Tudor Queens of England (11 page)

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[Edward] ‘regarded nothing more than to win again the friendship of such noblemen as were now alienated from him, to confi rm the goodwill of them that were hovering and inconstant, and to reduce the mind of the multitude … unto their late obedience, affection and goodwill towards him.

’14

So Warwick ended up more or less where he had started, a great nobleman and infl uential about the King but by no means enjoying the power that he coveted. The king was also now warned that he could not trust his erstwhile ally and the Queen, who had never had much affection for the Nevilles, was now bitterly alienated by the deaths of her father and uncle. Elizabeth does not appear very much in the discussions of these events but she was a good hater and she was spending time in her husband’s company in February 1470 because that was when their next child was conceived.

Warwick undoubtedly realized that he had earned the bitter hostility of the Queen and may for that reason not entirely have trusted Edward’s conciliatory pose. From his point of view he had merely scotched the Woodville snake and might in the process have made it even more dangerous. For whatever reason, when rebellion broke out in Lincolnshire, in March 1470, he decided to abandon his temporary reconciliation, and try again. Some of his and Clarence’s retinues were already with the rebels when they were defeated near Stamford on 12 March. Warwick, however, had miscalculated badly. The rebellion was suppressed and no other major nobleman joined them in supporting it, so they had exposed themselves for nothing. On 24 March Edward issued a proclamation against them and they fl ed by devious routes to Calais. Refused entry there, but backed by a formidable fl eet, Warwick and Clarence replenished their coffers with a little piracy and then, running out of other options, decided to seek the assis tance of the King of France. Although it may have been forced upon them, this was a critical decision, because Louis was seeking a complete regime change in England in order to install a government sympathetic to himself and hostile to the Duke of Burgundy. This could only be accomplished if Clarence abandoned his claim, and the pair worked together for a restoration of Henry VI, then a prisoner in the Tower. As we have seen, a diffi cult negotiation with Margaret of Anjou successfully accomplished this change of allegiance and Warwick sailed from La Hogue with French and Lancastrian backing on 9 September, landing in Devon a couple of days later.

15 I
n the light of their two previous experiences, the result this time was truly astonishing. Three weeks later, on 2 October, after a series of misfortunes and miscalculations, Edward fl ed from King’s Lynn to the Low Countries. During the summer of 1470, as Edward was away in the north and her pregnancy steadily developed, Elizabeth remained ensconced in the royal apartments

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at the Tower, but when news of his precipitate fl ight reached her, she hastily transferred herself and her three young daughters to the safety of the sanctuary at Westminster. Although this misfortune might eventually cut off all her resources, for the time being she was well provided for, being accompanied by a large number of servants and several wagon loads of household goods. There, on 1 November, she gave birth to a son, who was promptly named Edward for his absent father. She was now the proud mother of an heir to the throne – if he eventually had any throne to inherit. The exiled king was speedily appraised of this happy event and indeed the exchange of letters between the royal couple seems not to have been greatly impeded by the circumstances of their separation. For the fi rst time in her life, Elizabeth found herself popular. What has been called the ‘feminine helplessness’ of a newly delivered mother may have contributed to this but it was also the case that the restored government of Henry VI neither pleased nor impressed the Londoners, and expressing sympathy for Elizabeth was a low key way of dissenting. After her ordeal was over, several of her more prominent helpers were suitably rewarded. One Margaret Cobb (who may have been her midwife) was granted an annuity of £12; Dr Sergio, her physician received £40; a butcher named Gould who had kept her modest household supplied with meat, was allowed to lade a royal ship with tallow free of charge; and Abbot Thomas Milling, who had welcomed and protected her, was made Bishop of Hereford.

While his queen languished helplessly in sanctuary, Edward busied himself about the recovery of his kingdom. Duke Charles of Burgundy had been less than delighted to fi nd his brother-in-law as a fugitive in his domain, and it was left to Louis of Bruges, within whose immediate jurisdiction the King had landed, to extend the hand of welcome. Although Charles was at war with France, and had every reason to fear the disposition of the new government in England, his fi rst reaction was to conciliate Warwick rather than to help Edward. However, either by the persuasions of his wife, or by the logic of circumstance, his mind was changed. On 26 December 1470 he welcomed Edward to his court, and over the next few days a deal was done between them. Although he would not publicly make any statement in his support, nevertheless he would give him 50,000

fl orins (£20,000) and fi t out three or four ships for him. Edward deployed his money to good effect, and on 11 March was able to leave Flushing with 36 ships and about 1,200 men, including several gunners.

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He had also re-established contact with his brother and was reasonably confi dent that Clarence would support him once he had shown his hand. Meanwhile Warwick was expecting him, but having considerable diffi culty in making defensive preparations. For a variety of reasons, his support was very limited and as he tried to mobilize 54

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against Edward that became abundantly clear. On 14 March the returning exile landed at Ravenspur on the Humber, in what should theoretically have been hostile territory. However the Earl of Northumberland, who was strong in the region, held his hand, and Edward was able to bluff his way into York. As other equivocators like Lord Montague continued to hold back, Edward moved south, and his support continued to grow. Most critically he was joined at Leicester by 3,000 men under Lord Hastings. On 2 April Clarence fi nally declared himself and, bypassing Warwick, who was then at Coventry, the King headed for London The capital was divided, but Edward’s supporters proved the stronger, and the Common Council resolved that ‘as Edward late King of England was hastening towards the city with a powerful army, and as the inhabitants were not suffi ciently versed in the use of arms to withstand so large a force, no attempt should be made to resist him …’

Despite the equivocal use of ‘late’ in describing the King, this declaration was suffi cient, and on 11 April 1471 Edward entered the city, securing in the process the person of his rival and several of the latter’s more prominent supporters. He was also reunited with the wife, whom he had not seen for over a year, and introduced to his 6-month-old son. Elizabeth promptly moved out of the sanctuary, which had been her home for about eight months, and returned to the Tower. Although his supporters were now fl ocking to him, and his grip on London was secure, the Earl of Warwick remained unfought, and Margaret of Anjou still lurked in the wings. There was much to do. On 13 March Edward moved out of the city towards St Albans aware that Warwick was advancing. The following day, which was Easter Sunday, the two armies met at Barnet, and the Lancastrians were routed, both the Earl of Warwick and Lord Montague being killed on the fi

eld.17

It was as decisive a victory as could well have been wished for and Edward had the bodies of his enemies displayed in St.Pauls. Two days later the news reached him that Margaret had landed at Weymouth and that the old Lancastrians were rallying to her. Instead of being able to enjoy his victory, he had now to pick up this fresh challenge. As Margaret and her son moved north from Exeter to Bristol, apparently well supported, and headed for the Severn to cross into Wales, Edward set off in hot pursuit, and after a number of false sightings fi nally caught up with her at Tewkesbury on 4 May. There he won an equally decisive victory, capturing Margaret and killing the Prince of Wales on the fi eld.

It must have appeared at fi rst that his victory was now total and secure but while he was occupied at Tewkesbury, fresh Lancastrian risings took place both in the north and in Kent. Thomas Neville, an illegitimate son of the Earl of Kent, known as the Bastard Faulconberg, had raised the county and was attacking London. The Queen, it was reported, was besieged in the Tower of London. In fact

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it did not quite come to that. Although the Bastard was supported by a number of armed ships, the Londoners feared a sack and resisted resolutely, until on 14

May Earl Rivers who was in command of the Tower, led a sortie which drove the attackers back. Reports that Edward himself was on his way with his victorious army fi nally demoralised the Kentishmen and they fl ed, the bastard himself escaping to Calais. On the same day, as he awaited reinforcements at Coventry, the news reached Edward that the northern rebellion had petered out. Partly because they had learned of the disaster at Tewkesbury and partly because the Earl of Northumberland remained loyal, it now appeared to the local leaders that they had neither a cause nor a captain and they laid down their arms and began to sue for par

don.18
After this, there was only some tidying up to be done, like securing the submission of Calais, which was achieved during July. As Henry VI had died on the night of Edward’s return to London from Coventry, his son had died at Tewkesbury, and Margaret was safely imprisoned, the Lancastrian challenge remained only in the obscure and fugitive fi gure of Henry of Richmond. For the next 12 years, England enjoyed an interval of peace.

In 1472 Louis of Bruges visited England at the King’s invitation and was created Earl of Wiltshire as a gesture of gratitude for his help and support. In the journal of his visit, which was kept by a secretary, we get a number of glimpses of life at the English court. Elizabeth, as might be expected, features regularly in his account, but never doing anything of political signifi cance. She attends lavish banquets, introduces the visitors to her children and is on one occasion surprised playing at marbles and ninepins with her ladies. Her second son, Richard, was born in August 1473, and she is noted to have offered with the King at the shrine of St. Edward at Westminster. Her mother, Jacquetta, died in 1472, causing her considerable distress, and she accompanied Edward on his visits to Oxford. There was, however, rather more to Elizabeth than this domestic routine might indicate. Her revenues were further, although not dramatically, augmented, and it was noted in 1475 that her infl uence in East Anglia was so great that she was

‘regarded as one of the main instruments of roy

al policy’19 in that ar
ea. In that year also, while the King was pursuing his brief and abortive war with France, which was ended at Picquingy on 29 August, Elizabeth was named as Governor of the Realm in his absence. She was probably a compromise candidate for this particular job, because Edward was not anxious to exalt any of his already powerful nobles to such a position. Nevertheless her appointment indicates a level of political involvement that would not be expected from the record of her activities. There was much resentment among the English military at the tame outcome of this confrontation but neither Elizabeth nor the King himself had to cope with any signifi cant disturbances.

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Meanwhile, the Queen went on bearing children. By the time that Edward returned from the wilderness she had produced three daughters and one son, all of them alive and well. In 1472 she bore another daughter, Margaret, who lived only a short while, and in 1473 (as we have seen) a second son, Richard. There then followed Anne (1475), George (1477), Catherine (1479) and Bridget (1480), of whom only George died young. It could be argued that Edward had found the ideal way to keep his wife out of political mischief and her fecundity made up for at least some of the qualities in which she may have been lacking. Meanwhile her frequent pregnancies gave her husband the opportunity to play the fi eld, which he did apparently with enthusiasm and success. We do not know how many bastards Edward sired because he did not usually acknowledge them and only two appear in the records – Arthur, subsequently Viscount Lisle, and Grace, who was placed in Elizabeth’s household, and was to be with her when she died. Grace may have been an unusually amiable child, or she may have been intended as a reminder to Elizabeth not to presume upon her connubial attractions. If Elizabeth ever resented these wanderings she was wise enough to say nothing and she certainly could not complain that her husband was neglecting her for other women.

The one political incident in which she is alleged to have been involved in these years was the second and fatal fall from grace of the King’s brother the Duke of Clarence. Clarence was a surly, abrasive person, and although his return to allegiance in 1471 had been of great importance, Edward never really trusted him. His wife, Isobel, died on 22 December 1476, and there was soon talk of his re-marriage to his niece, Mary of Burgundy. Duke Charles was killed at Nancy in January 1477 and his widow Margaret was Clarence’s sister. Margaret was desperate to preserve the integrity of the Burgundian inheritance, now in the hands of a mere girl, and saw a marriage within her own family as a means to enlist English support. Edward would not entertain the suggestion, for the good reason that if his brother ever disposed of the great power of Burgundy, he might well be tempted to try his luck again at home. For rather similar, if less potent reasons, he would also not countenance a union between Clarence and Margaret, the sister of the King of Scots, which was also suggested. The Duke sulked, publicly and offensively. He also, apparently, became tangentially involved in necromancy when some members of his household joined with a group that was trying to use the black arts to discover when Edward would die. This was the treasonable offence of ‘compassing and imagining’ the King’s death. The group were convicted by a special commission on 19 May 1477, and two of them were put to death.