Richard, 3rd Duke of York, Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.

Richard, Duke of York:

Welcome back to my first episode on a single person in a while. Well, unless you’re a patron, then you will have just enjoyed Charles II of Navarre. I do want to apologise for the delay in getting this episode out, I have had sick children, and as their full-time parent I do need to look after them first. Thankfully they are recovering, but it was a rough few weeks. Plus, as you’re about to find out, this subject was a bit more than I expected. 

When I started researching this episode I was pretty sure I’d be able to get one, very full episode out of it. Instead, as I’ve gone along I’ve realised I really need four episodes, and none will be shallow. As many of you may know I’m a big fan of good governance. I believe that kings should respect the social contract in many ways and to do that they need to be ready to make decisions. Richard, 3rd Duke of York was a strong lord, looking for good governance, during a time of a weak king. This is a rare occurrence, when the king a Passed would have needed to overthrow wasn’t actually cruel, evil, or uneducated. The king Richard was dealing with was kind, thoughtful, and peaceful, he just wasn’t a good king, plus, the mental health issues he was suffering from weren’t doing anyone any favours. Oh, and there’s one really important thing to remember, at the start of this story the Wars of the Roses is something that’s not on anyone’s mind, in fact, it won’t even start until the second half of this subject’s series. For these four episodes I will be referencing Matthew Lewis’ Richard Duke of York, King By Right, Helen Castor’s She-Wolves, the same book I used for Isabella of France, and two biographies about Henry VI, one by Bertram Wolffe and the second by Ralph A. Griffiths. My analysis at the end may be bit different than normal, but I think you’ll all approve. 

Now, onto the Duke of York.

The Grand Old Duke of, no not that one…This one wasn’t an ineffective military commander, just an outmatched one. Had he not been betrayed…or tricked, he might have become king of England, but sadly for him, the best he could do was to be the father of two kings. Honestly, being the father of two kings isn’t too bad, right? Richard, 3rd Duke of York is often portrayed as a grasping, overbearing man who wanted power at all costs. But, what if much like say Robert Curthose, he’s been judged incorrectly. Much like Curthose probably wasn’t lazy and weak but was in fact devout, hardworking, and conciliatory, Richard could also be described as thoughtful, industrious, and aiming for better government. Unlike Curthose, who faced a rather strong king, Richard would be facing a weak king, who was surrounded by strong, but often self-interested supporters (though, we need to recognise that the king’s wife’s self-interests weren’t that far removed from the king’s).

You may remember a small bit about Richard from the Mortimer episode, he does come up briefly. He was the youngest and only surviving son of Richard of Conisburgh, the 3rd Earl of Cambridge and Anne Mortimer. I’ll be referring to the father as Conisburgh to avoid confusion (hopefully). Conisburgh was the son of Edmund, the 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III and Anne was the great-granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. In case you’re wondering how Lionel’s line got to the point of great-grandchildren, well he had his only child at 16, she had her second child at 18, and he had his daughter at 14. So four generation in less than 50 years. Whereas Edmund hadn’t had Richard until he was 44. With the siblings three year age gap this meant, oddly, that there wasn’t a huge age gap between Consiburgh and Anne. He was only three years older than her. Sadly, Richard, our subject, would be Anne’s last child, she died the day he was born, as was life for women in her time. Richard was born on the 22nd of September 1411. 

Richard’s father, Conisburgh is an interesting story in his own right, so I’m going to tell you a little about him. As I discussed in his father, Edmund of Langley’s episode, there is a chance that he wasn’t Langley biological child (or he was, and everyone else isn’t). It’s important to note that a father claiming his child was really all a child needed to be considered his, especially when born in wedlock. So, while Conisburgh’s biological father may have been Richard II half brother, John Holland, it doesn’t matter at all in relation to his claims to family titles and property because Langley recognised him. Conisburgh, as a younger son, wasn’t in line to receive much, since Langley didn’t have much to give, you’ll remember he was the poorest of Edward III’s sons. Conisburgh was 17 when his father died, and was left nothing in Langley’s will. Conisburgh was left a small income by his mother. Conisburgh’s older brother, Edward resigned or was deprived of his subsidiary title or Earl of Cambridge in 1414 and the title was given to Conisburgh by Henry V. This title came with no property though. Conisburgh was set to join Henry V on his 1415 invasion of France, but as I discussed in the Mortimer episode, he instead conspired with a few minor nobles to depose Henry and place his brother-in-law, Edmund March, 5th Earl of March, on the throne. The Southampton Plot was discovered when Mortimer told on the conspirators. Conisburgh and the other conspirators were executed in August of 1415, before the king set sail. At the time Richard Duke of York wasn’t even four. In an interesting detail Conisburgh wasn’t attained, so his title passed to his son, and other family titles could pass to his son. Now, Conisburgh did have an older brother, Edward 2nd Duke of York. Edward did join Henry V on his campaigns in France. Edward would die on the 25th of October 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt during Henry V’s victory. With this death things would change dramatically for Richard.

Richard became a ward of the crown, don’t worry, these are explained in detail in the This Too Shall Passed episode on wardships. It means that he didn’t receive control of his lands, including his late uncle’s lands until he was an adult. His wardship would eventually be sold to Ralph Neville, the 1st Earl of Westmorland, in the early 1420s. Neville was the second husband of Joan Beaufort, Henry V’s half-aunt through his grandfather John of Gaunt and step-grandmother Kathryn Swynford. Neville and Joan had ten surviving children together (they had four who wouldn’t survive to adulthood), plus his eight children from his first marriage and her two daughters from her first marriage. Yes, that’s 20 children who survive to adulthood between the two of them. With that many children, especially 11 daughters, the Neville family needed to do what they could to make sure their daughters married well (they solved this problem in one case by having one of Ralph’s sons from his first marriage marry one of Joan’s daughters from her first marriage, it’s not as uncommon as you’d think). In addition to his wardship, the family also purchased Richard’s marriage rights. Richard was betrothed to the couple’s youngest daughter, Cecily in 1424 when he was 13 and she was nine. The young couple would marry in 1429, when he was 18 and she was 14. Don’t worry, they wouldn’t have their first child until 1439. 

While Richard was wealthy he had no access to his wealth. Henry V would die in 1422 of everyone’s favourite, dysentery, and was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI. The young king’s early reign would be controlled by his uncles. He did live in his mother’s household, for a short time, but she had next to no control over him.  Instead of Richard controlling his income, it was used by the king’s uncles to help raise funds for the kingdom. Richard though, while not in control, was still important. His land holdings meant that one day he would be able to lead vast numbers of soldiers and raise funds to help the English war effort in France. So he wasn’t just cast to one side, he was educated by the Neville family and in March 1428 he was requested (read commanded) to join the king’s household. Ralph Neville had died in in October of 1425, but his wife had retained Richard’s wardship and she sent her son-in-law/cousin to her great-nephew (did I mention everyone is related). Richard was ten years older than the six year old king. It’s likely the king’s uncles wanted to make sure one of the future leaders of the kingdom was raised in a way they would approve of. There is someone’s passing earlier in 1425 who I should mention, Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March. You’ll remember him from the episode he shared with his father, uncle, and sister. With his passing the senior claim via Lionel of Antwerp transferred to Richard. 

I should mention the king’s surviving uncles in a bit more detail now. Henry IV’s third son, John, Duke of Bedford, would act as Henry VI’s regent in France. Bedford was an impressive military leader. In 1423 he had married Anne of Burgundy, the daughter of John the Fearless.  Their marriage was happy, but the couple would have no children. Bedford’s connection with Burgundy would lead to him being the person who put Joan of Arc on trial after she was captured by Burgundian troops. The youngest uncle of the king was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Gloucester was rather lucky to be alive, he could literally thank his oldest brother, who stood over him when he fell down during the Battle of Agincourt. Without Henry V’s physical protection Gloucester would have died, and his devotion to Henry V’s reign, ideals, and plans would hurt him in the long run, but it’s easy to see why he would be devoted to his late brother. Gloucester would act as the Lord Protector, in England, since Bedford was continuing military conflicts in France. He and Bedford did not get along, leading to conflicts with Bedford’s Burgundian allies. Gloucester was the most educated of the brothers and didn’t have the military knowledge of his brothers. His love life was a bit of a mess, both of his marriages were annulled, and like his brothers he had no legitimate children. For those keeping track this means that Henry VI was the only legitimate child of any of Henry IV’s sons (Henry IV did have one other grandson, Rupert, by one of his daughters, sadly Rupert died without issue at 19). Remember that part of the reason parliament was supportive of Henry IV was because he had four sons and Richard II had no children at all. There are a few other relatives of the king that I should mention as well. Henry Beaufort, the second son of John of Gaunt and Kathryn Swynford was the Bishop of Winchester from 1404 to 1447. He was the kings half great-uncle and Richard’s full uncle-in-law as Joan Beaufort’s brother. He was also powerful as both a church and lay leader and one of the richest men in the kingdom. He would regularly loan the crown funds. I think this covers all the powerful men of the family. 

Richard would be with the young king when he was crowned in England in November of 1429, where Richard was created a Knight of the Bath. This isn’t the modern Order of the Bath. Having Richard nearby would indicate the he and a few other younger knights were being prepared to be Henry VI’s companions as he grew up. Think back to John II’s closest companion, Charles de la Cerda, he would have been brought into John’s household when they were younger. This was a normal practice and would give the king built-in friends who could also help him with the country later in life. 

After the coronation Richard was moved in even closer to the inner circle of the kingdom. He was commissioned to act as constable of the country when John of Bedford was out of the country. There were other options available, so choosing Richard wasn’t done out of expediency. Instead, the king’s council chose him on purpose, since he was literally close to the king and close to the throne as one of the heir after Henry VI’s uncles. 

The next thing Richard would join the king for was his coronation. Yes, young Henry VI got two coronations because he was also king of France, well, disputed king of France. To be the king of France he needed to be crowned in France. The French party following Charles VII, who had been crowned in 1429, was still fighting for control of the country. Bedford had managed to maintain most of Henry V’s gains, but Charles VII was not giving up and had help, Joan of Arc (special episode for her on Patreon very soon). Henry VI and his escort, including Richard would arrive in Calais on the 23rd of April 1430. I learned while researching for this episode that this is St. George’s Day, the patron saint of England. I’m sure it would have been seen as a good omen. It would take the party more than 18 months to arrive in Paris, they took a slow route. Richard was given a place of honour riding up with the king on the way into the city. Henry VI was crowned on the 16th of December 1431, had he been successful at his claim he would have been Henry II of France. Surprisingly, instead of being crowned by the archbishop of Reims he was crowned by his great uncle, cardinal Henry Beaufort. The group would return to England in January 1432. 

Fourteen thirty-two was a big year for Richard. During parliament, in May that year, Richard requested that he be granted his majority ie be declared an adult, and receive control of his lands. Richard was 21, so a normal age to be granted his lands and titles. His petition does make reference to his lands having been under the control of others who hadn’t taken the best care . You’ll remember, those others had been given the lands to hold by the crown, so it’s a little on the nose, but was likely rhetoric. Remember, this king was only 11 at this time, so most of the country was controlled by his uncles. While we would think this odd today Richard did have to pay the king for these lands, along with paying the Duke of Gloucester. He was paying the king the equivalent of a quarter of a million pounds in 2016 and Gloucester half a million pounds. This gives a hint at how vast Richard’s estates were, he was still making the equivalent of two million pounds annually, so not John of Gaunt numbers, but nothing to turn your nose at. He would have been the wealthiest landholder who wasn’t descended from John of Gaunt. I addition to being the Duke of York he was also the Earl of Cambridge, the Earl of March, the Earl of Rutland, and the Earl of Ulster. A year later Richard was inducted into the Order of the Garter. 

Those of you who are patrons will know a bit of the situation between France and England thanks to the Patron only Henry V episode, but I should let the rest of you in on a few things. While Henry VI’s father, Henry V had theoretically won France through battle and the Treaty of Troyes secured him the crown he died before his father-in-law, Charles VI, and was therefore never king of France. Charles VI died October of 1422, six weeks after Henry V. As I mentioned earlier Henry VI had been crowned, but his reign in France wasn’t unchallenged. Charles VI’s only surviving son, Charles had been crowned Charles VII in 1429. Prior to his coronation English forces, under Henry VI’s uncle Bedford, had done well keeping the French at bay and for a while it looked like England and France might become a personal union under Henry VI. Things began to change though in 1429, Joan of Arc came into the picture. And while she would be captured a bit more than a year after she joined the French cause, her belief in Charles VII spurred much of France to believe in him. The Burgundians had supported England, and Henry VI’s uncle, John, Duke of Bedford, was married to Anne of Burgundy, the daughter of John the Fearless. But Anne died in 1432 and less than six months later Bedford remarried to Jacquetta of Luxembourg. This marriage would have been fine, except Bedford didn’t consult his former brother-in-law, Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. Philip was insulted by the lack of consultation and this may have had a part in moving the Burgundians from supporting the English towards supporting the French. In addition to this difficulty Bedford was unwell, but still trying to lead English forces in a France, sadly with limited funds mainly due to the costs of two coronations. 

Richard would have had plenty to do just staying in England. He needed to look after his lands, he was extending a collegiate church that had been founded by his uncle, he might even want to have some children. Sadly, it wasn’t the time for Richard to do the things he wanted to do. Well, I’m sure the building project could go on without him there, but starting a family would not work without him around. Instead, he was about to be sent to France. Henry VI’s regent, and uncle, John, Duke of Bedford, died in September of 1435 at only 46. His illness caught up to him, he and his second wife hadn’t had any children together, though, Jacquetta of Luxembourg will come up again and prove that not having children with Bedford was not her fault in the slightest. Right before his death the Treaty of Troyes was picked apart, with the Burgundians transferring their allegiance to the French throne. This didn’t mean that England was going to stop fighting for France, Henry VI still claimed it through his great-great-great grandfather and through his father’s claim as Charles VI’s heir. 

With Bedford gone Henry VI’s surviving uncle, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and his surviving great-uncle, Cardinal Henry Beaufort began to vie for power. While Gloucester felt the Cardinal should have kept to religious matters, the Cardinal felt it was important to push for the favour of his Beaufort nephews John Beaufort Earl of Somerset and Edmund Beaufort Earl of Dorset (though John was a prisoner in France, so not currently able to help his uncle). Neither Cardinal Henry nor Gloucester was the right choice to actually lead in France, but that wasn’t going to stop either of them from trying to control the person who was chosen to go. Richard was the compromise candidate. He was still a prince of the blood and was married to a distant member of the family (Gloucester’s niece after all), and by choosing him Gloucester could help thwart Cardinal Beaufort’s control. Remember, the Cardinal is pretty much controlling the purse strings at this point. 

Richard was only appointed as the lieutenant-general, not regent in France as his predecessor had been. His term was for one year, this wouldn’t have been the worst choice for his long-term prospects. France was not an easy place for the English with Charles VII’s recent gains, and it would mean he could return to England and his lands quickly, at least in theory. Richard wasn’t given the power to make appointments or grant land, which made his role mainly focused on war, not ruling. He brought his brothers-in-law Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, jure uxoris, and William Neville, Lord Fauconberd, jure uxoris. Before anyone gets too excited, this is not that Richard Neville, it’s his father. The group finally left in June of 1436. They would set up shop in Rouen. They would be met in France by John Talbot, who would provide a great deal of local knowledge and military leadership. In April of that year Charles VII had liberated Paris from English control. This meant the group had their work cut out for them. 

They were more successful than expected, retaking several Norman towns, but they were slightly undercut by Cardinal Beaufort. He decided to send his nephew, Edmund, to France. Edmund was meant to go to Maine and Anjou, but was ordered by Gloucester to push south from Calais (which is to the north-east of Normandy, which is significantly north of Maine and Anjou). Gloucester just had to have the last word over his uncle. Thankfully, at least for Richard, this didn’t hurt his performance in France. Once his year was up he requested a return home, but was forced to wait for his replacement to arrive. His replacement was Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and no, he’s not that Earl of Warwick, that’s his son in law. I promise, that Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick will come up. An interesting thing about this elder Earl Warwick, he was Henry VI’s tutor through the young king’s childhood. Richard probably had plenty of complaints about this delay in appointing his replacement. He had no actual power during the six months he was waiting, plus he hadn’t been paid for the year he had worked. 

Without the king’s uncle John Duke of Bedford in control it seems that things in England were not going well when Richard returned. In November of 1437 the king, then 15, had called a Great Council. Oddly, despite being one of the highest ranking men in the county Richard was not included on this council. The council would be advising the king on his government in France and England. But it would also oversee a great change in England, in December of that year Henry VI turned 16 and, while much younger than Richard had been, was granted his majority. As I’ve mentioned in earlier episodes, Henry VI’s reign would be marked by his mental illness, but at 16 that wasn’t a known problem. In fact, he wouldn’t show any signs of mental illness for more than ten years at this point. I point this out because the young king was a very different ruler than his father. He favoured peace with France, probably influenced by his great uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, and I don’t want to suggest this was due to any mental illness, he really was a peaceful man. 

I need to take a short diversion from York’s narrative to discuss a few political occurrences that will impact his story in a few moments. Throughout these goings-on he is away from court. One of the young king’s first decision though was one of his more questionable ones. He approved the release of Charles, Duke of Orleans. You’ll remember him from the Dauphines’ episode, he was the son of Louis of Orleans, the younger brother of Charles VI of France (I’ll continue referring to him a Charles Orleans as I did in that episode). He had been a prisoner, in England, since the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, this was more than 20 years ago at this point. The Charles Orleans wouldn’t return to France for more than two years after his release was approved because he was required to fund his own journey home, which took some time. If you’re curious, he will be getting an episode later this year, along with another two other Charleses and an Antoine (an twon), in a series I think I’ll call ‘Poor Timing in Fatherhood’. Cardinal Beaufort wasn’t necessarily advising his great nephew poorly with this release. At the time, the French-French king, Charles VII only had one living son, Louis, which means the Charles Orleans was next in line to the French claim on the throne. It was also hoped that this would  play against Burgundian interests since Charles Orleans was still the head of the Armagnac faction. Sadly, this last hope was not to pass and Charles Orleans joined the Burgundian faction by marrying one of Philip the Good’s nieces, Marie of Cleves. The Duke of Gloucester was unimpressed by this decision, since in Henry V’s will expressly forbade his release. Less than a year after securing this Cardinal Beaufort was able to secure the release of his nephew, John, Earl of Somerset in exchange for Charles of Artois, Count of Eu (fun fact, this Charles is the great-grandson of Robert of Artois who featured in the first episode of this not-so-mini-series). This was also forbidden in Henry V’s will until Henry VI was of age to deal with it. I’m sure the Cardinal would argue that the young king had been granted his majority, but he wasn’t even 18 when these decisions were being made. This further angered Gloucester, who was a supporter of protecting his oldest brother’s plans and wanted to make sure the protections he had left in place would hold. 

There’s one final thing I must mention before getting back to Richard’s narrative, his brothers-in-law. As I mentioned earlier he had a lot of them and they in turn had some children. Richard’s oldest brother-in-law, John Neville, had died in 1420, five years before his father. When Ralph Neville died in 1425 he was succeeded as earl by John’s oldest son Ralph, who was born in 1406, making him five years older than Richard. Ralph Neville’s children from his second marriage were importantly the nieces and nephews of Cardinal Beaufort, and their mother, Joan Beaufort was a powerful woman in her own right. She was able to secure most of the Neville properties for her children, including those that traditionally should have gone to Ralph’s older children by means of primogeniture. These two branches of Nevilles were not getting along, mainly due to the older branch being disinherited by the younger branch, though the title that Ralph Neville held, Earl of Westmoreland still went to the older branch. This feuding led to Henry VI demanding that the two sides agree to peace with him and stop fighting. As Matthew Lewis puts it in his book Richard, Duke of York, ‘This was to prove the model for ineffectual justice under Henry VI from which most felt themselves exempt’. From my general reading about Henry VI it seemed his favourite way to make peace was to tell the two sides to stop fighting and that they were at peace. Problem solving was not a skill he seemed to posses and he really just wanted everyone to get along, which is great when you’re a child king and your uncles can sort things out for you, but not so great as you begin to rule on your own. 

In 1438 Richard did receive another great gift, his first child, a daughter Joan, likely named for his mother-in-law. The baby sadly passed away not long after birth. Their second child, though, Anne, likely named for Richard’s mother, was born in 1439. They would have a total of 13 children, only six would outlive Richard, though a seventh came very close as we’ll find out at the end of this story, spoilers. His surviving children, Anne, Edward, Elizabeth, Margaret, George, and Richard will all play a role in the episodes that follow, but I’ll wait a little longer to give them their full introductions. In 1439 Richard re-entered public life, due to events in France. 

At the end of April 1439 Richard Beauchamp died, he was 57 and had spent much of his life at war. He had been in France since he replaced Richard in November of 1437. Parliament was called in November of 1439, the first since Henry VI had declared his majority. They needed to deal with the appointment of a successor to Beauchamp and make long-term plans for France. Sometime before Christmas the Duke of Gloucester laid bare his argument with Cardinal Beaufort. He attacked his uncle for accepting the elevation to cardinal in spite of Henry V’s prior expressed wishes that then-Bishop Beaufort reject the elevation (Beaufort did wait until Henry V died before accepting). Gloucester further protested the release of Charles Orleans, and railed against a Cardinal belonging to parliament (I’ll do episodes of This Too Shall Passed explaining each of the religious ranks within the Catholic church in the future, but the best way to think of it is a Cardinal is a prince of the Church if the Pope is the king, a bishop is a feudal land holder within the country of his bishopric). Gloucester also laid complaints at the feet of the Archbishop of York, who had accepted a Cardinal’s hat in 1439, accusing both cardinals of alienating Gloucester from both the king and is other royal cousins, including Richard and John Holland, Duke of Exeter, a cousin of Gloucester’s through his aunt Elizabeth of Lancaster, John of Gaunt’s second daughter. It appears the Gloucester wanted to make all clear that he had a few long-term issues with his uncle because also brought up the release of James I of Scotland, way back in 1424. Oh, and Gascony needed to be looked after as well, have  you all forgotten about that? He had a lot of complaints that needed to be answered for. He laid the exclusion from government of princes of the blood, himself, Richard, and Exeter at Cardinal Beaufort’s feet. Matthew Lewis suggests this exclusion as part of the reason Richard was absent from politics for almost two years. So, what happened after Gloucester made these accusations, exactly nothing. At least not in the sense of any change occurring, I’m sure it led to plenty of gossip in court, but the king knew he couldn’t upset his great uncle, Cardinal Beaufort controlled the purse strings. The king may have been an adult, but England was broke and needed loans from the Cardinal to survive. Gloucester was lucky in some ways though, challenging such a powerful man could often end badly for the accuser, but since he was the nephew of the man he was accusing and the only living relative of the king he was protected.

Even with this bit of mud-slinging in parliament the leading men and the king still had to find a replacement for Beauchamp in France. While the king may have wanted peace and may have not been keen on being king of France, there were still English territories in France that he needed overseen. Cardinal Beaufort’s choice for Beauchamp’s successor is easy to guess, his nephew, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset. Somerset would go to France, for a short time in 1440, but as Gloucester’s deputy. Gloucester’s goal was to raise the funds and men he needed to support him as lieutenant-general in France, but he wasn’t able to. Instead, Gloucester backed Richard to take on the role of lieutenant-general a second time. Unlike Richard’s first round in France this time he would be given all the powers of a regent, but a different title, since the king was no longer a minor. I find it interesting that Gloucester chose Richard in opposition to his uncle, when Richard was married to the same uncle’s niece. It’s likely that Richard hadn’t made his political leanings known at this point and Gloucester needed a high-ranking man to compete with his cousin, Somerset, to prevent Cardinal Beaufort from winning this round. Richard was officially appointed to the post in July 1440. 

With Richard’s appointment I’m going to stop here for the week. Before I go I’d like to welcome my newest Patron, Jori! Thank you for joining us. All patrons get ad-free episodes and a shout out from me in a regular episode. Those in the  $5 per month Heir Apparent and $15 per month Usurped tiers get special episode, usually once per month. Special episodes are only available to Patrons and those on Acast Plus. Those in the Usurped tier can select their own subject for a special episode in addition to all the other rewards. I also make sure to post my history comics on Patreon first and all This Too Shall Passed episodes post to Patrons on Monday instead of Wednesday. I’ll be back next week with Part Two. 

Richard, 3rd Duke of York, Part 2

Welcome back for Part 2. Richard is preparing for his return to France. Last week I shared stories from his early life and first mission to France. He had been successful in many ways, but was kept away from the central area of power. This would have been frustrating, and hopefully today will help explain this more. With that, onto the episode.  

Richard seemed less than excited to take up the post. He was slow to make preparations to leave, but at least this time he was paid on time. The English forces in France were already dealing with a lack of funding and it is unlikely Richard would want to go there underfunded. Richard finally left London in mid-May 1441, he was accompanied by his wife, which would have been a nice change from his previous appointment. He was also joined by Richard Woodville, originally a lowly squire in the service of Henry VI’s uncle, John, Duke of Bedford, Woodville had secretly married Bedford’s widow, Jacquetta of Luxembourg (oh, yes, it was a scandal). Due to this secret marriage he had been forced to pay Henry VI 1,000 pounds before he and his wife were welcome in court (an obscene amount of money for a squire, thankfully Jacquetta was a wealthy widow whose holdings earned her at least 7,000 pounds annually). It turns out the lack of children between Bedford and Jacquetta was not her fault, by 1441 the couple had three surviving children, including their oldest, a daughter, named Elizabeth. It also turns out that though a humble squire Woodville was a brilliant military mind and would prove himself while in France. Waiting for Richard in France, as on his earlier trip, was John Talbot. Richard was, again, ready to defer to the more experienced man when it came to matters of war. This I think is an indication of his growing character, he was willing to listen to those who had more knowledge than him to get the best outcome. 

Richard’s forces were able to drive French forces almost to Paris. The French, as had become their (not unwise) tradition under Charles V avoided battle. It’s important to note that while there weren’t any battles pushing the French out of parts of Normandy should be seen as an English win. Sadly, not long after the French took Pontoise, a city in the Vexin, which had been under English control. The city had been besieged for three months. It would have been a blow to Richard after all the work he had done, he had even relieved the city. Sadly, his lack of resources would hamstring his efforts. While he would have started out with enough funds, the exchequer in England was always slow to pay him anything past his first instalment. 

Richard would actually send Talbot to England to speak it Parliament when it was called in January of 1442. Talbot may have been upset by the kings focus. While men were dying in his name in France Henry VI was busy spending almost all his focus and funding on building King’s College, which we call Eton today. Richard had sent Talbot to share the difficulties facing those fighting in France to Parliament. Protecting English interests and military strength in France had been Talbots life and Richard seems to have thought he was the man to express how trying the situation was becoming. Of course, Talbot’s mission would be derailed by a scandal that would confuse most modern minds. In October 1441 Gloucester’s second wife (and former mistress) was convicted of witchcraft. No, I’m not joking with you, this was a real charge (and patrons will know this isn’t the first time a witchcraft accusation has been used against women in the royal family). She was found guilty of paying astrologers who predicted the kings impending death (spoilers, the king will live a lot longer than predicted). She wasn’t executed, which is nice, but she was forcefully divorced from Gloucester and spent the rest of her life in prison, her coconspirators were not as lucky and were executed. As one would imagine, this was embarrassing for Gloucester, and he basically retired from public life. Everyone’s wheels spinning, that means the leading man at court was none other than Cardinal Beaufort.

Before moving on to the actual events I want to give a little history for Talbot. While he wasn’t of what would have been considered noble birth he wasn’t a nobody. He was a descendant of Richard I of Normandy through an illegitimate line. His father was a baron, but John was a second son, which means he was unlikely to succeed to his father’s barony. But, he was of a military mindset and focused on that aspect of his life. He would succeed to the barony on the death of his niece in 1421. A barony though wasn’t what it was during the Anglo-Norman period, instead, it was a nice title that usually provided minimal land. His mother though had an older title, but it was still only a barony and went to his brother originally as well. Where Talbot got lucky was his mother’s second marriage. She married Thomas Neville, Baron Furnivall, who had a daughter, Maud, who married Talbot in 1407. Thomas Neville was the younger brother of Ralph, making Talbot Richard’s cousin-in-law/step-cousin-in-law (really everyone was related!). His service in France and earlier service in Ireland didn’t go unnoticed and after his first wife died his second marriage was a bit of a step up. He was married to Margaret Beauchamp, the daughter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Yes, the same Earl of Warwick whose death led to Richard’s second appointment in France. Talbot would be elevated to the Earldom of Shrewsbury in May of 1442. Interestingly, while he was in England asking for reinforcements he met his daughter Eleanor for the first time, and managed to get his wife pregnant, she would deliver their youngest daughter Elizabeth in late December 1442 or early January 1443. Out of curiosity I took a look at further family history, and Talbot’s grandson would end up marrying the daughter of a duke. So, if anyone wants to talk about grasping for privilege (either now or at any point in history) just remember both the gossip about it and the grasping have been done before and at the end of the day royalty isn’t actually special, they were just drinking buddies with the right guy circa 1066. 

Cardinal Beaufort and the king pushed for peace. It turns out their rival in France was not interested in peace, but in controlling his whole country. The English king of France had send peace envoys to the French king of France in February of 1442, Charles VII decided he didn’t need to negotiate for a kingdom that was his by right and slowly becoming his by force. Henry VI’s peace envoys would return without having gotten anything like peace from the French king. 

Due to a lack of peace in the attempted peace talks Henry VI did send Talbot back to France with 2,500 additional troops in May of 1442, which is great. Well, until you learn that Cardinal Beaufort saw to it that his nephew, Somerset, receive 25,000 pounds in funding while Richard wasn’t paid for the year. Ooops, I can see why Richard might not like the Lancastrian faction in coming years. Oh, and all that money did, well, basically nothing, plus, Richard and Talbot weren’t able to do anything except barely hold position in France. Somerset would eventually return to Normandy after having achieved nothing. He would die there, possibly by suicide, though he was unwell, so it could have been illness, in 1444. Somerset was survived by his only legitimate child, Margaret Beaufort, she’ll get her own episode soon. Since Richard wouldn’t be winning any further battles in France, thanks to Cardinal Beaufort’s machinations, he would be forced to serve out his term in Rouen, keeping the Normand lands running for a king who didn’t seem to worry about his French possessions. He did negotiate an impressive peace with Burgundy in 1443. The Burgundians seemed to be regretting leaving the English for the French since Charles VII had ignored them. I mentioned earlier that the crown had sent Somerset back to France with funding that Richard likely felt was his. And I’ve mentioned Henry VI’s inability to problem solve between his nobles. By allowing Somerset to wage war in the theatre that Richard should have controlled the king set the two men or their families on a collision course. Both Somerset’s daughter, Margaret Beaufort, and his brother Edmund, would blame Richard for his failings in France. This was despite the fact that Somerset’s failures were his own and Richard had literally no control of his actions. Because Henry VI had not given Richard clear leadership over Somerset or removed Richard from leadership over Somerset Henry had opened Richard up to these personal attacks. 

While Richard was in France his wife gave birth to three of their children, in Rouen. This is useful for our narrative because one of those sons is Edward Earl of March, the future Edward IV of England. What’s interesting is that thanks to Edward III’s decision in 1350, de antis ultra mare, of Those The Are Born Beyond the Sea, Edward, Earl of March was an English citizen with all rights despite his overseas birth, had this not been taken care of in 1350 there’s a chance his citizenship could have been challenged. Remember, at the time of his birth Richard’s son was never expected to be king. Edward, though, was important to the House of York as Richard’s heir. The couple had a second son, Edmund, and a daughter, Elizabeth, while they were in France. All three of these children would survive childhood, and two would survive into adulthood, Edmund would come heartbreakingly close to doing so as well. 

Now there’s something important about Edward, Earl of March, the future Edward IV. It’s the timing of his birth, some gossip mongers of the day, and some fiction novelist of our day use this timing to suggest that he was illegitimate. He was born at the end of April 1442. Richard would have been near Pontoise in August 1441, forty weeks prior to this date, he wouldn’t return until the 20th of August. Now, this assumes a 40 week pregnancy, but any pregnancy between 38 and 42 weeks is considered full term and pregnancies as early as 36 weeks are usually viable, and even earlier can be. The 20th of August 1441 to the 28th of April 1442 is one day short of 36 weeks. Even without modern medicine a well fed mother, who had successfully delivered children in an environment where her needs were met and her child wasn’t exposed to illness this isn’t early enough to worry about. Also, what did Cecily have to gain by having a child with a man other than her husband? Really, she would have been surrounded by women of their court in Rouen, her security would have been protected by her guards, and she and Richard seemed to get along well. Plus, most importantly, Richard never seemed to doubt his son’s paternity. And Edward looked like two of his siblings based on accounts, two siblings whose paternity was unquestionable. Oh, and he was pretty, which you’ll remember is a trait from Edward III via both his parents and since Richard and Cecily they were both descendants of Edward III it’s not surprising that they’d have a pretty son. The accusations that due to his height he couldn’t be Richard’s son are also rather easy to disprove. Both Edward’s paternal great-great-great grandfather, Lionel of Antwerp and his maternal great-grandfather John of Gaunt were noted for their height, especially Lionel. The Plantagenet family is generally known for having members of greater than average height, so I wouldn’t use this to discount Edwards paternity either. My personal opinion mirrors my thoughts on anyone suggesting Isabella of France was cheating on Edward II prior to her known liaison with Roger Mortimer, there’s no evidence for this, it’s just rumour and slander used to put down powerful people or worse, to insult women throughout history. Finally, as I’ve mentioned countless times, the child of a woman is assumed to be her husband’s unless he intentionally rejects it. And just like Richard’s father was claimed by Edmund, Richard never treated Edward as though he were anyone’s child except his. 

Henry VI was 22 in 1444 and still unmarried. He’d also not been betrothed to anyone, though a few brides had been suggested. In seeking a truce with France both Henry and Cardinal Beaufort were hoping to find Henry a French bride. They may have preferred a princess, one of Charles’ daughters even, though the first cousin thing is pushing the ability of papal dispensation. The amount of time I spend looking through the marriages of royalty and nobility at this time really shows me that in England and France first cousin marriage was very rare, second and third cousin marriage was much more common. Would the pope have granted dispensation? Yes, if France and England had paid him enough. But Charles VII was unlikely to send one of his daughters to marry the man who was claiming his throne. In addition, Charles’ oldest two daughters, Radegonde, and  Catherine were already betrothed or married. His next four surviving daughters, Yolande, Joan, Joanna, and Magdalena were all ten or less at the time of these negotiations. Based on Henry VI’s age and his lack of heirs via his uncles I imagine waiting around for one of Charles’ younger daughters to grow up would have been difficult. Plus, in Charles’ defence, marrying your daughter’s off to the man who is still claiming your throne and the son of the man who had you disinherited seems like a decision most father’s wouldn’t want to make. Instead, the French king offered his niece, Margaret of Anjou, then 14. The negotiations were overseen on the English side by William de la Pole, then the Earl of Suffolk who would earn himself the title of Marquess of Suffolk for his work. He was also given the wardship of Margaret Beaufort, who was his wife, Alice Chaucer’s, maternal cousin. Suffolk did have something with him that almost no one in England outside of the king knew about. A letter, offering to return Maine to the French, as part of Rene of Anjou’s holdings was sent as part of these negotiations. This letter would have a lasting impact on English politics, and I will come back to it very soon. Do remember, this return was not set to occur until April 1446, so two years after the start of negotiations, and it was meant to be predicated on the French king sending peace envoys to England to discuss long-term peace. Though, interestingly, there was no written requirement for peace envoys for the return of Maine, Henry VI might have been a bit too trusting in many ways. One more thing I should mention, Maine at least the majority of it, was held by the Beaufort family, I can only imagine how overjoyed they would have been to learn about this plan. 

Now, I’ve heard a few other podcaster and fellow historical educators discussing how the French wouldn’t send a French princess to marry Henry VI, but I think choosing Margaret of Anjou was actually a really thoughtful move on the part of Charles VII. He couldn’t send one of his daughters, since the relation would be too close, they would be first cousins of Henry VI. His Burgundian cousins would have used it as part of their schemes, and the Orleanist were just a scheming at this point. Instead, he sent his beloved niece the granddaughter of his protector, Yolande of Aragon, and a woman he thought could handle herself (you’ll remember Yolande from the last episode daring the French royal couple of Charles VI and Isabeau of Bavaria to come take the future Charles VII from her protection). Margaret may have been called a she wolf by later generations, but I don’t think Charles VII was choosing a throw away member of his extended family. Instead he was entrusting someone he cared about to England. Yes, women were often used as bargaining chips, but Charles VII would have known he wasn’t sending his niece to a monster, Henry VI reputation as a kind man was well known. What no one was expecting was for Margaret to be even stronger and more ready to fight for her rights than even her grandmother had been. 

Margaret had actually been raised for much of her life in her grandmother Yolanda’s household. Her father, Rene of Anjou, was Yolanda’s second son by Louis of Anjou, an uncle of Charles VI, making him both a second cousin and the brother-in-law of Charles VII of France. Rene would claim the crown of Naples from 1435, but he would never successfully hold the kingdom. He did control Anjou though, which borders parts of English-controlled Normandy. This marriage was able to seal a two-year truce between France and England. Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou were married by proxy in May 1444, but she wouldn’t meet her husband for almost a year after this. They would marry in person in April 1445 in England and she would be crowned on the 30th of May 1445. Richard didn’t play a large part in the negotiations relating to this marriage, but he would help escort her through English-held lands in France on her way to England. I think it’s rather lucky for Richard that he couldn’t be blamed for the territorial concessions that this marriage took from England and gave to France. It’s interesting, knowing how this story ends, to wonder what the meeting between Richard and Margaret of Anjou would have been like. She was only 14, he was 33, he probably couldn’t have imagined how strong of a woman she would become, and she likely saw him as one of her husband’s many supporters. 

Having assisted his king, in a minor way, Richard now looked to help himself. He wrote to Charles VII of France looking to procure a bride for his oldest son, Edward. Yes, the king couldn’t have a French princess, but it appears that Charles was happy to discuss marry one of his daughters off to the son of a duke. This may sound underhanded, but it appears that Henry VI was aware of these negotiations and didn’t feel the need to stop them, he may have even encouraged them. Charles originally offered his youngest daughter who was year and a half younger than Edward who was three. To us this would seem an acceptable match, if disturbing to think of child marriages, but Richard actually asked for one of Charles’ older daughters, likely so that the marriage could proceed as soon as Edward was old enough. It’s important to remember, while Gloucester was Henry VI’s heir he was getting old, and hadn’t had any legitimate children. After him the Beaufort line were excluded from the crown (I do promise I will cover this in Margaret Beaufort’s episode). This means that Richard could have been next in line after Gloucester, at least until the king and Margaret of Anjou had a child. 

Parliament was called in 1445, and this would be an experience for Richard. The Lord Privy Seal, Adam Moleyns, the Bishop of Chichester, had, privately to others including nobles,  suggested that Richard was guilty of poor management, both military and financially, of Normandy and France. Richard brought forth Moleyns’ accusations during Parliament to petition his reputation be restored. Richard also wanted to make sure the king publicly acknowledged that his management in France had been acceptable. Moleyns publicly claimed that he did not make these accusations, he asked that those present and Richard know that he wasn’t making accusations. This may seem like one of those silly moments in Question Time (for my American listeners this is when members of Parliament can ask questions to the government, trust me, it’s worth watching some on YouTube), but it was serious. Just like now and man’s reputation was important, and both Richard and Moleyns’ wanted to protect their reputation, and by publicly bringing the charges Richard was forcing the nobility and the king to acknowledge his work in France had been good. He was also putting a stop to rumours and preventing these from being an ear worm to the king. And finally, by bringing this to the public attention he may have been requesting the king’s public support. Richard would regularly seem to need to request the king’s support, and this will come up again and again throughout his life. 

Despite all of Richard’s good work in Normandy and the king at least suggesting he supported Richard he wasn’t reappointed as lieutenant-general in Normandy. It appears that he expected to be reappointed because he didn’t move his children back to England with him when he visited for parliament. One of his children, Margaret was born while he was in England. In December of 1446 Edmund Beaufort, was appointed to the position in Normandy. This may have been Cardinal Beaufort’s political manoeuvring, he may have started seeing Richard as Humphrey of Gloucester’s man, and wanted one of his own nephews in place. While Richard was out of power in France he was in favour in England. The king had bestowed gifts on him in the months before Edmund’s appointment. 

The following year would be a full one. Parliament was called n December of 1446 and assembled in early February 1447. Henry VI still hadn’t handed Maine over to the French, and the public still didn’t know. Gloucester had made it clear that he blamed his nephew’s advisors for the territorial losses in France (these had occurred both before Richard’s appointment and during due to a lack of funding). Parliament wasn’t being held in its normal location, it had originally been set to happen in Cambridge, but had been moved to Bury St. Edmunds. This was to the east of the original location and away from areas where Humphey was popular. Not that it would matter for him. On the 20th of February, ten days after parliament had opened, Gloucester was arrested. The king suddenly felt that his loyal uncle was trying to have him killed. Now, Henry hadn’t shown signs of mental illness, yet, but could this have been an early sign? Before he could be tried Gloucester died on the 23rd, at the age of 56. There are plenty of historians who think he might have been murdered, but his official cause of death was stroke. With his death Richard lost an ally who could have helped keep him close to court. While Richard had been close to Gloucester he did not protest his arrest and was rewarded, at least financially, with Gloucester’s death. In a final insult to Gloucester his former wife, whom he’d been forcefully divorced from, was declared legally dead less than a month after her late-former husband’s death. she would live for another five years. This was done to make sure she wouldn’t have any claim on Gloucester’s properties. More than a century after Gloucester’s death the Grafton Chronicle, written more than one hundred years after these events, implies that Margaret of Anjou had something to do with this whole affair. I think this is probably mud being slung at women, which we know had happened a lot through history. A different chronicle, also written a century later, says that Gloucester’s death is what lead Richard to decide to become king of England, and this I also think is some mud slinging. 

While Cardinal Beaufort and Edmund Beaufort were powerful in court a great deal of power was resting with William de la Pole, now the Marquess of Suffolk. He had been promoted after his negotiations with France for Margaret of Anjou and that little giving Maine back thing. Suffolk likely encouraged the king to make sure that Richard was bribed not to speak up about the treatment of Gloucester. Not long after Gloucester’s death Richard and Suffolk would lose one more person who could compete for the king’s attention and ear, Cardinal Beaufort died in early April 1447. I’m sure the king was sad, but I can’t imagine Richard was heartbroken. 

With Gloucester’s death Richard moved up in the line of succession to next. The Beaufort line had been excluded, and that left Richard as the only heir (from bot Lionel and Edmund’s line). The contrast between the king and his cousin would have been striking. Henry VI still had no children, he and Margaret had been married for two years and she was old enough to have consummated their marriage. Richard on the other hand had five children at this point. This may be where the mud slinging that Gloucester’s death is when Richard decided to try to become king. Before the death of Gloucester Richard had someone to step over, now he only had a king to remove. I do not think he started gunning for the role, and I think his actions over the next few years will show that this wasn’t his plan at the time. 

In 1447 the news that Maine was to be returned for the French became public, the handover had been delayed until at least the new year, but the cat was out of the bag. Imagine, to my American audience, that we needed to hand Alaska back to Russia, but our president had kept it secret and had gotten very little for handing it back. This is what it was like for the people of England at the time, they were giving back ‘their’ land and winnings. Suffolk took the blame for this, but did try to defend himself and since we know the king had already agreed to it, he of course forgave Suffolk. At some point in 1447 Richard purchased the wardship and marriage rights of Henry Holland the 3rd Duke of Exeter. Exeter was then married to Richard’s eight year old daughter, he’ll come up a few times in this episode and the next. Throughout 1447 Richard would be active at a normal level in politics in England and at the end of the year he would receive a seemingly prestigious appointment. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. This was of course something of his birthright, through Lionel of Antwerp’s marriage, his descendants, including Edmund, Roger, and Edmund Mortimer (the 3rd, 4th, and 5th earls of March), had been appointed to the role at various times. Unlike these earlier appointments, which were for a few years, Richard was appointed for ten years. He wouldn’t leave until May of 1449. Leaving for Ireland would be good in some ways, it could keep Richard safe from any fall-out following Gloucester’s death, but it would also take him away from court and the king. This could allow others to influence politics in the realm. Before he left for Ireland he would see a rather happy event occur for his family. His nephew, Richard Neville, the oldest son of his brother-in-law, also Richard Neville (the elder was the 5th Earl of Salisbury, so I’ll stick with titles), was granted the earldom of Warwick, juri uxorise, through is wife, Anne Beauchamp. While titles often become extinct when a male line goes extinct sometimes the king keeps these things going and this was one of those cases. Salisbury and Warwick will greatly influence and support Richard in the coming years. 

As many of you may know, Ireland didn’t love being ruled by the English. The Irish lords and commoners had no interests in being part of England and the English-originating lords had no interests in putting up with English rule. Many lord-lieutenants sent a deputy to oversee their rule, but Richard seemed set on going there himself. This was great for both him and for English rule in Ireland. Richard pretty much came storming into Ireland, but in a good way. He was welcomed warmly by the English-Irish nobility. As he traveled throughout the English controlled area he helped the king, requesting the loyalty of those lords, both to him and the king. Each time a lord swore loyalty to Richard he also swore loyalty to Henry. Does this sound like a man intent of claiming his cousin’s throne? Those who wouldn’t swear fealty were dealt with quickly. Using those loyal to him he was able to subdue those who wanted to avoid being ruled. Overall he did well ruling Ireland and proved to be a popular leader in the country. Matthew Lewis even suggests that Richard may have been planning to stay in Ireland. 

Richard had been promised payment for his time in Ireland, as he had been promised in France. Much like France, though, Richard was not being paid. He was owed tens of thousands of pounds from his time in France (millions of pounds in today’s money). His second parliament in Ireland, in 1450, showed that he wasn’t receiving the promised pay. This was an ongoing problem with England. Henry VI had a poor handle on his country’s finances and with the death of Cardinal Beaufort there wasn’t a purse to run to when funding ran low.

On that low financial note I’ll pause until next week. Henry’s poor financial planning and inability to manage his leading magnates in a way to help support his country will come to bite him very badly next week. It will though allow Richard to show how successful he could be when given a chance. I think his actions in Ireland and France really show the character of the man and the next episode will show how much more prepared he was to lead than the king the country was forced to follow.

Richard, Duke of York, Part 3:

Welcome back. This is going to be a busy episode, 1450 in England was an intense year, and this episode doesn’t stop there. This will be the longest episode of the four Richard, Duke of York episodes. I hope it’s not too intense, and I actually really enjoyed learning more about this time and writing this episode. Since it’s so big, let’s just get into it. 

Outside of Ireland things were going very poorly for the kingdom, 1450 was an intense year in English history. While Maine had been returned, Henry VI still claimed to be king of France and that made it difficult for Charles VII to negotiate with him. Henry wanted peace, but couldn’t give up his titles without loosing face with his people. Adam Moleyns, the Lord Privy Seal had been murdered by a mob while trying to leave the country on pilgrimage. Not long after William de la Pole, by then the Duke of Suffolk, was arrested for treason due to the marriage negotiations in France. While the king had forgiven him the Commons hadn’t, and Suffolk was punished with banishment for five years. As we’ll remember from the end of Richard II reign banishment can go well, as it did in Henry Bolingbroke’s case or poorly as it did in Richard de Mowbray’s case. In Suffolk’s case it went unimaginably poorly. In the Channel, while sailing to Calais his ship was captured by a notorious pirate ship, Nicholas of the Tower. After a quick mock-trial Suffolk was, well, beheaded. I think it has to be the shortest exile ever. His body washed up on shore. Oddly, despite being in Ireland some did try to blame Richard for Suffolk’s death. It is possible that he was able to get word that quickly, but it would have been difficult. In an interesting twist Suffolk’s son, John would be married to Margaret Beaufort a few months before his father’s death, though their marriage would be annulled, she would later marry Edmund Tudor. John on the other hand would eventually marry Elizabeth of York, Richard’s daughter. Due the financial constraints on the kingdom the Commons asked the king to take back many of the grants of land and money that he had given to his various favourites. While Richard wasn’t a favourite in many ways he was still meant to be paid and this added to the lack of it. 

Edmund Beaufort’s time in France wasn’t going well, he was insulting the king of France in their correspondence and selling offices in France to the highest bidder instead of appointing those who were qualified. Rouen was lost in October of 1449. By 1450 Edmund had managed to loose most of English possessions on the continent. He surrendered Caen, which was Richard’s holding on the content in July 1450. If Richard hadn’t already had issues with Edmund this would have sealed their amity.  By 1453 all of France except Calais would be held by the French, but we’re not there yet, first we have to get to some riots. 

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that losing wars in the middle ages was not popular with common people. They are often sent off to foreign lands to fight, possibly die, if they return home they may be injured or have been poorly paid. In England in the mid-1400s though it was made worse by the financial mismanagement of the king and his favourites. In addition southern parts of England were being attacked by both Norman soldiers and French soldiers. Oh, and there was a rumour that Henry was going to turn parts of Kent into Royal Forest, I’ll explain in a This Too Shall Passed episode soon what a Royal Forest is, but let’s just say this rumour was seen as a threat to remove people from their land with almost no compensation. By April 1450 this discontent and anger finally exploded, what is now called Jack Cade’s Rebellion. It almost feels like a replica of the Peasant’s Revolt under Richard II, and that’s probably because they share a great deal of similarities. But, both uprisings share a great deal with others that occurred over the course of the Hundred Years’ War. Patrons will hear similarities with the uprisings in France that happened while John II was an English prisoner. Really, at the end of the day, the common people only had so many ways to make their voices heard, and protesting could be highly effective. Much like the earlier English Revolt this one started in the south of the country, which makes sense when you remember that the attacks from the continent were coming from the Channel. 

A man, named Jack Cade, which likely wasn’t his real name, who was likely a very lowly commoner, was able to inspire his fellow common members of society. He gave various names for himself, including the title Capitan of Kent and John Mortimer. The latter is a fascinating choice, seeing that the Mortimer’s were a well known and influential family in England. While the line that married Philippa of Clarence, Lionel of Antwerp’s daughter had ended in the male line, Richard was a descendant in the female line through is mother, Anne Mortimer. Remember, Richard was still in Ireland at this time, but using the Mortimer name was enough to implicate him. Cade probably didn’t even think of this implication and was instead hoping using a powerful name would help his cause. Full disclosure, there was no lack of those named Mortimer in England, just Roger Mortimer, the 1st Earl of March, the one who had an affair with Isabella of France, had two further surviving sons, so it wasn’t a rare name. 

In May 1450 at leat 5,000 rebels began to march towards London. They were mostly peasants. By Mid June royal they met royal forces who had the goal of scaring them off. However, the royal forces were unprepared, the peasants were not going to back down regularly. Cade even took clothing from the wealthy as the rebels defeated royal forces. Multiple members of the gentry and upper classes were killed before the rebels reached London on the 3rd of July. The rebels, unlike those of the Peasants Revolt, did loot London, extensively. This looting turned the citizens of London, until now willing to welcome this protest, against the rebels. Cade and his followers were effectively kicked out of the city on the 7th when London Bridge was raised after they left. On the 8th they battled with royal forces on London Bridge. The rebels were defeated. Some, including Cade were convinced to negotiate with the king for pardons. Cade was even granted one, in the name ‘John Mortimer’, since this wasn’t his name it would likely have been eventually rescinded, but the king decided to proclaim all pardons revoked because Parliament had not approved. Cade died on the 12th of July and a mock trial of his body was held, it was beheaded, dragged through the streets and the quartered. 

While all this excitement was going on in England, Richard was still in Ireland. He would have gotten news regularly, so he would have known his lands in France were forfeit and that there were uprisings in England. He probably did worry both about his personal property in England and the governing of the country. He couldn’t influence the king from Ireland, and he probably realised the longer he stay there the more he’d risk. But, those around the king, especially Edmund Beaufort, who had made it back from France at some point before September 11th when he was appointed Constable of England, were not keen for Richard to return. In September of 1450 Richard made his return, though he was almost prevented from landing by men sent on Henry’s orders and had to raise soldiers as he traveled. Landing on the 7th and reaching London on the 27th, between Richard’s landing and his arrival in London Edmund was also appointed Constable of Calais. Yeah, that had to sting a bit, for many at court, the man who had lost Normandy was be given rewards instead of being punished. This may have had something to do with Henry’s goal of attaining peace with France at almost all costs. On his way to the king Richard of course wrote letters. His letters, and Henry’s responses survive. In his letters Richard assures the king of his loyalty and shares his shock that some had tried to prevent his landing. He explained that raising soldiers on his way was for his own protection. Henry expressed to him that he was afraid Richard would be acclaimed king by the populace and overthrow Henry. Henry also admitted to sending patrols against Richard’s landing, but the king claimed it was due to this fear. One little thing of interest is that the summons for the next parliament had been sent out on the 3rd of September. Had Richard even waited a week before leaving for England he may have had all the excuse he needed to come. 

While Richard was traveling from Wales to London, he contacted his acquaintance, William Tresham, the most recent Speaker of Parliament, to ask for assistance. Getting information from someone who had been in London while he was away would help Richard greatly. Tresham left to meet Richard, but on the 23rd of September he was attacked and killed. This could have just been the result of a local feud or it could have been something about who Tresham was meeting. After hearing of Tesham’s death it’s easy to see why Richard would have made sure to bring soldiers with him. But, it turns out this was probably a good call. Richard forced his way into a meeting with Henry. Richard may have actually slapped the king, though from everything I’ve read about him he seems to be a more considered man than to lash out in anger against the one person who could end him. I imagine this is where George RR Martin got the idea to have Tyrion slap Joffrey in Game of Thrones, full disclosure, that may only be in the TV series, I’ve only read the first book.

Richard had been popular with the common people. Matthew Lewis uses the Paston Letters, a series of letter written by a family minor-landed gentry between 1422 and 1509. I have read through these myself and they’re not just useful but interesting to read, I’m a huge fan of hearing more from the less powerful and these are a rare treat in that area. These letters show support from many outside of the major nobility for Richard and hope for him to reform things. 

The Parliament that had been called in September met in early November 1450.The elected speaker for the Commons, William Oldhall, was a supported of Richard’s. Oddly, Richard was not present for the opening. He didn’t arrive until the end of November. Not long after his arrival, in early December Edmund Beaufort and other advisors close to the king were robbed and assaulted. Richard rode through the streets of London to warn the people not to attack the king’s councillors and that justice would be swift for those who did. While Richard was calling for the assaults to stop he was still in favour of removing Edmund Beaufort from Henry’s side. There is some confusion over what happened next. Edmund Beaufort may have been place in the Tower, likely for his protection, but it was a rather unsure time. The general feeling I get of the year 1450 in England is chaos. The year started with the king’s closest advisor banished and killed, and ended with his closest family member and his councillors being assault and robbed, with the Commons asking for those advisors who allowed France to fall to be imprisoned or banished, and a king, who while he hadn’t had his first mental breakdown, was not known for his strength or decisiveness. Henry’s answer to this was, well, much as would be expected from a man who couldn’t make decisions and didn’t want to upset anyone. He said that he would banish those on the list, unless they were those who regularly waited on him. So, this pretty much protected all of those who the Commons was asking to be banished. Richard wasn’t leading the Commons to make these requests, but the Commons did support him. He hadn’t been involved in the loss of France and his performance in Ireland had been near flawless. Despite all the accusations that would come later, Richard, in every way publicly and in all ways that can be found privately, was loyal to Henry. He wanted the poor advisors removed from his cousin’s side, he wanted Beaufort punished for the losses in France, and he wanted to have the king listen to his council, which, based on everything Richard had done would have been good. Richard was supported by many during this time and could have easily made a move and didn’t. Rather, he used his popularity to speak out for the king. He used his popularity to bolster the king, he asked the common people to stop rising up against the king’s council, while asking the king to properly punish those who had caused English losses. Despite all the Richard was doing for him Henry still chose to keep Beaufort close. 

England was suffering from money troubles, severe money troubles. To try to balance the kingdom’s books (which were deeply in the red) Parliament passed the Act of Resumption in May of 1451, which would take back the grants given by the king. There were many grants that were exempt, to keep too many from being angered. But Parliament wasn’t done making demands. A petition requested that Gloucester be posthumously rehabilitated and pardoned. And finally, a motion that was not recorded in the officials rolls, but was recorded in Benet’s Chronicle. This requested that Richard be officially declared the king’s heir until Henry had a son of his own. Apparently the man who requested this, Thomas Young, was arrested and held in the Tower. 

After Parliament closed Richard returned to his Welsh estates. He was reconfirmed to some offices he held, which would have assured him he was still in royal favour. While there was ongoing fighting among various nobles in England throughout 1451 Richard continued to support the king. While Richard had been supportive of the king, Edmund Beaufort had apparently continued to spread rumours slandering Richard. Richard wrote the king to protest his innocents. In February of 1452 this came to a head when Richard wrote to the locals of Shrewsbury to accuse Beaufort of treason. He requested assistance to stand up against Beaufort, but made sure to continue to support the king. With these supporters, who were a small army, Richard marched towards London. Henry was quickly moved north to the Midlands. When Richard reach London the gates were closed to him. Henry wanted to know what Richard’s intentions were, and sent an embassy to discover what was going on. Included in this embassy were Richard’s brother-in-law Salisbury and Salisbury’s son Warwick, along with the bishops of Winchester and Ely, along with other nobles. Richard demanded the arrest of Beaufort and that he be removed from Henry’s side. When Henry received word he had word sent to Richard that it was done. Richard disbanded his supporters and went to his king. When he arrived he was met by the king and Beaufort, yeah, Henry had either lied or been talked out of arresting Beaufort by Beaufort or Margaret of Anjou (who was close to Beaufort). This points towards a man not looking to take a throne, but to support the king. Richard was arrested upon his arrival on the 1st of March. Ten days later he rode into London in front of the king. He was forced to swear loyalty publicly at St. Paul’s. Richard was forbidden from raising an army again without the king’s permission. His only means of settling issues with out breaking his oath was to sue the king for assistance. There was a report written in the Grafton Chronicle (remember, written much later than these events), that Richard’s oldest surviving son, Edward, the future Edward IV, rode for London with an army to demand his father’s release. There are a few issues with this story. Edward wasn’t even ten, which even for the brilliant military leader he would become, was a bit of a stretch. Cecily, Richard’s wife and Edward’s mother could have set things up and used her son as a figurehead, but that’s a bit of a stretch. This may have just been a rumour and it was enough to see Richard released. He returned to Ludlow. 

Richard may have been granted a general pardon in mid-1452, he applied for one at least. Henry appears to have been convinced in this year to realise that he needed to support his remaining holdings in France or risk loosing them. The nobles of Gascony asked for the king’s support and he ordered John Talbot, who had been in Calais, to march on Bordeaux, successfully putting the city back into English hands. The year ended better than it had started. 

In early January 1453 someone got Margaret of Anjou pregnant, I’m kidding, we all know I don’t like it when women are besmirched by men with malicious rumours. Margaret and Henry finally conceive a child. I can’t find when the pregnancy was announced, but it’s likely some point around spring 1453, possibly after Margaret’s visit to Our Lady of Walsingham, a shrine she would have visited to pray for help in conceiving. Parliament was called on the 20th of January that year, and assembled in early March. Richard was rightly called. Henry seemed reinvigorated, possibly from the win in Gascony and possibly from knowing his wife was finally pregnant. The king awarded Beaufort for his loyal but less than impressive service by giving his dukedom, Somerset, precedence over all non-royal Dukedoms. Since there were no royal dukes at the moment this place Beaufort first among the secular nobility. In much kinder news, Henry also elevated two new earls, Edmund Tudor and Jasper Tudor were elevated to the earldom of Richmond and Pembroke respectively. Edmund and Jasper were Henry’s maternal half-brothers. His mother, Catherine of Valois married Owen Tudor, their father, in secret after the death of Henry V. There is one further rumour related to Beaufort and these two young men. It’s that he was the father of one or both. He and Catherine had been accused of having an affair, and her first child by her second husband was named Edmund. Most biographers think Owen was the father to both his claimed sons. These brothers would have been a boon for Henry. Two people who were family, but of no threat, at least to his throne in England. They could theoretically challenged for France, as children of a French princess, but that would have been such a stretch. 

When parliament assembled Richard was probably thrown off a bit when William Oldhall, a supporter of his and a former speaker in Parliament, was accused of treason for supposedly supporting Jack Cade. Oldhall took sanctuary in St Martin le Grand, he was eventually kept in the custody of the king’s valet. Parliament also heard a request that Cade, who had been dead for more than two years, be attained for a second time. Yes, he had been attained once already, they really wanted to be sure. These moves may have been made to reduce Richard’s influence and power in court. He was also removed as lord-lieutenant of Ireland, which is pretty insulting especially when added to the suggestions of treason. Cecily Neville even wrote to Queen Margaret asking that her husband’s honour be restored, she may not have known that Margaret was not ever going to be on Richard’s side. Parliament was put on hold in early July, with a planned return in mid-November. So far 1453 wasn’t too bad for England, but it was about to start getting worse.

The Percy-Neville feud was growing. The dominant Neville faction was the younger group, those for whom Joan Beaufort was their mother. In addition to this building disagreement (which will come to open fighting soon), there was another internal conflict. This one also involved the Nevilles, though this is the next generation. Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick and Edmund Beaufort did not get along. This should be surprising since Warwick’s father, Salisbury, was Beaufort’s cousin, but it appears that the younger Neville branch was on Richard’s side. All of these arguments were about land, each side of both argument had rival claims on various holdings. Really, it was a lot of rich men who these days would have just sued each other instead of raising arms. Also, these days letters patten granting land are much more specific. Henry progressed west during the break in parliament to attempt to settle the Warwick-Beaufort dispute. For the Warwick-Beaufort dispute he sided with his favourite and may have guaranteed the Warwick would never support Henry. With everything that happens next he might should have chosen to go north.

At the same time Charles VII decide this was the moment to attack Gascony. Talbot had been holding things together in the south of France, but he was no match for French guns. On the 17th of July 1453 Talbolt was killed and English control over Gascony ended, this left England with only Calais. No one knows if Henry received this news, but in August his reign would change forever. This is when he experienced his first mental break. Unlike his maternal-grandfather, Charles VI of France, his illness didn’t start out with a violent attack. Instead this king was in a near catatonic state. He wouldn’t or couldn’t respond to those around him. With Henry ill, there was a possibility that Richard could rise in power which would threaten Beaufort. It also appears that Queen Margaret felt threatened by this idea due to the friendship she had formed with Beaufort. While parliament was a thing this was still a time when the king had near-absolute control. There was also something important that the king would be needed for. On the 13th of October 1453 Henry’s only son was born. He was named Edward, after the patron saint of England whose feast day he happened to be born on. Edward was also Henry’s favourite saint, much like his ancestor Henry III. The king was needed to claim the child, while it’s assumed that the child born in a marriage was the husband’s, it was still important for the father to acknowledge his birth. Henry could barely be made to eat, there was no way for him to acknowledge his son. Thankfully no one questioned the queen, but they would be waiting more than a year before their king could welcome his son. This is likely where the malicious gossip about Edward’s parentage comes from. 

Richard was called back to court in November of 1453 to help run the kingdom while the king was ill. Parliament could not be reopened without the king, it was delayed until February of 1454. Not long after Richard arrived in London, he had Beaufort arrested and sent to the Tower. Beaufort was charged with treason. In January 1454 Queen Margaret pressed her own claim to a regency while her husband was ill. In her defence, in France this wouldn’t be uncommon. Some of the most famous queens of France were regents for their sons, husbands, or brothers. Women couldn’t be queen there, but they could rule. In England though things were a bit different. The first chance for a queen regent since the Conquest was Henry III who was a child king, but his mother Isabella of Angouleme was completely unsuitable for the role. After that the next was Edward III when his mother overthrew his father. Since her regency went so poorly this wasn’t something the English seemed to want to repeat. It didn’t help that Margaret was French, it might have also hurt her that she only had one child. Had their been a nursery full of royal children she may have had a better chance. Instead, Richard was given power. 

In mid-February, to make sure the country could still run, Richard was given the power to open and close parliament. He could also give royal assent in the king’s name specifically to acts in parliament. The leaders of England likely hoped the king would recover quickly, so they could have his guidance. But that was not to be. One of the biggest problems that needed the king’s approval was the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury and a new Lord Chancellor. Richard would not make these appointments on his own. Yes, he was leading things, but he had to be convinced each step of the way. To further minimise undue influence on the king he sent a group of nobles (three bishops, three earls, two viscounts, three lords, and a prior) to ascertain what the king could or could not agree to. The questions they were to present to the king were recorded in the Parliamentary Rolls. The delegation visited Henry on the 23rd of March without York, to again avoid undue influence. As you may all know, the king could not be made to respond to the questions. With the king continuing infirmary Parliament decided to appoint a protector, much like was done during the king’s minority. Richard, rightly by cultural practice, protested that he wasn’t worthy of the appointment when he was named. Beaufort likely wasn’t considered, and seeing that parliament had allowed him to be imprisoned this isn’t surprising. Richard wanted to protect himself from claims of usurpation. He also wanted clear instructions as to what his authority was, and he needed to be paid. The last point is understandable if you remember how little he had been given of promised payments in both France and Ireland. Richard was declared Lord Protector and Defender of the Realm and Church on the 27th of March 1454. This passed Parliament on the 3rd of April. The king, queen, and their son were sent to Windsor. 

While he wasn’t officially appointed until the 3rd of April Richard called council on the 30th of March. He appointed Salisbury, his brother-in-law as Chancellor, because the country needed one to function. York’s appointment is fascinating in one major way, it didn’t include any mention of the king’s recovery. The council who appointed Richard seemed to think that Henry would never recover. It did include language that Richard would remain Lord Protector until Edward, Henry’s infant son, came of age. Edward would be offered the option to allow Richard to continue as protector or to take over the role himself. Richard also made sure that Edward was invested as Prince of Wales, which further indicated that he thought Edward was Henry’s son even if gossip mongers of the day didn’t. Richard made sure that council met regularly and lead by consensus, without being as easily lead as Henry had been. Oh, and he kept Beaufort in prisoned, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, but Richard didn’t press ahead with charges of treason. He even called those who he knew were not on friendly terms to deal with the defence of Calias and England. These included the enemy of his brother-in-law, and Chancellor, Henry Percy, the 2nd Earl of Northumberland (to emphasise, not the treasonous Henry Percys who were his father and grandfather), and the Duke of Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, who had supported Beaufort, though oddly, a brother-in-law of Salisbury. Richard also included the king’s half-brothers, Edmund and Jasper, who would have only owed loyalty to their brother. It truly was an inclusive council, though Margaret and Beaufort probably wouldn’t agree. 

The Percy-Neville feud erupted in full in 1545, their property dispute come personal war led to a minor war of words in Parliament and coaxed Richard into writing a letter to his son-in-law, Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, who, along with Thomas Percy, Lord Egremont the son of Henry Percy, had been stirring up rebellion in Yorkshire. These letter stated that he wanted his son-in-law to stop his acts of rebellion and that his behaviour wasn’t fitting his station. With this letter he sent others to to those involved that they needed to stop their uprisings and then Richard headed north to take care of things in person. He spent almost a fortnight sorting out the issues and putting the riots to rest for the moment. His son-in-law fled to London where Richard had him arrested by northern justices. Holland was held until Richard returned. Council committed Holland to prison on the 24th of July, they were a bit cheeky in the prison they chose to place him in, Pontefract. This is the prison that Richard II died in, and as you may remember Holland was a nephew of Richard II’s. That’s one way to let your son-in-law know he won’t be welcome at Christmas dinner. I’ll remind you all that Richard’s choices throughout this period were not unilateral, he involved council in everything he did. Richard would have himself appointed Captian of Calais not long after he had sorted out the north.

Richard had avoided calling for the prosecution of Beaufort for a long time. By mid-July though others on the council were asking what should be done with him. Richard stated again that he though Beaufort had committed treason and didn’t want him released on any type of bail. Richard does state that he wants the great legal minds of the kingdom to examine the case and that he wants the peers of the realm to have input in making charges again Beaufort. On the 28th of July he agreed that a trail for Beaufort would be held by the 28th of October 1454. This didn’t happen, and I can’t find out the exact reason, but Beaufort wasn’t presented to council at any point in 1454. Instead, in mid-November Richard sorted out Henry’s household as a part of the economic reforms that had been called for in the years proceeding and following Jack Cade’s rebellion. This reform though upset one person in particular. Queen Margaret’s household was reduced and she had to share it with her son. Her household, by the way, was made up of 120 individuals, so it wasn’t like she wouldn’t have help. But, she felt it was a slight on her queenly dignity. Henry’s household was between 385 and 398 depending on the time of the year. Let’s not weep too much for them and their reduced households. It’s important to note that there’s no evidence that Richard was doing anything, at this point at least, to make Margaret of Anjou’s life difficult or to displace her from the king’s side. He even made sure her son, whom Henry couldn’t even acknowledge, let alone claim, was given his due rights. 

Richard seemed to be stabilising the kingdom in many ways, getting the countries finances under control, and dealing with in fighting within the nobility. But all, good things come to an end. One of the best quotes I’ve found to describe this is from Robin Storey, the historian and writer of the book The End of the House of Lancaster (spoilers) ‘If Henry’s insanity was a tragedy, his recovery was a national disaster’ and this disaster started unfolding at Christmas 1454. On Christmas day he was finally able to acknowledge his son, it was as though Henry had woken from a long nap. He was apparently overjoyed to learn that the boy had been named Edward, since this was his favourite saint. Henry was well enough to return to Parliament in early February 1455. On the 9th he ended Richard’s control, well, or Richard stepped aside. Prior to his illness Henry had been focused mainly on his prayers and his aims of peace, but after his recovery something had changed. His behaviours over the next few years will show this. Henry released Beaufort from the Tower in early March and declared Beaufort innocent and declared him a true and loyal subject. 

With Henry’s recovery Richard and his supporters were stripped of their appointments, including Richard’s appointment to Calais and Salisbury role as Lord Chancellor. Henry appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bouchier, who was granted the Great Seal and the role of Lord Chancellor. Richard and his Neville in-laws returned to the north after the king removed from them from his inner circle. While Richard and the Nevilles may have been out of fashion with the nobility they were very popular with the common people. Beaufort on the other hand had almost no support with the common people, especially those in London. Beaufort’s support from the nobility likely came from his uncanny ability to stay in Henry’s good graces. With Henry back in power Richard and his Neville supporters needed to be careful with their next move. 

Henry called for a Great Council to meet on the 21st of May 1455, in Leicester. If you remember all the way back to John of Gaunt’s episodes, Leicester was part of his Lancastrian inheritance from his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster. It was in the heart of the area that would support the king and Beaufort and was a risky area for Richard as he would have little support. Henry and his council had planned to meet in Leicester, but they hadn’t started moving that way as of the 18th of May. We know this because this is when the king found out that Richard, Salisbury, and Warwick along with between 3,000 and 7,000 men were marching south. Beuafort ordered the Thomas Bourchier, the Archbishop of Canterbury to send a letter commanding them to disband. On the 20th of May Richard wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury insisting on his loyalty to the king. Richard and the Yorkist would not disband. Beaufort ordered his supporters to St. Albans, north of London, and he and Henry began to travel to the location. Richard and his men changed direction to meet him there. Richard was sending Henry two letters, throughout their marches, declaring his loyalty, but he wasn’t receiving any responses. It appears that Henry was not receiving Richard’s letters, there’s no record as to why, but blaming Beaufort wouldn’t be the worst suggestion. Remember, Henry had once agreed to arrest Beaufort, but was convinced by Queen Margaret not to, and this time Margaret was no where near the king. Henry and Beaufort had more of the nobility on their side, as Matthew Lewis puts it ‘They had grown rich on Henry’s ineptitude,’ and people who are wealthy in this way often don’t want change. Richard though was also in the wrong, he had promised three years earlier to submit himself to the king’s justice alone. So two sides were getting close to facing off, and there is only one way for this to end. Yes, we are heading to a battle, and I don’t do battles. But, I had Phillip take a look at the battle lines with no knowledge of who was fighting. He quickly surmised who won, it was Richard, and this was the First Battle of St. Albans. I will note quickly that this is the battle where Warwick started showing the military prowess that would make him ‘the king maker’ in less than a decade. Warwick would receive the captainship of Calais, since Beaufort wouldn’t be able to manage it with his death.

Not only did Richard win, but his greatest opponent, Beaufort, was killed. Henry Percy was also killed. The king was take hostage, also with the Duke of Buckingham, who remember was Salisbury’s brother-in-law. I will point out very quickly that Richard did have a chance to kill the king if he had wanted to, but Henry survived the battle and the aftermath, Richard even swore his loyalty to the king again after the battle. And Richard banned his men from looting, so the city wasn’t completely ransacked. Now, this is still not the Wars of the Roses, Richard isn’t claiming the English throne, at least not publicly. He was still claiming that he wanted the king to listen to his counsel and to focus on reforms of the kingdom’s finances. Remember that Richard had temporarily controlled the kingdom well, he had performed well in France and Ireland, yet, his counsel was ignored in favour of Beaufort, who had shown poor counsel, had performed poorly in France, and appeared only focused on his own betterment.

Richard took the king back to London after disbanding his men. Richard saw to it that the king was crowned again at St. Paul’s cathedral. While Richard had won the battle the war hadn’t even started and wasn’t near being over. Both Beaufort and Percy had heirs, unhelpfully both named Henry, who would take up their fathers’ cause, with a bit more political awareness at first. Oh, and Richard’s son-in-law managed to escape with Henry Percy’s younger son. So, Richard had that to look out for. 

With that warning, it’s time to take a break until next week. Since this was a huge episode I’ll keep this bit short and I’ll see you all next week. 

Richard, Duke of York, Part 4:

Welcome back. Just a quick recap of where we are since last week was a huge episode. Richard and his Yorkist supporters have defeated the royalist forces at the First Battle of Sea Albans. Edmund Beaufort, the 2nd Duke of Somerset, Henry VI’s right-hand man and the whispers from behind the throne was killed. Richard has taken the king back to London, had him crowned to restore regal, royal prestige. But, there’s a lot to do, this battle was destabilising, at least momentarily and Richard needs to start sorting things out. With that let’s get going.

The Battle’s aftermath weren’t the only problems occurring in England. James II of Scotland invaded England and lay siege to Berwick after receiving word of the infighting in England. His casus belli was the death of his uncle, Beaufort, remember James II’s mother was Joan Beaufort. But the English, with Richard commanding from London, were able to end this tiny disagreement quickly. 

Richard had a lot to do, other than appointing his nephew as the Capitan of Calais, he appointed himself the Constable of England. He also had Henry Bourchier, the older brother of the Archbishop of Canterbury, appointed Lord Treasurer. Parliament was called at the end of May to meet on the 9th of July 1455. At this meeting, Henry opened the session as king,  Richard’s supporters were pardoned. The Archbishop of Canterbury raised issues keeping Calais funded and safe to protect merchant vessels, and wanted to make sure reforms in the royal household continued. He also wanted to see that issues with Scotland were addressed, financial transfers between England and Bordeaux were supervised, and Wales be discussed. Richard, as he had the first time he was Protector immediately began dealing with this issues. He appointed committees to look into each problem, and these committees were made up of a mix of members who had knowledge of each of these issues. The Commons also presented a 

 petition to rehabilitate Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. This was passed and ratified. The king was well throughout this period, but under Richard’s control. However, there were signs that he might be unwell again. Parliament was paused, I can’t find a date, but was to resume on the 12 of November. By then the king was unable to attend due to illness. Richard was again appointed Lord Protector, on the 18th of November. Richard made sure, as one of his early acts, that Edward, the Prince of Wales, was provided with income via the Duchy of Cornwall. The Prince of Wales would be offered the Protectorate once he came of age, just like the previous terms of Richard’s control. Richard himself would be paid at the same level he had been during the earlier Protectorate. After reviewing the committees’ work Richard began to reform, much like he had during his first Protectorate. Sadly, for all involved, this Protectorate would be shorter. By that, I mean, I think the long-term outcome would have been better for all had Richard have been allowed to remain in charge. Henry recovered in February of 1456 and dismissed Richard on the 25th. The Paston Letters though, suggest that Queen Margaret may have been pulling the strings and that the king was still unwell, though not catatonic, instead he was full of energy. 

I’m not a mental health specialist, but from what I understand the likely illness that Henry suffered from had multiple presentations, catatonia being just one. The other can present similar to a mania, think back to his grandfather killing members of his household after being startled by a spear falling on a helmet. With this ‘recovery’ Henry decided to go on a royal progress, he showed an interest in his kingdom in a way he hadn’t before. While Richard had been removed from the Protectorship he was still close to the king. This was lucky because on the 10th of May James II of Scotland decided to try his hand again, this time in writing. A month later James received a letter, written in the king’s name, but sent from Richard accusing James II of treason because Henry was his liege lord. This was likely not written to remind James of disputed truths, but to inflame him and make it clear that England wasn’t afraid of him. Richard wrote a second time, again making fun of James, before Herny took over, sending his own letter to James II that he did not approve of Richard’s wording in the earlier letters. Henry also slipped in a statement that Richard had been troubling his kingdom since Cade’s Rebellion. This is an odd statement to add since as we’ve seen Richard really hadn’t. Instead he was associated with the rebels because both wanted reform in England, but if you look at Richard’s overall actions, he professions of loyalty, and his protection of the king when needed, he’s not so much troubling the kingdom as working to make it better. Matthew Lewis suggests that this last bit my have been Queen Margaret’s doing, since she had set herself against Richard. He points out that Henry’s letter could have been perceived as almost an invitation to invade, since it was letting the king of Scots know that England had a rebellious duke at the heart of power, who had been acting as such for five years.

And this brings us to a bit more about Queen Margaret. She had set herself against Richard by allying herself with Beaufort. Now, Edmund Beaufort has been suggested as the illegitimate father of both Catherine of Valois’ younger sons, the king’s half brothers, and Edward, the Prince of Wales, by gossip mongers of the day. While I’m not suggesting this is true, I’m suggesting this says something about Beaufort, that he’s good at building relationships with powerful women. This is a brilliant skill to have, it had helped men throughout history achieve a great deal by hanging on the coattails of women who can help in power. Beaufort seems to have been able to win the queen’s trust, but he was gone now, and Margaret didn’t have any supporters other than her husband. She had done the one thing queens, sadly, needed to do, provided him with a son, but with the loss of her political ally she was likely feeling lost at court. Thus far, Richard had done nothing against her personally. He had made sure her household was maintained, though not at the level she wants, but financial awareness does not seem to be her strong point, he had elevated her son to the titles he was due, and he had kept her near her husband each time Henry was unable to run the country. But, she had been trying to form an alliance with Scotland to protect her position. Anyone who knows anything about Anglo-Scottish history knows this is probably a bad idea, but Margaret hadn’t learned this truth. She thought she could persuade a Scottish army to support her and that the English would support this. Her decision though would lead others away from her cause and into the arms of Richard. Sometime in early October 1456 a plan was hatched to kill Richard, but it was stopped by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham. There were rumours, recorded in the Paston Letters that the queen had something to do with this. Not long after this failed attempt two of the more neutral members of council, Henry and Thomas Bourchier were removed from their appointed posts (Thomas remained Archbishop though). How are these two events linked? Well, the Bourchier brothers happened to also be Buckinghams younger half-brothers, through their mother, Anne of Gloucester. Buckingham wouldn’t stop supporting the king after this, but it may have pushed him away from Margaret. 

Something else had happened after the death of Beaufort that I should mention quickly. His niece got married, sadly, this will be a rather disturbing story to share. This marriage will be fully covered when she gets her own episode, but it was kind of a big deal. Margaret Beaufort, then only 12, was married to the king’s older half-brother, Edmund, who was 25. Now, I’ve discussed this in earlier episodes, but marriages with this young of a bride and this big of and age gap were normal and expected. What wasn’t was for these marriages to be consummated. However, a man would not have ongoing access to his wife’s wealth if they didn’t have children. Since Margaret was a wealthy heiress, and Edmund was not as heavy of purse he made the shocking decision to consummate their marriage while his wife was still a literal child. His hope was that they would have a child, who could secure his hold over her holdings. He was half right in this belief, they did have a child, but he would never secure a hold of her property. He would die in early November 1456 while in Wales. He had been sent there by his brother to quell the unrest stirred up by Griffith ap Nicholas. His son, Henry Tudor, I wonder what he’ll amount to, was born on the 28th of January 1457 to a 13 year old Margaret Beaufort. This also lets you know that one of the king’s closest supporters, who oddly didn’t have trouble working with Richard, is also dead. 

The year that Henry Tudor was born in was quiet year compared to the previous year. This is one I imagine Old English chroniclers would have written an entry or two on celestial events and maybe the birth of Tudor would have made it into the books, but probably not. Henry did compensate Richard for a few minor, Welsh castles that he wanted to transfer from Richard to his surviving brother, Jasper. Richard handed them over without protest. In March of the following year, 1458, though things started to get interesting. Henry issued Richard with letter of safe conduct to attend a Great Council that had been summoned to meet in London. His brother-in-law, Salisbury, and his nephew, Warwick, were also invited. York arrived with 400 men, Salisbury with 500, and Warwick, who had maintained his post in Calais, with 600. The new duke of Somerset, Henry, and the duke of Exeter, Richard’s son-in-law arrived with 800 men, and the Percy brother brought 1,500 men. This sounds less like a meeting to govern the country and more like a powder keg to me. An English Chronicle, that’s its name, not just a general chronicle, said that Richard and his supporter’s men were peaceful, but those from the opposition were not. Henry and Queen Margaret arrived on the 17th of March. At some point after this Richard and Salisbury avoided an ambush from the Percys and their supporters. Remember, Richard was under safe conduct, and these were vocal and open supporters of the royal couple. By the 24th of March, after long negotiations, the two parties reached an agreement. Richard was required to pay Beaufort’s widow and children, for the loss of her husband and their father. Warwick was required to pay a similar compensation to a minor noble who suffered at the First Battle of St. Albans, and Salisbury was required to cancel debts owed to him by the Percys. The younger of the Percys was required to pay a peace bond to maintain peace between himself and the Neville faction for the next ten years. Richard did think quickly and had his debt applied to the amount the exchequer owed him. Since he hadn’t been properly paid much of the funds he was due for holding office in France, Ireland, or as Lord Protector. It was a great example of literally passing the buck, I’m sure he wished them luck on extracting the funds from the rather broke crown. Don’t forget that Richard’s great pushes while he was in power was to reform royal finances because there wasn’t any money. I also want to remind you that Richard submitted to the king’s justice when he was able to hear it from the king directly. He could have easily attacked and made things very difficult for Henry, but since he was able to speak to the king Richard submitted fully. There though was one more painful submission to come. On the 25th of March 1458 Henry declared Love Day, and had his various warring nobles and his wife march through London in a glorious parade. Henry likely led the way, with Richard following holding hands with Queen Margaret, who were in turn followed by Salisbury holding hands with the new Duke of Somerset, Henry Beaufort. How awkward, it actually makes me feel bad for everyone involved, except Henry, I’m sure he was convinced he had solved everything. 

But, Henry had solved very little, so little in fact, that you can’t see what he’s solved. The country was still in financial ruin, he still had two factions who hated each other who were forced to put on a farce for his benefit, and his wife was beginning to act of her own accord without him being her reason The rest of 1458 was uneventful in an active sense, but busy in the politicking that occurs around court. Rumours began to circulate that Edward, Prince of Wales was not the king’s son, rumours that were not new, but still painful for the queen. Hearing these Margaret attempted to bring men to her son’s side, having those who joined her cause swear allegiance to her son, not Henry as king. Richard was, luckily, safely in Ludlow, far away from the queen who seemingly wanted him dead. His supporter Warwick was in Calais winning a great deal of money from his naval victories and building up an impressive following. And Salisbury was in the north, bringing men to his and Richard’s cause. In June of 1459 a Great Council was called, Richard and Neville supporters were called to attend, but felt too threatened and refused to attend. They were ordered to appear before Parliament in November. At the end of the summer 1459 Richard sent word to the two, along with his two oldest sons, Edward and Edmund, to join him at Ludlow with their men. Edward was 17, and probably nearing his full adult height of six foot four inches, while Edmund was 16, and sadly we’ll never know how tall he would have been as an adult. 

This build up from Richard wasn’t one sided, Queen Margaret had sent the last six months building up her forces. She was looking to stop Richard and his forces from meeting up. This cause Salisbury to be a little latter than the rest, on the 23rd of September he faced off against Queen Margaret’s supporters at the Battle of Blore Heath. His 5,000 men was ambushed by 10,000 of Margaret’s men and won. The leader of the queen’s men, Baron Audley, was killed and his second-in-command, Baron Dudley, surrendered. Salisbury was able to make it to Ludlow just a few days after the battle. Warwick arrived from Calais with his near-professional fighting force. Richard and his supporters made plans to march south, but something put a stop to those quickly. The group then moved from Ludlow to Worcester. 

In early October Richard, Salisbury, and Warwick began to march east, planning to head south, but received word that a large host, lead by the king was coming their way. Now, this is an odd event in itself. Henry had been to battles before, but this was the first time he had been the driving force behind one and leading it with his sword held aloft. This could be a sign that he was suffering from a mental collapse, remember, peace was an overriding drive throughout his life. He did almost everything he could to avoid war, and here he is leading his army. Richard and his men retreated to Ludlow. Knowing the king was leading the army would make fighting him treason. They sent a letter to the king stating their loyalty to him, and inform him that they were only trying to protect themselves from those who would harm them, ie Queen Margaret and her followers. Henry responded that if they surrendered all but Salisbury would be spared, remember, he had just faced off against the Queen’s forces. If you’ll remember back to the first time Henry offered to protect Richard and remove Beaufort when Richard met the king with a large army. Henry did no such thing and it was a huge risk that he’d do the same this time, plus, he was in full armour leading the charge. This might not be peaceful Henry they were all used to. Richard and his men built a defensive barrier outside of the castle and made plans for what they’d do if attacked. On the 12th of October the royal army reached their location. Some time after events it was claimed that Richard announced the king had died and said a mass for his soul. Like the rumour’s that the Prince of Wales was not Henry’s son this is unlikely to be true, but it makes a good story. Overnight the soldiers from Calais defected. Once this news reached Richard, he, Salisbury, Warwick, and Richard’s sons returned to Ludlow. Knowing the defecting lieutenant from Calais knew their plans, they likely realised they’d have little chance of victory or even survival if they stayed to fight the king. Instead, Richard and Edmund slipped out and rode into Wales, with a goal of finding a ship to reach Ireland. Salisbury, Warwick, and Edward rode south to Devon, and were able to find a boat to take them to Calais. 

On the morning of the 13th of October the Yorkist army woke to find their leaders gone. The royal forces obtained the submission of the remaining soldiers and then ransacked the town. Richard had been forced to leave behind his wife and his younger children, including his two youngest sons. Cecily and her children were taken to the king and put in the care of Cecily’s sister, the Duchess of Buckingham. Richard and Edmund reached Ireland, they were welcomed by the Irish. Richard’s time there really had been successful. The crown sent demands to have Richard returned and the Irish refused. Richard opened Irish Parliament in early February 1460. He even managed to set up a mint. He could have very well stayed in Ireland, but getting his wife and youngest children there might have been near impossible. Richard and Cecily were rather devoted to each other, so this arrangement would not have been his choice. Alice, Salisbury’s wife, had managed to flee to Ireland after her attainment. 

Meanwhile, in England were set against Richard and his supported. Parliament had been called in early October and met on the 20th of November. This parliament earns the best nickname of any I’ve heard until the Civil War, it might actual beat those. It’s called the Parliament of Devils, so much better than the Bad Parliament. 

The Parliament of Devils was, as would be expected, focused on punishing Richard and his supporters. An English Chronicle even suggests that the elections to this parliament were unjust. Salisbury, his sons Thomas and John, who had been with him at Blore Heath, along with other supporters were attained first. Then Richard, Edward, Edmund, Warwick, and further supporters for their actions at Ludlow. Finally Salisbury’s wife, Alice, was attained. Now, she wasn’t one who would normally be attained, being a woman, but Salisbury was the earl juri uxoris, which meant with her attained all his property was no longer his even if he survived this ordeal. Attainders are an act of Parliament, a way to find someone guilty without a trial. In addition it would see all these men’s families without access to any of their funds should they die. Cecily Neville had an audience with the king and asked for support. She was granted a reasonable payment drawn from her husband’s former lands. The rest of the York lands were divided up between Henry’s loyal supporters. Remember back to the last time a king confiscated a great deal of property from a powerful duke, the Lancastrian inheritance that Richard II took from Henry Bolingbroke. By taking this much from Richard and his supporters, Henry and his supporters left the Yorkist with no other option but to fight for their lives and property. 

In late-June 1460 Warwick sailed out of Calais, avoided or outran the English naval forces in the Channel. They were able to rescue Alice, Salisbury’s wife and Warwick’s mother. Warwick was able to meet with Richard to discuss their long-term plans. Warwick was then able to return to Calais safely while avoiding any fighting with the English navy. Warwick was able to maintain control of Calais. In early July Warwick and Salisbury left Calais for England. They were able to march into London on the 2nd of July. It helped that Salisbury’s younger son, George, was the Bishop of Exeter. The Tower was under the control of forces loyal to the king, so Salisbury was left behind to besiege The Tower. Warwick and Edward went north to confront the king. On the 10th of July, at Northampton, Warwick, Edward, and their force of at least 2,000 faced the king and his 5,000 strong forces. It was a resounding Yorkist victory. Henry was taken captive, the Duke of Buckingham was killed, along with three other leading royalist. Oh, and a Baron switched to the Yorkist cause. The queen though, who had been present, managed to escape, with her son. She would flee to Wales and then onto Scotland. Henry was regally, and slowly transported toward London. 

With the news that the king was captured Richard began making plans to return to England. At this point Richard could have chosen to stay in Ireland, his nephew would have sent his wife and children to him. We could be living in the world that had a Yorkist Ireland and a Lancastrian England with Warwick acting a Lord Protector. But, it’s likely Richard and Warwick had made an agreement during the latter’s visit to Ireland, and Richard returned to London on the 10th of October. Parliament had opened on the 7th. I won’t speculate through the next bit of this, I’ll leave that for my analysis at the end, but anyone who’s studied Shakespeare knows what happens next. Commons were not in the chamber Richard entered, and the king was still being kept safe away from Parliament. Richard walked the full length of the chamber, ‘straight on until he came to the king’s throne, upon the covering or cushion laying his hand, he held it upon it for a short time.’ He then turned to look at the room and was met by deafening silence. The Archbishop of Canterbury stopped the continuing embarrassment by quietly asking if Richard wanted to see the king. Richard, who may have been getting sick of this, snapped ‘I know of no person in this realm the which oweth not to wait on me, rather that I of him. The Lords continued to look on with surprise. On the 16th on October Richard decided he really was done with being the opposition. He had the Lord Chancellor, George Neville (one of his many nephews, a Warwick’s brother), present his claim to the throne of England. This was in a document that outlined that as the senior descendant from Lionel of Antwerp Richard had a better claim to the throne than Henry. One little fact, this document is the first time Plantagenet was used as a surname. 

Richard’s claim was of merit in many ways, he was a descendant of Lionel’s only child, Philippa. The line that he and all royals in England were descended from came from Henry I through his daughter Matilda, so there was precedent in England for claiming descent through a woman. While Matilda was never made queen as you should all know, there was no reason she shouldn’t have been and her descendants sat on the throne since Henry II, nine generation, plus a few brothers and cousins succeeding each other. No legal impediment like Salic Law existed in England. With this claim parliament was forced to make a difficult decision. First, they needed to make sure his claim was valid. The Lords went to Henry and told him what was occurring. He asked them to just find evidence to keep him on the throne. Henry didn’t even have the energy to provide them with supporting evidence. The Lords tried to have the matter heard by the king’s justices. As you’ll remember from Lionel of Antwerp’s episode the justices decided they were not equiped to deal with it. 

Finally the Lords decided to send Richard a list of questions that each lord had devised. Richard had a few days, and his responses were well thought out. The best question, in my humble opinion, was why Parliament had passed numerous Acts confirming Henry’s grandfather, Henry IV, and his heirs. Richard told them that Parliament had only passed one act and that they needed to pass the act because the Lancastrian claim was illegitimate. While this may be correct, the Act needed to be passed because Bolingbroke was usurping his cousin, the rightful king. At the end of the questioning the Lords decided that they couldn’t overthrow an anointed king. Instead, they declared Richard Henry’s heir and created him Prince of Wales. They declared that Richard’s line would continue his claim and be his heirs. It’s interesting that Richard was 10 years older than Henry and would likely die prior to the king. It meant though that his sons, Edward, then Edmund, George, and finally Richard, would have a chance to be king. Henry assented to this change. Queen Margaret did not, she was enraged by this decision. Richard was given income from the duchy of Cornwall, probably the first moment his supposed income would actually come his way regularly and on time, well, at least for a little while. 

Queen Margaret had raised forces from the Scots and was preparing to march South. She had gotten Scottish help by agreeing to marry her son to one of the dowager queen’s daughters. She wouldn’t have to use her forces. Before she left Scotland the forces she had left in England, including the Percy family marched towards Richard’s stronghold. Richard, Salisbury, and Edmund marched north to meet the royalist forces. Edward was sent to raise troops from the Welch Marches. Richard and his forces reached the castle of Sandal on the 21st of December 1460, he had 5,000-9,000 men. Royalist forces arrived around the end of the month. There are three popular theories for what happened next. What is know is that on the 30th of December Richard, and his son Edmund left the castle. and were both killed along with many of Richard’s men. Why Richard and Edmund left that castle isn’t know, there are three popular theories. The first is the least likely. That a truce had been declared but that Richard had been taunted so much that he left the safety of the castle to battle with those who provoked him. Richard was more considered than this. The second is that his son was outside of the walls foraging and was seen to be under attack. In this scenario Richard left to protect his son and they were both killed. I think this one is more likely. The final one is as likely as the second. This is that Richard was betrayed by Salisbury’s older half-brothers who had promised him soldiers and lured him out under these promises. I think the latter two are the more likely. There was one further death of note due to this battle Salisbury survived the initial attack and was taken to Pontefract Castle where he was dragged out and beheaded by a mob. Richard and Edmund were posthumously beheaded.

Less than ten weeks after his death Richard’s oldest son, Edward, would become king at only 18 years old when he won the Battle of Towton. Edward, who became Edward IV, would face a pretender with a rather strong claim through a great deal of reign, Edward, the Prince of Wales, Henry and Margaret’s only son. I’ll be getting to his story very soon, but first, let’s discuss Richard a little more. 

Analysis:

So, first question, would Richard of York had been a better king than the king who ruled instead? I think a lot of people would have been a better king than Henry VI. A peace loving king is great, now, but in the medieval period this was not the case. A king could want peace, but needed to be ready for war. Henry also had a horrible grasp on royal finances, and that can truly hurt a kingdom. Of the main characters in the last few episodes I think Warwick, Queen Margaret, James II of Scotland, Richard, his teenage son Edward, John Talbot, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, hell, Charles VII would have made better leaders in England. I think Beaufort, Salisbury, and Cardinal Beaufort probably wouldn’t have done as well, but that might be picking on Salisbury a bit. Really, Henry wasn’t a person who should have been king and he was facing a man who had all the strengths he lacked. 

Matthew Lewis discussed Richard’s mistakes throughout his book and one of the obvious ones to everyone was not executing Edmund Beaufort. Richard’s choice not to was just and safe. It would have been a risky overreach, but at the end of the day it would have removed the man who separated Richard from the king and protected Richard from anything Beaufort could have thrown at him. 

I think Richard’s biggest mistake when he reached for the throne was not making sure the Commons was present. His greatest support came from that house, by only having the lord’s present he took a risk that didn’t pan out. 

My final little thought is this. Had the shogunate system of Japan ever have been tried in England this would have been the right person to give it a go. Had Margaret of Anjou decided to back Richard, and his good governance. Had Richard help raise her son, a perfectly normal occurrence in higher levels of society, and made sure Henry was safe, given access to his books and his family, it might have worked out really well for everyone except Beaufort. But, the shogunate system had not been brought to England, and there was no chance of Margaret letting that happen. I do wonder if they were just too different of people to see eye to eye. Henry was not a great king and things did seem to run well under Richard’s leadership. Had Henry’s son been shown Richard’s way of doing things he may have turned into a great king, instead of, well, everything you’ll learn next week. 

I really hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Richard, 3rd Duke of York as much as I have. I honestly feel like his story, and Robert Curthose’s are the two I really want to see movies of. Sadly, since they both lost they miss out. I think that will be an ongoing issue with subjects in this show! Next week I will see you for Edward, of Westminster, Prince of Wales. The much wanted son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou who would fight to regain his throne from Richard’s son, Edward IV. As you all know, due to the nature of this show, he won’t win, but let’s look at him. He’s nothing like his father. I’ll see  you all next week.