Richard, the Man Behind the Myth

By Andrea Willers

When Richard was born, being the youngest son and child of the Duke and Duchess of York, he seemed the most unlikely person to become King. He had learnt at Middleham Castle to be a soldier and a knight, and that is where he first met Anne Neville, later to be his wife. Life had ended abruptly when the Earl of Warwick had fallen out with Edward IV, and Richard was in Edward IV court with its plots and intrigues and unpopular scheming Woodvilles. Richard had married Anne, became the lord of the North, and was well loved. His whole life changed when news came of his brother Edwards death. He reluctantly went to London only to find himself in the middle of a hornets nest. Tales of murder and Margaret Beauforts hidden agendas had never made it easy. By the time Bosworth happened, Richard had certainly had nothing but bad luck during his time as King. He had lost his only son and only just become a widow, death must have been preferable. It had seemed that even in death, he had no luck. He was to become the product of Tudor propaganda, a villain in the history books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491882122

Andrea Willers

I always had a passion for history since I was young, and when I first learned about history at school, I could not understand why the period of the Wars of the Roses was so confusing and so conflicting. I first got really passionate about Richard III after visiting a museum in York. As I was in the museum, I had felt quite saddened at what I was looking at; it had plenty of references to Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, and a mock trial to see if Richard was innocent or guilty of murdering the princes in the tower. I heard a small cry in protest, “I hate Richard,” and the graffiti in the visitor book—I knew I had to research about the life of this man. I live with my partner, Graeme, in Scotland, who has helped me on these trips around Yorkshire and helped in using the computer. I am not very good with techniques, and without his patience, this book would never have got this far.

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THE KING’S BROTHER

I—The Young Boy

Richard was born on 2 October 1452, at Fotheringhay Castle. He was the youngest surviving child of the Duchess Cicely and Richard, duke of York. The duchess had twelve children of which only seven survived infancy. His coming into the world was a very shaky one, as it was recorded just after he was born that ‘Richard liveth yet’. He was not as healthy as his older brothers and sisters and as a child he was smaller than most children of his age. He was born into a time when the country was in turmoil. Near anarchy was the order of the day and the country was on the brink of civil unrest. The country was divided between two dynastic families, the Lancastrians who were headed by King Henry VI and the Yorkist who were headed by, Richard duke of York. Henry was weak and all but a puppet king, with his warlike wife Margaret of Anjou and her lover the duke of Somerset causing great unrest throughout the country

There were some great movers and thinkers born in this year, such as Ferdinand of Aragon, Savonarola, Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Columbus. People had started to print books in Europe and change was in the air.

Very little was recorded about Richard when he was young. He stayed at Fotheringhay, but his older brothers and sisters were schooled in other noble houses. He became affectionately known as ‘Little Dickon’ to his family and that was a name he liked to be addressed as later in life by the people around him. The two eldest brothers, Edmund and Edward, stayed at Ludlow Castle. Richard had George and Margaret to play with and he looked toward George as a brave and handsome brother. Sometimes Richard could be argumentative and his sister Margaret would always come to his rescue.

Richard did not see much of his father when he was young, as the elder Richard was busy on campaigns around the country. When young Richard did get to see his father, they would talk about the places he had been to and what the people there were like.

When Richard was young, the world was a violent place. This was brought on by King Henry VI’s indecision and Queen Margaret of Anjou’s ambitions. She did not have England’s best interests at heart. People in those days were at each other’s throats. They were stealing and looting from one and another. The country was lawless and it was spiraling out of control. Young Richard would listen to his father’s grim accounts on the state of the country and how he wanted law and order to make it prosper again.

The chronicler John Hardying was appalled by what was happening in the realm.

‘In every shire with jacks and sallets clean,

Misrule doth rise and maketh neighbours wars,

The weaker goes beneath, as oft is seen,

The mightiest his quarrel will prefer;

The poor man’s cause is put on back full far,

Which, if both peace and law were well conserved;

Might be amend and thanks of God deserved.’

Richard knew at an early age that there would be no peace until the authority of Queen Margaret could be quelled. Two important events occurred when Richard was too young to really understand their significance. In August 1453, the king took ‘a sudden and thoughtless fright’ (it was well known that Henry’s grandfather was known as mad Charles VI of France). King Henry VI announced that his son must have been conceived by the Holy Spirit when he was presented with his newborn baby boy.

It was plain to see that Queen Margaret could not conceal her husband’s madness any longer. She was forced to summon a great council to appoint Richard, duke of York (young Richard’s father), the protector and defender of the realm with full powers as regent. His first act would be to send the duke of Somerset, who was the queen’s lover, to the tower. The duke of York had taken an oath of allegiance that Margaret’s son, Edward, could rule when he came of age. This was fully acknowledged by the great council in the spring of 1454.

All good reason would come to an abrupt end when the Lancastrian King Henry acknowledged the baby as his own child on 30 December 1454. Somerset was released and Richard, duke of York withdrew quietly to Sandal Castle.

He did his best to bring law and order to the realm, but it was a very difficult thing to achieve when the other party was intent on creating disorder. The state of war was dire and the country was split in two. Supporting the duke of York were Salisbury, Warwick and Norfolk. He was seen as someone who could bring law and order to the country.

During May 1455 the queen and Somerset had summoned a great council. No prominent Yorkist was invited. The great council promptly ordered an assemblage of nobles at Leicester ‘for the purpose of providing the safety of the king’s person against his enemies’. This meant that the duke of York and his supporters’ lives were at risk. The duke of York had no choice but to raise an army with his brother-in-law, the earl of Salisbury and Salisbury’s son, the earl of Warwick. Warwick and the duke of Norfolk marched south to St Albans, fighting a victorious battle there.

Somerset, Northumberland, Lord Clifford and the duke of Buckingham’s eldest son, were killed. The duke of Buckingham, the earl of Dorset and the earl of Devon were wounded and taken prisoner. Richard, duke of York, took King Henry back to London and paid him respect as a king, but within a year of that victory the queen and her party had complete control of the king’s power again.

The duke of York had reached a stalemate as he tried to protect the king from his own queen. The victory at St Albans was for nothing. The duke faced a dilemma about what to do for the best. It was the start of his undoing.

The next three years (1456-59) were among the murkiest in English history. The chroniclers and the ballad makers of the time were almost all York’s ardent well-wishers. The queen on the other hand became the brunt of scurrilous tales and ballads. It was said that the queen’s son was a changeling and it was whispered that he was the son of the duke of Somerset. Some even pointed a finger at the earl of Wiltshire as the father.

Young Richard was thrust into the world outside his childhood home of Fotheringhay in the spring 1459 as the queen and her army was preparing for open war. The duke of York felt that the situation had deteriorated enough so that Fotheringhay was not a safe place to be. Young Richard’s cushioned childhood had come to an end at the age of six. He travelled with his mother, brother and sister (Mary and George) along with a strong escort, to Ludlow Castle.

When they arrived at the castle, there was much going on. It was the first time that he had met his two older brothers. Edward of March was seventeen and was a striking tall, fair-headed, young man. His second brother, Edmund of Rutland, was a year younger. Richard felt young and so in awe of his older brothers that George did not seem to be so important anymore. Richard wished that he could be just like his older brothers and become fit and healthy when he got to their age. He listened to stories of heroes and gallant knights. Richard was at an age where he was impressed with other people’s bravery. He wanted to learn the art of sword fighting, to hear stories about battles and how they could be fought and won.

His world became more exciting as he watched swarms of men and retainers of the house of York in their armor. Lord Clinton appeared with his followers, as did Lord Powys, Sir Walter Devereux and other knights and squires. It was a tense atmosphere in which messengers were coming and going all the time. The army’s leaders waited each time with bated breath for each and every tiding. By late August they had word that the earl of Salisbury and his son, Richard, earl of Warwick, were marching with a band of warriors from the garrison of Calais. The garrison of Calais was under the hands of the English at this time and the earl of Warwick could rally troops to support the duke of York.

On 25 September 1459, Richard watched the courtyard as a triumphant army returned bearing the arms of York. A battle had been won at Blore Heath. Richard noticed the wounded and tired-looking soldiers and he wanted to know what had happened as he gave them refreshments and washed their wounds. The men looked tired and dirty compared to when they had marched out earlier. This was Richard’s first sight of war first hand. He learned that the house of Lancaster had taken heavy losses. Lord Audeley was slain and about 2,000 Lancastrians were killed in battle. The Yorkist casualties were minimal.

He was coming up to his seventh birthday and was learning quickly that the world was a dangerous place, even when he observed the confidence of his older brothers. He was also aware that his father lived in a dangerous world as he heard him say harsh things about the queen of England, a French woman who was out to destroy the House of York.

In early October, news came that the Yorkist lords had sent a petition to the king claiming their loyalty and a desire for peace. Richard of York wished King Henry VI would rule the country in his own right, without any interference from the queen.

This all went wrong on the 12 October when the banners of the royal host appeared in the valley, below Ludlow Castle. The royal army was double the size of the Yorkist army and was now camped only half a mile away.

This was the first time that Richard had witnessed betrayal. As it was getting dark Andrew Trollope and the Calais garrison who were on the duke of York’s side during Blore Heath, decided to change sides to the queen’s army. Trollope had highly trained soldiers and this was a dreadful blow to the duke of York.

Richard watched with his brother George as twelve men talked round a table. There were Richard’s older brothers, the duke of York, the earl of Salisbury and the earl of Warwick. The conversation hotly debated on matters of life or death. Duchess Cicely and her ladies quickly got some food for them. The duke of York and his men felt that there was nothing left to do but to flee into the night, in a westerly direction. The Yorkist family was now left defenseless and at the mercy of the queen’s army, who stormed the town of Ludlow. Young Richard and his family were powerless to protect its townsfolk.

Ludlow was pillaged by the French troops from Calais. The queen’s army plundered, raped and took all they could get. Then they robbed the castle of anything that they could lay their hands on. They had scant disregard for the people who were ordinary townsfolk and had never had a hand in any war.

Richard had clung on to his mother’s torn dress; he had never seen her look so distressed in all his life. George and Margaret were trying to comfort themselves in the middle of the marketplace, watching with confusion as every family tried to take cover from danger.

Richard and his family were taken to Coventry, where a Lancastrian parliament promptly proclaimed the duke of York along with his chief supporters (the earl of Salisbury and earl of Warwick) and their chief followers as enemies of the state. They declared their estates forfeit to the crown. King Henry had seen to it that the duchess of York and her young family were allowed to live in comfortable conditions and granted her a thousand marks a year to maintain herself and her children.

She was placed in the custody of her sister, the duchess of Buckingham, who had married a Lancastrian. Apart from their obvious differences, Cicely did not want to make things uneasy between her and her sister, so she did not talk about the politics that concerned their families. That Christmas was spent as house prisoners of the crown. One chronicler reported that Cicely was ‘kept full straight and many a great rebuke’.

Richard had heard from his father and older brothers that they were now hunted men. It was a tense time for his family as they were closely watched. Many a time he may have pondered on how his father was and his two older brothers who he had only just gotten to know. These two brothers were so different, but so nice in their own ways. Edward the eldest was very tall, good looking, had an easy-going nature and just loved to have fun. Edmund, who was about a year younger, was quite small and close to his dad.

During this time the fugitives were doing very well in Wales and they went their separate ways. The duke of York and his son Edmund, earl of Rutland, went to Ireland. The duke of York was well liked in Dublin. The native chieftain looked upon him ‘as a second messiah’ and the Dubliners rallied to his cause. There were royal writs commanding his arrest, but these were ignored and the bearers of the summons were often executed. The people of Ireland considered the duke of York to be the true king and the Irish Parliament recognized that he was a virtual ruler of Ireland.

The earls of Salisbury and Warwick along with Edward, earl of March, managed to get a ship and sailed to Calais. They were warmly welcomed here on their arrival on the second of November, as one of Salisbury’s brothers was the governor of Calais. As soon as the court in England had heard that they were there, Lord Richard Rivers went to prepare an assault on Calais. Some people visiting from Kent had informed the earl of Warwick that the people were flocking to his banner. Early on the morning of 7 January a small detachment of Warwick’s men swooped down at Sandwich and captured the queen’s fleet. Lord Rivers woke up to the news that his fleet had gone The earl of Warwick triumphantly took the fleet back to Calais, this was the first time that young Edward earl of March was aware of a family that had made such an impact on his and Warwick’s life. In the Paston’s letters it mentioned how the lords had insulted Lord Rivers and his family by saying that he was all but a squire that served King Henry V and had been made a lord by marriage.

In the early spring of 1460 Warwick dared to sail to Ireland in order to plan, with the duke of York, the invasion of England. King Henry and his queen moved about the Midlands. The queen was worried and harassed and she was aware that Warwick and the duke of York would make for the English shores. She did not know what to do; indecision, incompetence, poverty and unpopularity had racked her. Bills and posters started to appear on church doors and town walls and ballads were sung in the streets.

‘Send hom, Most gracious Lord Jhesu most benygne,

Sende hoom thy trew blode unto his propre veyne,

Richard, duke of York, Job thy servaunt insygne’

Richard’s eldest brother, Edward, earl of March—young though he was—worried about the safety of his family he had left behind. The country was unstable and the queen was quite unpredictable. He decided to send a message to the archbishop of Canterbury, begging him to befriend his family. Both Richard and George were taken into the care of the archbishop of Canterbury’s household. It was at this time that Richard found his love for books. He had been always eager to learn. He had never seen so many books and they were a welcome diversion from his family problems. He began to learn about Latin and Italian scripts and spent a lot of time and study with books as he developed an ever stronger appetite for learning. Richard was happy that his older brother Edward had sent him to the archbishop’s household and he began to look up to his oldest brother as a hero.

It was a really rainy summer, the worst in that century. The Yorkist army of 2,000 men had landed at Sandwich on 26 June. The Yorkist army was headed by the earls of Salisbury, Warwick and March. They headed toward London, taking on followers along the way and on 2 July they were welcomed into the city. They took up a siege of the tower of London, which was held by supporters for the king.

The Yorkists had borrowed £1,000 in the duke of York’s name from the London magistrates, as the earls had marched northward toward Northampton. The queen and her son remained at Coventry while this was going on, not knowing what to do.

On a rainy 10 July the Yorkist army assaulted the royal entrenchments at Northampton. The earls won the battle in less than an hour with about 300 men slain. The dukes of Buckingham, Beaumont and Shrewsbury were amongst the dead.

The Yorkists captured King Henry in his tent. He was not interested in taking part in that battle and surrendered himself readily. The king was treated with the utmost respect and was escorted to the nearby Abbey of St Mary and then went back toward London.

The victorious army of the Battle of Northampton arrived in London with the king on 16 July and two days later the garrison of the Tower of London surrendered to the Yorkist lords; the Yorkists then established a government. It was not until 15 September that Richard and all his family had arrived in London to celebrate for what was hoped to be peace. There was much rejoicing when they had heard that the duke of York and his son, Edmund, earl of Rutland, had safely landed at Chester. Richard’s mother went up to meet his father.

Even though Edward was busy with affairs of state he visited his family in the temporary lodgings that he had found for them. This was one of the times in Richards’s young life that he felt was most idyllic, as he was coming up to his eight birthday. To Richard, Edward was someone who shone out like a guardian angel, especially when he would talk about his adventures. Edward was someone with whom Richard had felt comfortable, as he was so easy going. George was not so easily charmed. He was a little distant and did not share Richard’s enthusiasm about his older brother’s charm.

Edward had an uneasy relationship with the duke of York and it was whispered that he was not his true son; he was apparently conceived while the duke was away from home. It was also commented that Edward did not resemble any of his family. He was over six feet tall and had blond hair and the rest of the family had darker hair and were much smaller in size.

Suddenly things changed for the Yorkist cause. On 10 October, Richard watched as his father entered London like a king. Crowds of people had gathered in the streets cheering for the duke of York. His father had a hero’s welcome. He watched with pride as he had displayed his full coat of arms and lots of banners, as crowds gathered and cheered in the streets of London.

The duke of York paid homage to Henry VI. It has been written in history that he went to Westminster, went up to the throne, hesitated and finally put one hand upon it and announced to the lords that were present, that he had come to claim the crown by hereditary right. The duke of York’s reported action was politically inept and was alien to his nature. He wanted to work alongside the king in the hope of having some peace in the land.

The duke of York’s claim as heir to the throne was through his mother’s side, to Lionel, duke of Clarence, who had been the third son of Edward III. A compromise was finally agreed by all the lords present that Henry VI could remain king for the rest of his lifetime and would be succeeded by the duke of York.

When the queen heard that King Henry was under escort coming toward London after the Battle of Northampton, she decided to move westward from Coventry. It was a hazardous journey—at one stage she was robbed—but Queen Margaret was made of strong mettle and managed to reach to the safety of Harlech Castle. She started recruiting men for her son’s cause. She wanted her son to be on the throne and she wanted to get rid of the duke of York and all his supporters so that she would have power and influence.

Queen Margaret hastily raised a small army and set sail for Scotland. She arrived and begged for Scottish aid. She gave Berwick to the Scots, the great English fortress, not that it was hers to give. During that time she had crossed the north borders of England and ransacked villages taking their men. The duke of York was in London and heard that the queen was up to something, so he gathered two small armies on 9 December 1460. It was the last time Richard saw his father alive.

He watched one army, headed by his older brother Edward, earl of March, set off west towards Wales. The duke of York, his son Edmund, earl of Rutland and the earl of Salisbury marched for Yorkshire. Warwick remained in London to maintain the government. On 21 December the duke of York stopped at his castle at Sandal. He had word from a scout that the Lancastrians were gathered in force at Pontefract, which was only ten miles away. The leaders of both armies had agreed to a truce for Christmas. The Lancastrian army was hungry and its men did not have much in the way of artillery.

Late in the afternoon of 30 December the Lancastrian army unexpectedly appeared at Sandal Castle where the duke of York’s men were foraging for food. Gallantly but foolishly, the duke of York, Rutland and Salisbury rushed to rescue their men. Their small band was soon surrounded. The duke of York was slain fighting manfully. With him fell Sir Thomas Neville, a younger son of Salisbury. As Edmund of Rutland begged for mercy, Lord John Clifford who was known as ‘Butcher Clifford’ clubbed him to the earth, hissing, ‘By god’s blood, thy father slew mine and so will I do thee all thy kin.’ He was seeking his revenge for the death of his father at the Battle of St Albans in 1455.

Salisbury was captured and executed the following day. The heads of the slain Yorkist leaders were carried to the city of York and were impaled on Micklegate Bar. The Lancastrians put a crown made of paper and straw on the duke of York’s head.

A messenger arrived where Richards’s family had been staying on 2 January. They had just finished celebrating Christmas and were waiting on news about the duke of York, expecting a message of victory. It was clear from the messenger’s face however, that it was going to be bad news.

Richard ran down to meet his mother and he saw her crying. He had never seen her like that before. The news of his father and brother was bad enough, but the way that they were slain was an act of cowardice and the lack of respect for such a brave father, brother and uncle. It was a lot for an eight-year-old boy to get to grips with, how they had defaced their bodies. He remembered that day after Blore Heath and he could never think about battles like that again.

This was the first time that he felt deep sadness and the whole family was overcome with grief. But there was little time for grief, as they had heard that the queen’s army was making its way down toward London, pillaging and burning villages as if they were foreign troops from another land. They sacked the churches, raped women and murdered anyone trying to protect their goods. The queen’s army was an unruly mob of men that were encouraged to loot and pillage as they travelled south.

London was in a state of panic. Merchants and sailors were at the harbor getting ready to sail. The grieving duchess was advised to take her family to the low counties for safety. The family hastily gathered what they could muster and set sail during the night accompanied by a squire, John Skelton and a few other attendants.

When they arrived, the duke of Burgundy warmly welcomed them. He had previously shown himself to be sympathetic to the Yorkist cause. The realm of Burgundy was one of the wealthiest and most splendid in Europe. Duke Philip of Burgundy, who liked to think of himself as a renaissance prince, treated the duchess of York and her family with as much respect as he would have treated his own family. Richard noticed there were so many things of interest like literature and great works of art. He felt that he was in another world, than the mad place which was England.

Richard and his family heard some good news: on 10 February at Mortimer’s Cross in Herefordshire the young earl of March had crushed a Lancastrian army under the earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire. Lord Throckmorton from Worcester and Owen Tudor were taken prisoner and executed in Hereford. Owen Tudor had expected a reprieve from his execution because of his relationship with a former royal family member, Catherine of Valois, the king’s mother. It was reportedly known that he was not convinced of his approaching death until the collar was ripped off his doublet by the executioner. At that point he was said that ‘the head which used to lie in Queen Catherine’s lap would now lie in the executioner’s basket’

The earl of Warwick had King Henry with him at St Albans. The queen’s army had the upper hand and Warwick had no choice but to send his army fleeing in different directions where it fell into disorder. He left the king talking and laughing to himself under the tree about a mile from the battle front. He headed westward with what army he had left, to meet Edward, the earl of March. London was thrown into chaos when Queen Margaret’s army reached there. People had fled and went into hiding as the queen’s northern mercenaries ransacked London.

Meanwhile, Richard had kept himself occupied with his new environment. There was so much to see and learn. The duke of Burgundy had been very kind to the duchess of York and her family as they listened to news from England from increasing numbers of English people who had turned up as refugees.

Richard was overawed with so much attention; he had become aware of how much his father and family was loved and respected. Even as a young boy, he was happy to have had the duke of York as his father.

Richard was always honored to meet learned men. He had meet William Caxton who was then the head of the English merchants at Bruges, a successful mercer, who at that time had not started his printing press. There was so much to occupy Richard’s mind. The duke showed him his famous library, the finest in Europe and Richard wanted to spend as much time as he could, listening to learned men talk. He saw gorgeously illuminated manuscripts and some amazing artwork and tapestries.

He knew then what he wanted to do in his life. He wanted to write great pieces of work just like the books in that library. As a young boy, he could not believe in the difference between the two counties. Burgundy had prospered with peace and England was torn apart by war and poverty. When he was staying at an estate at Hesdian, which was in a beautiful, peaceful setting, there was a famous room in which hung the Jason tapestries—thunder and lightning, snow and rain.

His family’s future fortunes at times appeared to be very doubtful. The York family settled down to a somewhat quieter routine and Richard had more time to study. At times it was pretty bleak for the Yorkist family and they lived in a quieter court at Utrecht where Richard quietly listened out for any news on what was happening in England.

News arrived that Edward had been proclaimed the heir of York on 4 March and was proclaimed king by the earl of Warwick, who was dubbed as the ‘king maker’. The proclamation had got acceptance from the commoners and Edward had offered amnesty to any Lancastrian supporter who would renounced Henry VI.

The Yorkist army headed north toward York to take back his family’s city. The king and queen were staying at York at the time of the Battle of Towton on 29 March, which was on Palm Sunday. It was the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. The battle had lasted for over 10 hours in a snowstorm. It was estimated that 28,000 were dead and the Lancastrian army was severely reduced in numbers. The chief Lancastrian leader, Henry Beaufort, third duke of Somerset, fled the battlefield to Scotland along with Henry VI and Queen Margaret.

The wheel of fortune had changed