Assassination: The Royal Family's 1000-Year Curse (14 page)

Still the war with France rumbled on, the Black Prince winning a great victory at Poitiers in 1356, and capturing the new King John II of France. He was taken to England to be held for ransom.

At last, in 1360 terms of peace were agreed giving Edward everything he really wanted; full sovereignty over Gascony, Poitou, Aquitaine, Ponthieu, Calais and other areas in northern France, and agreement by the French to pay a huge ransom for their king. In return, Edward abandoned his claim to the French crown. King John was allowed to return home before full payment of the ransom on leaving his three sons as hostages. One of them ran off to France. Perhaps concerned that the lives of the other two sons were at risk, King John voluntarily returned to captivity in England where, still a prisoner, he died in 1364.

With the plague over, England prospered. The reduced population meant a lower demand for food and a smaller supply of labour, so food prices fell and wages rose. Economic recovery only reactivated the desire for war, and the fighting resumed, although by now Edward had passed leadership of the army to his sons.

The rank of ‘duke’ had been held only by the King or his sons as dukes of French territories. Edward decided to create duchies in England and to bestow the title on members of his family. The King’s third surviving son, John of Gaunt, married the wealthy daughter of the first Duke of Lancaster (the grandson of Edward I’s brother). When the Duke died, the King granted this title to John. Lionel, John’s older brother, became Duke of Clarence (of Clare (
Clarentia
) in Ireland), while his younger brother Edmund became Duke of York, and the youngest, Thomas, became Duke of Gloucester.

As time went by, Edward became increasingly feeble, and with the Black Prince incapacitated by dysentery, England’s fortunes declined. When Edward approached death, little more than Calais was left of the French possessions, and the Black Prince and Lionel Duke of Clarence having died, John of Gaunt was the effective ruler of England. John was now immensely wealthy, having inherited his father-in-law’s lands. When his wife died, leaving three children who survived infancy (Philippa, Elizabeth and Henry), John married Constance of Castile.

The King’s wife also died, after which he was besotted with his grasping mistress, Alice Perrers, lavishing jewels and property on her. A former lady-in-waiting to the Queen, she had been Edward’s mistress since she was fifteen. Edward died in 1377. It was said to have been a stroke, but gonorrhoea was suspected. Could it be that Alice Perrers, or her charms, caused his death?

It was the death of a king who had become weak in his later years, but Edward’s military successes had seen English power increase through much of his reign. So much so that until his decline, killing him was his enemies’ only hope for victory – and both attempts failed.

Blanche Mary Margaret
died in infancy

Thomas
died in infancy

married
Joan
(daughter of Edmund Earl of Kent, son of Edward I)
William Lionel John Edmund

Edward
(died aged 6)
RICHARD II (r. 1377-99)

William Thomas
died in Duke of infancy Gloucester

By the time the ageing Edward III died, his wife had borne him thirteen children. There had been eight sons, three of whom died in infancy. Edward the Black Prince, heir to the throne, died three years before his father. The Black Prince had two sons: Edward who died in childhood, and Richard who inherited his grandfather’s crown as Richard II.

Yet the families of Edward III’s four other sons would in time play a more important part in England’s history. They were Lionel Duke of Clarence (who had already died), John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, Edmund Duke of York and Thomas Duke of Gloucester.

With a ten-year-old king and no official regent or regency council, Richard’s uncle, John of Gaunt, continued to be the most powerful man in the kingdom.

It was a time of discontent because of the continuing war with France, heavy taxation to pay for it, no plunder or ransom, and rising prices. The nobility and the merchant class were not the only ones who were restless; for the first time an emboldened peasantry showed its power in the Peasants’ Revolt. They were

(1)
Blanche
of Lancaster
||

(2)
Constance
of Castile

Philippa Philippa John Elizabeth Edward John HENRY Isabel Katherine Edward Richard
married
Bolingbroke
Edmund
Mortimer
3
^rd
Earl
of March

In mid-1381, the mob made its way to London, and they burned down John of Gaunt’s palace, the Savoy (the finest mansion in England, formerly owned by the Count of Savoy). Gaunt was unharmed as he was safe far to the north. Foreigners were the next target as the homes of the wealthiest merchants, the Flemings, then the homes of the moneylenders, the Lombards, were set ablaze. At least 150 Flemings were killed, most of them decapitated as they were dragged from sanctuary. Dozens of Lombards suffered a similar fate.

After the killing and looting eased, the peasants demanded that the Chancellor, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury, should give them an account of the tax revenue raised in the last five years and details of how it had been spent. Of course they did not get a satisfactory response, in fact no response at all. So they beheaded the Archbishop and the Treasurer.

Now the 14-year-old King came into his own. Richard bravely rode out to meet the mob at Mile End, an area of open land to the east of London. He addressed the peasants with confidence, agreeing to all their demands, promising an end to serfdom, to limit the price of land rental and to abandon rules capping wages. “I will never go back on my word” pledged Richard as the cheering peasants prepared to return to the countryside, not realising that going back on his word was something that Richard would do whenever it was to his advantage.

Ball, Tyler and Straw were not satisfied, and they remained in London with many of their supporters. A further meeting was arranged at Smithfield (formerly Smoothfield), just outside the city walls. Apparently Tyler, with several thousand men behind him, adopted an impertinent attitude, taking the King by the hand and calling him ‘brother’. With some difficulty, Richard remained calm, and he confirmed all the promises he had made at Mile End. Having failed to intimidate Richard, Tyler stepped right up to him and demanded a drink. Now Richard lost his Plantagenet temper and ordered Tyler’s arrest. The Lord Mayor struck Tyler to the ground, and a squire ran him through with a sword.

With outstanding quick-thinking, Richard told the restless mob that their leader was dead, and as he was their king he was now their captain and they should follow him. They walked into the trap, and Richard led them into the countryside where they were surrounded by troops. He then allowed the peasants to return to their villages, although the unrest continued for some time, only ending with the executions of Ball and Straw.

Richard’s next move was to revoke all the concessions he had made at Mile End. Ominously, Richard had discovered that giving his word and then breaking it, combined with severe punishment of opponents, was the way to secure his throne.

The following year, with both of them aged fifteen, Richard married Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor. There was little political advantage, but a foreign queen was always preferred; taking an English queen would give her family increased power and would cause dissent within the nobility.

Having dealt with the rebellion, Richard’s kingship was unopposed, although he was still bound to take into consideration the views of the barons and Parliament. He created an inner council of his favourites, and they were showered with titles and properties. Inevitably, Richard went too far, falling out with the barons and Parliament over his wanton extravagance and demands for higher taxes. Forced to compromise, he agreed to hand over considerable power to a Commission of Government. Later to be known as ‘the Lords Appellant’, the members of the Commission targeted Richard’s favourites, and they published an appeal (or charge) of treason against five of Richard’s inner council. The Appellants’ leader was Richard’s uncle, the Duke of Gloucester; another member was the Duke of Lancaster’s son, Henry Bolingbroke. Gaunt was not available to make peace as he was abroad, engaged in what proved to be an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the crown of Castile as his second wife’s inheritance.

Realising that the differences could only be resolved by battle, Richard’s Chancellor raised an army, but he was defeated by the Appellants’ forces. That allowed Appellant troops to march into London, where they were welcomed by the citizens. Next, the Appellants seized the Tower and the King. Then several of those close to the King were executed, and control of the household was taken from him.

Order was restored when John of Gaunt returned to England. In what seemed to be a minor matter, after John of Gaunt’s second wife died of plague he married his longtime mistress, Katherine Swynford (the daughter of a Flemish herald
¹¹
), who was his daughters’ governess and whose sister was married to Chaucer. By the time of the wedding, Katherine had already borne Gaunt four illegitimate children, who were later legitimised by Parliament.

With Gaunt’s support, Richard made peace with Parliament, agreeing to pardon the Appellants and all those who had supported them apart from 50 men whose names were on a secret list to be kept and seen only by Richard. Next, Richard announced the recovery of all his powers, accompanied by a promise of peace with France – to the people that meant no increased taxation to pay for war. As a result, all was quiet, but then Richard fell out with London when he fined the citizens for refusing to provide him with extra funds. Richard lost another supporter when his wife died of plague in 1394. There had been no children; her only legacy was having introduced the practice of women riding side-saddle.

Uncharacteristically, Richard’s promise of peace was kept as he secured a truce with France, underlined by his marriage to Isabelle, the six-year-old daughter of Charles VI.

It was time for revenge. In 1397, former Appellants and their supporters were exiled or executed. Richard even had the leading Appellant, his uncle the Duke of Gloucester, murdered while in the custody of Thomas Mowbray (himself a former Appellant) – Mowbray was rewarded by being created Duke of Norfolk. Now the Houses of the sons of Edward III were effectively, apart from Richard, only Clarence, Lancaster and York.

However, some of the former Appellants remained free. In particular Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, was not touched. He had the benefit of being the son of the King’s principal supporter.

With Richard having such a young wife, a child was far off, so the succession became an issue. The House of Clarence was next in line, Lionel having been the second son of Edward III after the Black Prince (ignoring William who died in infancy). Lionel Duke of Clarence had long since died. His heir was his daughter Philippa, and she had married Edmund Mortimer 3rd Earl of March. He was the grandson of the Mortimer who had been responsible for the deposition and murder of Edward II. Philippa and Edmund’s first son was Roger, and after his father’s death he became the 4th Earl of March. He was the designated heir to Richard, being the grandson of the Duke of Clarence; and Philippa having died in 1382, he was the rightful heir until Queen Isabelle had a child.

The Houses of the next of Edward III’s sons, Lancaster and York were waiting in the wings. In 1398, Roger 4th Earl of March was killed in battle fighting against a rebellious clan in Ireland. He left as his first son Edmund, who became the 5th Earl of March; he was the new heir to the throne. The late Earl also left another son (Roger) and two daughters (Anne and Eleanor).

Then came an altercation whose effects changed the course of English history. Henry Bolingbroke informed the King that Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk had told him that the two of them were on the secret list of fifty, that they were in imminent danger, and that they should act before they were seized. Naturally, Mowbray denied having made the treasonable remarks.