the Kingmaker) allowed York to return in September 1460, after the Lancastrians were defeated in July at Northampton. While York’s desire to claim the throne was met with mixed response, he was installed by parliament as Henry VI’s successor.

York and his forces left London later in 1460 to counter Margaret of Anjou having sought assistance from the Scots. Richard of York did indeed give battle in vain, and was slain at Wakefield at the end of December. As York’s eldest son was subsequently executed, Richard was succeeded by his next son, Edward, henceforth also heir to the throne. Edward was victorious over Jasper Tudor’s army (Henry Tudor’s uncle) in the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. While the Yorkists lost the second battle of St Albans in 1461, better luck was to follow when a panic-stricken London closed its gates on the Lancastrians, fearing plunder, and later that year Edward was welcomed and unofficially crowned Edward IV. Edward and Warwick marched north with a large army and met the Lancastrians at Towton. The battle was the bloodiest ever recorded, at least 20,000 dying on a single day. Edward’s victory was consolidated by his march to York and later coronation in London.

Wars of the Roses 1461–83

Various attempts to regain the throne for Henry VI took place 1461–64. The government of England turned on its head, however, when Edward IV went against Warwick’s attempts to secure a French bride, and married the commoner, Elizabeth Woodville. As the Woodvilles gained favour at court, Warwick’s allegiance came into question. After entering an alliance with Edward’s brother, George, Duke of Clarence, Clarence married Warwick’s daughter, Isabel, and defeated Edward at Edgecote Moor. After a brief imprisonment at Warwick’s hands, Edward returned to London. Rebellions in Lincolnshire were quashed, and Warwick and Clarence banished, leading to an alliance between Warwick and Margaret of Anjou. Warwick invaded England in 1470 and restored Henry VI to the throne, forcing Edward and his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to flee to the Low Countries. Edward returned at Ravenspurn in 1471 and reconciled with Clarence. The forces of Edward and Warwick met at Barnet in thick fog, at which point Edward defeated the Kingmaker. The forces led by Margaret of Anjou were then defeated at Tewkesbury, thus leading to twelve years of peace under Edward IV.

The Cat, The Rat, and Lovell Our Dog

Three of the key characters in this book. While the modern-day antagonists are fictitious, their famous namesakes were anything but.

William Catesby (the Cat), 1450?–85, was both Chancellor and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Richard III. Historically, the family seat was Ashby St Ledgers in Northamptonshire, not Wootton. Like many in his family, Catesby was a talented lawyer and quite possibly the person responsible for the Titulus Regius document. He fought alongside Richard at Bosworth and was executed. Among his descendents was Robert Catesby.

Richard Ratcliffe (the Rat) was originally from the Lake District and became a key confidant of Richard III while still Duke of Gloucester. Like Catesby, Ratcliffe benefited from the bounty of many forfeited estates when Richard took power, and also served as Sheriff of Westmorland. According to some sources, Ratcliffe was responsible for Richard’s execution of Earl Rivers, brother of Elizabeth Woodville.

Francis 1st Viscount Lovell (the Dog), 1454–88?, was another close friend of Richard III prior to Richard’s enthronement; he was also related through marriage as his wife was Anne Neville’s cousin. On Richard’s ascension, Lovell became Lord Chamberlain and also inherited large swathes of land. Unlike the Cat and the Rat, Lovell survived Bosworth. He played a dominant role in the Lambert Simnel rebellion and was also present at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487. He fled to Scotland and was granted safe passage. At that point he disappeared from history.

The three were among the most important of Richard’s councillors. Around 18 July 1484, a rhyme, purportedly the work of one William Collingbourne, was nailed to the doors of St Paul’s,

The Cat, The Rat, and Lovell our Dog

Ruleth England under a Hog.

It is possible that the trio still have family/descendents alive today. Their descendents in this novel are, of course, products of my own imagination.

The Paston Letters

Mostly true. The exception to this is the biography of Richard III mentioned by Wilson, which is made up. The Paston Letters are without question among the most important historical documents to have survived the Middle Ages. The majority are held in the British Library, with some in the Bodleian, Magdalen College, Oxford, and Pembroke College, Cambridge. The suggestion in the novel that Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck were sons of Richard III is pure speculation.

The Sons of York

The order is fictitious, along with their political wing. It is inspired by the legacy of the House of York and my own premise that Richard, 1st Duke of York, along with the young Earl of Warwick and the real Elizabeth of York continued to live, and later sired offspring.

Edmund of Langley did indeed exist, and references to him in the novel are accurate apart from any illegitimate family who lived in Wootton. The Duke of Monmouth was a real man and his rebellion against James II in 1685 did happen, as did the Glorious Rising in 1688 which toppled the king. Monmouth’s connection with a Yorkist revival is fictitious. Incidentally, a Barghest is a genuine part of Yorkshire folklore, its appearance usually that of a hound or large dog.

The Princes in the Tower

Perhaps the greatest mystery in English history. Prince Edward, later Edward V, and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, were the only biological sons of Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville.

Following Edward IV’s death on 9 April 1483, the ascension of Edward V should have been a formality. The prince was proclaimed King of England in London two days later, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving brother of the late king, was, according to most sources, named in Edward’s last will as Protector of the Realm, much to the dismay of the Woodville faction. The will of 1483 does not survive, but the content is attested by many contemporary sources.

Richard and Edward were set to meet for the first time since Edward IV’s death at Northampton on 29 April. However, during the course of the day, the new king moved on to Stony Stratford, located fourteen miles south in Buckinghamshire. Richard, accompanied by his loyal supporter the Duke of Buckingham, learned of the change of plan from the new king’s uncle, Earl Rivers, and subsequently dined with him in Northampton. The following day, Richard arrested Edward V’s Woodville-dominant retinue at Stony Stratford. The arrest and later execution of Earl Rivers, brother of Elizabeth Woodville, and Sir Richard Grey, Edward V’s half-brother from Elizabeth Woodville’s first marriage, saw Elizabeth take her children into sanctuary. Richard and Edward entered London on 4 May and announced plans for the coronation for 24 June.

It is here things become misty. Edward’s incarceration since 19 May might seem strange to many, but the act was nothing out of the ordinary. Stranger still were Richard’s actions around 8 June, when plans for the coronation changed. It has been suggested that it was on this day that Richard learned for the first time, through Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, of the precontract agreement between Edward IV and one Dame Eleanor Butler, nee Talbot, prior to Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. Most of the information here comes from the French chronicler Philippe de Commines, and is absent from all other chroniclers. On 9 June, a letter written by Simon Stallworth, servant of the Bishop of Lincoln, suggested business was taking place ‘against the coronation’. There is evidence at that time that dialogue between the council and Elizabeth Woodville, in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, had broken down, while the coronation was brought forward to 22 June. Further letters over the next two days confirmed Richard’s problems with the Woodville faction, while a council was called for 13 June at the Tower. The council convened at 9am, lasting some thirty minutes. When it reconvened at about 10:30am, Richard’s mood had apparently changed somewhat, and he seemed convinced of a plot against him. Lord Hastings was probably executed that day, allegedly for his involvement in a plot against Richard. Sometime between 16 and 21 June, Edward’s coronation was postponed, allegedly to November, almost certainly due to the events of three days earlier. By 21 June, Richard, 1st Duke of York, is recorded as having come out of sanctuary and joined his brother at the Tower.

Exactly what happened next remains a mystery. The chronicler, Mancini, while still in England refers to how the two brothers were seen, shooting and playing, in the Tower garden (the Bloody Tower was named the Garden Tower at the time), yet they were apparently never seen again after mid July. After the executions of Earl Rivers and Sir Richard Grey on 25 June – the day of the aborted parliament – a meeting at Westminster occurred, led by the Duke of Buckingham, at which accusations against Edward IV’s first marriage came to light. The following day the lords met at Baynard’s Castle and petitioned Richard to take the throne. Eventually he accepted, and on 6 July he was crowned at Westminster.

While providing a detailed insight into the events at the time would be largely impossible without a second book, doing the same thing for what happened to the princes would be doubly difficult. At least one attempt at rescuing the princes occurred, the Sanctuary Plot in July, which may or may not have contributed to the princes’ deaths. The Italian chronicler Dominic Mancini had left England before the end of July, and was already writing about the disappearance of the princes. While it can be confirmed the princes were still alive at that time, according to Thomas More, they were both shut up and isolated except for one person who served them, named William Slaughter or ‘Black Will’. More suggests there may later have been three others, including one Miles Forrest – possibly the same man who was recorded as Keeper of the Wardrobe at Richard III’s Barnard Castle in Yorkshire.

What fate awaited the princes comes down to the period of late August, early September. According to the chronicler Commines, the princes were murdered. How exactly, depends on the version. Commines refers to the Duke of Buckingham acting under orders from Richard. According to another source found in the College of Arms, they were murdered on the
vise
(advice/direction/undertaking) of the Duke of Buckingham, one of Richard’s closest allies. Another manuscript, Ashmole ms 1448.60, refers to the prompting of Buckingham, while Jean Molinet suggests it was actually Buckingham.

Sadly, the opinions are far from consistent. The author of the second Croyland continuation is irritatingly silent on the matter, while More goes into far more detail. More’s unfinished chronicle specifically states the murder to have occurred on 15 August, while Alison Weir suggests More was correct in everything bar the date, 3 September being the key event. More’s detailed description includes a letter being given to Richard III’s faithful servant Sir James Tyrell, ordering that the keys to the Tower be given to Tyrell for that night only. After this, More states it was one John Dighton and Miles Forrest who smothered the children in their beds. The chronicler Polydore Vergil also accuses Tyrell of the murder, though he mentions nothing of More’s detail. Other versions tell of the murder being by the sword or else drowned in wine – Clarence was executed that way. On his return to England in 1502 and subsequent incarceration, Tyrell is alleged to have confessed involvement, later included in More’s chronicle.

More is the only author who details what became of the bodies. He wrote that they were buried at the foot of the Tower stair and moved into the garden. In 1674 when work was being carried out at the Tower, the bodies of two small boys were found at the location where More claimed the princes had originally been buried. Also present was purple velvet rag, the colour of the monarch. Charles II was convinced the bodies were those of the princes, and they were henceforth interred in Westminster Abbey, in the urn the work of the great Sir Christopher Wren. DNA testing on the bodies in the 1930s confirmed the ages to be in the region of twelve and nine respectively.

In all likelihood the boys were indeed the sons of Edward IV. Yet until DNA testing takes place, the matter can never be put to rest. The recent discovery of Richard III’s body under a car park in Leicester has generated new interest. Of Richard’s appearance, the gaps have finally been filled in and legend and history can at last agree.

In all likelihood, the princes were murdered. In all likelihood, Richard was the man who was ultimately responsible. But he is not the only candidate.

Between Richard and Buckingham, and perhaps Tyrell, if indeed he was the man in question, there remains one even more compelling candidate whose need for the princes to be dead was even greater than Richard’s. For Richard had the throne regardless. Though rebellion may one day have awaited him, for Henry Tudor the demise of the princes was pivotal. Thus leading to the even greater candidate.

Margaret Beaufort.