The King of Fools

On 1 April 1454, Richard III presided over the opening of Parliament with those assembled declaring their loyalty to the new monarch with the Commons spontaneously shouting “Long Live the King!” to the annoyance of some of the Lords.  The King formally declared Edward of Rouen his true son and heir then granting him the titles of Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and Earl of Chester. Parliament, with the Commons particularly enthusiastic, proclaimed their support and loyalty to Prince Edward.  The King then announced that his coronation take place 1 May before turning the session to more serious matters.  Richard III announced that Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, had been brought from the Tower and summoned him to the presence of Parliament.  The King motioned to the Speaker who readout the accusations against Somerset that included treason against his lawful sovereign, attempted to cause rebellion amongst the King’s loyal commons, and attempting to usurp the throne for himself.  Parliament the trial commenced immediately with the introduction of the proclamations in which Somerset styled himself as Edmund I.  Somerset was allowed to make a speech in his defense; however his one chance to be remembered in history for a memorable last speech was by all accounts a disaster.  As excepted Parliament unanimously proclaimed Somerset guilty.  Richard III introduced an act of attainder depriving Somerset and his posterity of land and titles that was unanimously passed by Parliament.  The King pronounced a traitor’s death for Edmund Beaufort, no longer Somerset, to be carried out immediately and recessed Parliament for the day.

Since the time of his confinement in the Tower, Edmund Beaufort had been a dead man walking and from his cell watched the construction of the scaffold built especially for his execution on Tower Hill.  Edmund after being led away from the presence of the King and Parliament was forced to dress in a suit of motley then to walk to his place of execution through the streets of London to the jeers of the populace.  The King with all of Parliament following him in procession had preceded Beaufort to Tower Hill crowded behind the scaffold with only Richard III on his horse.  As Edmund was forced up the scaffold, the crowd was held back by numerous guards.  The order of execution was read aloud then on cue from the King, the head executioner produced a “crown”, a jester’s three-pointed hat, which was strapped to Edmund’s head.  The execution then proceeded as Edmund had a noose placed around his neck before being prodded up a stool before it was kicked out from under him resulting in his strangling to near death until the rope was cut.  Edmund was then hoisted onto a table, his cloths torn open before his stomach was cut open, and then groaned has his bowels were taken out before being burnt.  Instead of his heart being taken out as well, Edmund was taken off the table and thrown down onto the chopping block barely coherent as blood gushed from his open bowel, the executioner then swung his axe and separated head from body thus ending the life of Edmund Beaufort as the crowd cheered.  The executioner then grabbed the jester’s hat and held up the severed head to the cheering crowd then to Richard III who sat upon his stead without emotion.  He nodded and motioned to which spike he wanted the traitor’s head placed then spurred his horse back towards Westminster Palace followed by the members of Parliament as the body was being dismembered.  By nightfall, the still jester hat adorned head of Edmund Beaufort was overlooking the city from a spike on the Tower while his body parts were being sent to various locations throughout England.

Bosworth

Early in the morning of 15 February preparations for the come battle began in both camps. The center of the Beaufort forces were under the personal command of the Duke of Somerset, the right flank was under commanded of Somerset’s heir Henry Beaufort, and the left flank was put under the command of Oxford. Across the field on the Yorkist army were divided in two, the Nevilles on the left and Richard III on the right. The Neville force was further divided with Warwick commanding the left flank that included all the men who had fought at Nottingham, Salisbury commanding the center, and Fauconberg commanding the right flank. The King’s force was also divided into three segments with Richard III commanding of the center with Cobham leading the left flank and Devon the right. Frost was still on the ground as the commanders assembled their ranks and peered across the fields outside Bosworth to the other side, save Warwick and the Neville left that seemed to be slow to take their position.

The Battle of Bosworth began when Oxford led the Beaufort left against the far right flank of the Yorkist host lead by Devon, but then Warwick and his men appeared behind the Beaufort army. In a risky maneuver, Warwick and his men had risen and assembled early before circling around their opponents’ right flank in a forced march that positioned them in-between center and right flank of the Beaufort army. The surprise rear assault caused mass confusion in the Beaufort army that Salisbury and Fauconberg quickly took advantage of as they attacked the isolated right flank of the Beaufort army. Richard III ordered Cobham to engage Somerset’s center before leading the center of his army to cut off the attacking left flank of the Beauforts. The confused and cut off Beaufort right flank quickly collapsed in the face of the Neville brothers’ assault and the fleeing troops escaped in the only direction they could find, right towards the center of Beaufort army. The Beaufort center had already engaged Cobham’s attack while fending off Warwick in the rear when their fleeing comrades raced into their ranks with Salisbury and Fauconberg’s men chasing after them. Somerset ordered a retreat and attempted to move whatever he could closer to Oxford’s forces, he found his way suddenly blocked by Richard III and his men not having yet engaged the attacking Oxford. The Beaufort army completely disintegrated as men ran for their lives or surrendered wholesale. Henry Beaufort had been killed when his men collapsed in face of the assault of Salisbury & Fauconberg while the Duke of Somerset was injured as he attempted to escape and was captured by Warwick himself. Oxford, having done the best he could, retreated towards Stamford.

By early in the afternoon the Battle of Bosworth was a complete Yorkist victory as the Beaufort forces were either dead, fled, or captured. Warwick presented the wounded Somerset, under heavy guard, to Richard III. The King ordered his rival to be put in chains and his wound given attention so that he could not escape justice for the crime of treason. Richard III then pardoned all the commoners that had fought for Somerset and commanded that the decree should be read in every church so that none should fear for his life then allowed those captured to return home, but with the warning that if they committed any crimes on their return home their lives would be forfeit for committing treason. As for the knights and nobles that had been taken captive, Richard III kept them prisoner so that they could be judged after his coronation. The King then allowed his army the right to take booty from the Beaufort camp. After the formalities of victory, Richard III retired to his tent with his commanders and ate a celebratory meal.

Rendezvous with Destiny

After the Battle of Nottingham, the Beaufort forces remained in the city as they stared down the Nevilles in Newark. There were minor clashes between small groups of soldiers from both forces over the next two weeks but a major confrontation couldn’t happen because of the weather. In and around London, Richard III and his supporters had been increasing their forces to combat Somerset while also securing their hold on government. Meanwhile King James II of Scotland had been watching the movements of the English factions and in late January sent a small army over the border to captured Berwick while laying siege to Roxburgh Castle. Then in early February, Richard III headed for Dunstable where an army of nearly 20,000 men had assembled leaving his sons the now proclaimed Princes Edward and Edmund in London, which was under the command of Norfolk and Richard’s brother-in-law Bourchier. Richard left the nobles with orders that if he were to die to immediately crown Edward as the new King with the two men as co-Regents. The Yorkist army then headed northward to engage the Beauforts. However in amassing such a large force, the news had reached Somerset in Nottingham giving him an advantage on where to choose to fight, if he moved quickly.

On 7 February, the nearly 10,000 strong army led by Somerset headed south to Stamford where it was joined by a force led by the Oxford swelling its number to nearly 13,500. On 9 February, the Richard III’s army arrived at Northampton to learn that Somerset was headed for Coventry by way of Leicester. On 12 February, the Neville army marched into northern Leicestershire and headed towards a rendezvous with Richard III in the western part of the county hoping to intercept Somerset. On the afternoon of 14 February, units of all three armies arrived around the small town of Bosworth during the rest of the day the small village swelled to a city with the arrival of a combined 49,000 armed men from both sides, with Richard III outnumbering Somerset roughly 5-to-2.

As night fell, Somerset decided that he would engage Richard’s larger army as early the next day as possible for the element of surprise and in the ensuing chaos either get the victory or give himself time to retreat to fight on more favorable terms against either one of the Yorkist armies. However, Oxford tried to persuade him to attack and defeat the Neville army then retreat before the larger army of Richard could engage them. The self-styled Edmund I decided against Oxford’s plan as it could have been seen as if he was frightened of Richard. Meanwhile in the Yorkist camp, the King held a council of war with his senior commanders and the consensus was for the Nevilles to attack Somerset’s right while the King attacked Somerset’s left. Warwick in particular was vocal in this and many believed he had something up his sleeve in response to the humiliating propaganda that the Beauforts had put out against him. After the council, Salisbury and Fauconberg told the King they would do their best to ensure Warwick wouldn’t do anything reckless.

Political and Martial Victories

On 21 December, the Yorkist army led by Norfolk and Devon arrived at Eton making Oxford very nervous as he remained at a stalemate with the forces of Cobham outside London. A week later in Canterbury, the Duke of York and Edward arrive with their 5,000 man force to cheers and shouts from the townspeople. York and March went to the cathedral and worshipped at the shrine of Thomas a Becket. When the news reached Cardinal Kempe in Barnet he excommunicated the priests that had given York and his son the mass, however the propaganda value that York received from this action was invaluable and increased the view of the commoners that he was the rightful King. The next day, York and March then headed from Canterbury towards London linking up with the forces of Cobham by nightfall. Upon hearing the news of York’s advance from Canterbury, Oxford retreated from south of London to Barnet where Somerset’s younger son, Edmund Beaufort, was staying with a small force.

On 30 December, Edmund, Norfolk, and Devon joined up with York, Edward, and Cobham outside London. The Yorkist army was welcomed into London, securing the Tower and the city. Late in the afternoon the Duke of York entered the City of London before heading for Westminster Hall where he sat upon the throne and was formally proclaimed Richard III by those present. The Yorkist control of London, Canterbury, and southern England combined with the York-supporting Nevilles domination of the North made the proclamation very near reality. However, when Somerset heard the news he attained all those that followed the ‘false king Richard,’ before continuing his march northwards on the road to Chester.

As 1454 began, Richard III took control of the government bureaucracy in London while sending his forces to the cities of Barnet, St. Alban’s, and Oxford to clear them of Beaufort loyalists. The Earl of Oxford and Edmund Beaufort escaped from Barnet with their forces to Norwich. In the north, the Nevilles had been gathering forces for Richard and with Somerset so close it was decided by Salisbury, Warwick, and Fauconberg to march south. The three men each took a third of their total force and started on different routes southward, hoping to lure Somerset towards a fight. By that time Somerset was leaving Chester and turned eastward and the city of York.

On 16 January, outside Nottingham the forces under Warwick confronted a part of the Beaufort army and fighting quickly ensued. Warwick’s smaller force held its own the entire day as his father and uncle raced to reinforce him, however the winter weather was hampering everyone. Unfortunately, the entire Beaufort army was closer and Warwick found his force at a numerical disadvantage even though they were controlling the field. The young Neville sent a small charge to push the Beaufort army back to allow the rest of his force to disengage from the field and head towards Newark where he linked up with his father and uncle. The Battle of Nottingham was a draw with Warwick gaining a tactical victory by preserving his force to fight another day while inflicting heavy losses to the enemy in both actual numbers and proportion of the total force killed, however it was a strategic victory for Somerset in forcing Warwick from the field and stopping the overall Neville advance. And according to the Beaufort propaganda it was a major defeat for Warwick, who was portrayed as a coward running from the battlefield. That humiliation would have major ramifications weeks later.

The Contenders Take the Field

The succession crisis had lasted for nearly four months without any resolution between York and Beaufort with the only battles occurring between their supporters. But on 10 December 1453 one of the contenders finally took the field, the Duke of York along with Edward, the Earl of March, and Edmund, Earl of Rutland, led a force from Tewkesbury of 12,500 strong supported by Norfolk and Bourchier. The Yorkist army headed south towards Bradford-on-Avon where Ormond was maneuvering his nearly 3,000 strong force opposite Devon’s comparable force in southern Gloucester. On 13 December, Devon joined with York in northern Wiltshire and the nearly 15,000 strong forced headed to Swindon.

On 14 December, the Earl of Ormond came upon a column of the Yorkist army outside of Swindon and attacked it believing it to be just Devon’s force only to found himself facing a host that vastly outnumber his own. The battle was over in 90 minutes and those among Ormond’s force not dead either fled back to their homes or were captured. The Battle of Swindon gave York a victory, but considering that he almost outnumbered the Beaufort supporters nearly 5-to-1, it wasn’t a major one. However, Yorkist propaganda went into effect and the news was spread that the styled Richard III defeated a supporter of the usurper Somerset but graciously forgave the commoners and sent them home. After the battle, York presented his son Edward to the contingent of Cornish soldiers that Devon had recruited. Edward was then proclaimed the Duke of Cornwall, a title usually assumed by the king’s eldest son, and put him in command of the soldiers, if only nominally.

After Swindon, Ormond escaped to Southampton where he boarded a ship that took him to his estates in Ireland. The Duke of York with his eldest son followed with about 5000 men after Ormond but arrived too late to capture him. The two then started along the coast securing the port cities for the Yorkist cause, but didn’t seem to be heading towards London, which seemed odd. But a near 10,000 man army nominally led by Edmund, but with the Norfolk and Devon in actual command, headed towards London. The split of the Yorkists seemed very strange, especially with York commanding the smaller force that wasn’t heading to London.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Somerset had set off from Barnet to St. Alban’s on 12 December then headed up towards Olney then Northampton with an army of around 10,000 men sporting badges and banners with a large red rose prominently displayed. Somerset’s strategy had been to lure York out of Tewkesbury; however when news reached him of the Battle of Swindon and then the split in the Yorkist army it made him pause in Northampton for several days. The Beaufort commanders were divided with some suggesting that they go after the force led by Norfolk and Devon while others thought they should gain control of the Midlands since York seemed to have northern and southern England virtually in his control, this plan would including capturing York’s lands in the west of England and in Wales. Somerset decided to embarrass York by raiding his land, even perhaps capturing his family, and proceeded towards Ludlow via Coventry. Upon his arrival at York’s seat at Ludlow, Somerset discovered that York’s wife, younger sons, and daughters weren’t there. It turned out that York had sent his family to the city of Gloucester where they could escape to safety if the advance of Beaufort forces made it necessary. After letting his army sack Ludlow, Somerset then headed northward towards Shrewsbury.

Two Men Claim One Crown

Even while Henry’s body was still warm, the Duke of Somerset with the court party accompanying him left Clarendon racing towards London 75 miles away. Upon the King’s death, they had sent a messenger to the capital with the news of Henry’s death and that Somerset had been “acknowledged” by the late King on his death bed. Unbeknownst to Somerset and the other members of the court party, John Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, had himself sent a messenger to London as well but in his is message was to proclaim the Duke of York as the rightful King of England. The Duke of Norfolk with his retinue raced north from Clarendon to Ludlow.

On 24 August 1453, London erupted into chaos when the news of Henry VI's death was proclaimed and only grew when two men were proclaimed as the late King’s successor. The populace separated into rival camps supporting each claimant, however Somerset's supports found themselves vastly outnumbered and escaped the city towards Windsor. When Somerset arrived in Windsor, he made his first public pronouncement of his claim to the Crown as ‘Edmund the First, King of England’ and was given allegiance by this London supports and was informed of the proclamation of York as King as well as London’s reaction to the situation. Undaunted, Somerset continued to London and demanded the capital submit to him, however the Lord Mayor and the council barred him from the city. Frustrated Somerset went to Barnet on 27 August 1453 and called all loyal subjects to the House of Beaufort meet him there.

On 22 August 1453, York and Norfolk met one another in Tewkesbury. In front of the city officials, Norfolk publicly proclaimed and pledge allegiance to 'Richard the Third, King of England.' Messengers were then sent to all corners of the England as York called on all subjects to meet him there or to send their pledges of loyalty. Soon the news of Henry VI's death spread across the whole of England and quickly on its heels were as the summons by two men claiming to be the rightful King of England.

Meanwhile the body of Henry VI and the grieving Margaret of Anjou had been virtually abandoned at Clarendon. The late King's half-brothers, Edmund and Jasper Tudor led the funeral procession with the grieving Margaret a few days after the court party had raced for London. As the funeral procession carrying the late King’s body was slowly making its way towards London, the country started to divide in-between those that supported the House of Beaufort and those that supported the House of York.

The Final Days of the House of Lancaster

The night of 15 August 1453 was thought to be like any other for those in attendance of King Henry VI of England. The King and his inner circle court were in the royal hunting lodge at Clarendon, near Salisbury in Wiltshire where Henry had learned of the shocking news of the defeat of Castillon and the defeat of the Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot. The King had been feeling unwell since the early days of the month and it seemed to grow worse upon the news of Castillon. That night the King complained that he felt unnaturally sleepy at dinner before standing to announced he was retiring for the night but asked his guests not end their revelry on his account. As the King exited the dining hall, his body started to spasm out of control and suddenly he fell forward and struck his head on a corner of a wooden table with a loud crack. The room erupted as noblemen, attendants, and most importantly the Queen rushed to check on the King. Henry VI lay on the floor unconscious with a large bruise swelling on a portion of his forehead.

Queen Margaret of Anjou, seven months pregnant, had to be restrained by several of the men as the King was taken to his bedchamber and physicians administered to him. The excitement resulted in Margaret going into labor the next day as Henry remained unconscious, the male child was stillborn and the Queen was beside herself in grief. The King’s condition and the death of his would-be heir was the source of much debate and consternation within high noblemen of Henry’s inner circle as they looked to the future especially concerning themselves. The chief amongst these noblemen was Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, the King’s right hand man and those close to him in the so-called “court faction.”

The Duke of Somerset was one of two heir presumptive to the throne in the event of the King leaving no living heir and attempted to keep the events occurring at Clarendon as secret as possible. However, other individuals in Henry’s court had looked towards the future of the realm and had been secretly sending news northwards to Ludlow Castle situated along the Welsh border. The castle was the residence of Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York, the powerful magnate in England whose claim to the throne was better than even Henry VI had and who was the greatest opponent to Somerset’s “court faction.” As the news grew ever worse, York resolved to head south and with a large retinue headed for the royal lodge.

In the early morning of 21 August 1453, Henry VI of England passed away thus ending his 30 year and 355 day reign upon the throne. The King had been the last descendant, and only legitimate grandchild, of Henry IV who had founded the House of Lancaster when he had forced his cousin Richard II to abdicate in 1399. Thus Henry VI’s death not only represented an end to the 54-year reign of the House of Lancaster upon the throne, but also it’s complete extinction. And as a result the Crown lay on no man’s head.