![]() Richard III initially tried to trust Margaret, because her powerful fourth husband, Thomas Stanley, appeared to be loyal to the new king. But before all these arrangements could be finalized, King Edward died In June of 1482, there was a draft pardon drawn up and discussion of Henry marrying Edward’s eldest daughter Elizabeth of York. Margaret eventually persuaded Edward to allow her son to return to England. During the christening of Edward’s youngest child Bridget in 1482, Margaret was given the honor of holding the infant. In 1476, Margaret was in sufficient favor with the Yorkist court of King Edward that she attended Queen Elizabeth Woodville during the reburial ceremony of Edward’s father the Duke of York at the church in Fotheringhay. Also, she had become quite close to Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and thought more of Henry’s advancement as a peer than anything else. ![]() ![]() His own mother, Margaret Beaufort, would have dissuaded him, because it was hopeless. There would have been almost zero financial support or people willing to come to his banner. There is no way on earth that Henry Tudor would have won if he had gone up against Edward IV or Edward V. In short, only when there was no hope among the dissenters (who were increasing in number daily) of putting Edward V or Richard of Shrewsbury on the throne did those who wanted to unseat Richard III turn to Henry Tudor, a last ditch candidate with a very tenuous claim to the crown. Personally, I agree with historians like Maurice Keen who argue that rebellion against Richard III only began to think of replacing him with Henry Tudor when the Duke of Buckingham became involved because “Buckingham almost certainly knew that the princes in the Tower were dead.” There was obviously SOMETHING that had made the once devoted Buckingham turn against Richard, and the murdering of nephews is the most probable reason for such a drastic change of allegiance. Moreover, there was a failed rebellion orchestrated by former confidant, the Duke of Buckingham, in October of 1483. The Edwardian loyalists, marshalled by the widowed Queen Elizabeth Woodville, organised a rescue attempt to free the Princes in the Tower in July of 1483, but it failed, perhaps because the Princes were no longer alive to be rescued. Taking the throne and imprisoning his nephews turned a goodly chunk of the populace against him. Before that, he had been popular because he was thought of as a loyal brother, and had repeatedly shown himself to be a just and fair administrator to Northern England. Richard’s behaviour upset a lot of people, both closet Lancastrians and die-hard Yorkists who were loyal to Edward IV alike. Edward IV’s sons were imprisoned in the Tower of London, and disappeared soon after. The arrest and murder of Woodville and Grey was carried out by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, one of Richard’s closest friends and seemingly unshakable ally. Those men included Lord Hastings, who knew they were legitimate, their maternal uncle, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, and their elder half-brother, Richard Grey. Prior to naming the 12 year old King Edward V and his brother, 9 year old Richard of Shrewsbury, bastards, Richard did away with their most loyal and powerful supporters under unproven and flimsy charges of ‘treason’. Then Edward died in 1483, and his brother declared Edward’s sons to be illegitimate and usurped their throne to become Richard III. ![]() Let the Welshmen stay in Brittney under house arrest by Duke Francis II they were nicely out of the way there. As people got used to Edward IV’s reign, the idea that civil war would strike again waned in probability, and the need to capture Harri and his uncle Jasper Tudor was less and less urgent. The only reason the Yorkists wanted him done away with is because he might be used as a rallying point for rebels. You see, the man we think of as King Henry VII, founder of a dynasty and direct ancestor to Queen Elizabeth II, was never, EVER seriously thought of as a contender to the throne. People forget, now the the event is history and seems set in stone, how discombobulating everything must have been at the time, not least of all for Harri Tudur. The outcome of the Battle of Bosworth Field was incredibly unlikely.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |