Good, Bad, and Unknown Arrivals

It was late-October when Richard III rode to Windsor Castle along with several of his Council to talk with Margaret of Anjou, the King had waited until Devon and Warwick reported from the Castilian court to know Henry IV’s response.  To Richard’s relief the King of Castile had responded favorably and negotiations had begun the next day with Henry’s representatives ensuring that Margaret’s monetary dowry would remain in her possession throughout the marriage as well as providing a number of estates she would be entitled to upon the Castilian monarch’s death.  Warwick also informed Richard that he had not given the amount Margaret was to receive to Henry’s representatives, a fact Richard was very satisfied to learn before he headed to see his former political rival.  Upon their arrival at Windsor, Richard and the Council members partook in a meal with Queen Margaret, Sir John Grey of Groby and his wife, Elizabeth.  Afterwards Richard informed Margaret that Henry IV of Castile had expressed interest in her to be his new Queen and had entered negotiations with his representatives and those of her uncle, Charles VII of France.  The King also told Margaret the amount she would receive in compensation of her lands in England if she agreed to the marriage contract being negotiated and added that Henry’s representatives had already stipulated that her “dowry” would remain in her possession throughout the marriage.  Margaret took the announcement well and acted graciously, though Richard sensed she was not pleased as he and the Council left for London.  Upon his return a letter from Portugal had arrived telling Richard that Worcester and Bishop Kempe would escort Infanta Joan and a Portuguese party to England within a fortnight.

In early November, Richard and the Council got a trickle of news from Ireland that James Butler, the attained Earl of Ormond & Wiltshire, was in western Ireland talking to clan chieftains and stirring up trouble outside The Pale.  Richard ordered William Bonville, 1^st Baron Bonville, and Sir William Oldhall to meet with Thomas FitzGerald, 7^th Earl of Kildare, and James FitzGerald, 6^th Earl of Desmond, to determine what was going on.  It might have been around this time that Salisbury and Buckingham fully learned about what Richard planned for Ireland, however the timing would be determined by what Bonville and Oldhall were to find about Ormond’s activities.  Even as Ireland was creeping into his thoughts Richard’s first priority was the arrival of his future daughter-in-law, whose official welcome was being planned by Queen Cicely.  It was assumed that the ship carrying Infanta Joan was to land somewhere on the southern coast, though it would depend on the weather in the Channel as to where, though it did not matter as Cicely had already planned for Joan to be welcomed by mayors and city councils from Plymouth to Dover as well as informing them as to where Joan was to be escorted to where she was to for her formal welcoming by Richard and herself to England.  Before Joan’s arrival, Devon and Warwick sent a report from Valladolid including a preliminary agreement for Margaret to examine that the King sent to Windsor without looking at it.

On 23 November 1454, the ship carrying Infanta Joan, Kempe, and Worcester along with several Portuguese ladies-in-waiting and knights led by her cousin Afonso of Braganza, Marquis of Valenca, arrived in Southampton.  The mayor and the city council when informed of her arrival sent a courier to London then went to greet her to the city and escorted her to Southampton Castle to rest a few days.  The mayor and councilmen informed the Infanta of Queen Cicely’s instructions that when Joan was ready that she along with her party would be escorted by several knights to Winchester where she would be formally welcomed to court by the King, Queen, and her future husband the Prince of Wales.  Upon receiving word of Joan’s arrival in Southampton, preparations began immediately with Richard sending an advance party to Winchester Castle to prepare for it to host Court as well as house the royal party.  On 27 November, the Infanta took her leave of Southampton to great cheers from the citizens and journeyed to Winchester arriving late in the afternoon to a welcome party of the mayor, councilmen, and William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester.  Wayneflete led the assembly to his residence at Wolvesey Castle where he was honored to host a banquet for Joan and hosted her stay until her formal welcome at nearby Winchester Castle.  After the public affairs were ended Bishop Waynflete meet privately with the Infanta along with Bishop Kempe, Worcester, and the Marquis of Valenca to show her a letter from Queen Cicely that revealed that a ceremony would take place a day or two after her formal introduction in which Prince Edward and Joan would be technically wed, but due to the youth of the Prince of Wales and Joan’s recent arrival they would not have a formal marriage ceremony until Edward was ready to take up his duties as Prince of Wales.  Waynflete further stated that during this time a household for Joan would be established as part of the Queen’s and that tutors had been arranged so that Joan could learn the language and customs of England to better prepare her for her role as Queen.  The same day that Joan left Southampton, the Court left London headed for Winchester by way of Guildford.  It was late in the day on 29 November when the royal party arrived at Winchester Castle and took up residence.

The next day, 30 November, Bishop Waynflete joined Bishop Kempe and the Earl of Worcester in escorting Joan and the Portuguese party to Winchester Castle.  In the Great Hall, Richard welcomed the returning Bishop Kempe and the Earl of Worcester back to court thanking them for their near nine-month service to the Crown in their successful mission.  Bishop Kempe and Worcester thanked Richard for his welcome and expressed their gratitude for entrusting them with such an important matter.  They then introduced the Marquis of Valenca sent by his cousin, Afonso V of Portugal, to head the Portuguese party accompanying Joan to England whom Richard gladly received.  The Marquis of Valenca, who was followed into the Great Hall by Joan and the party of Portuguese knights and ladies, communicated to Richard the personal greetings of Afonso V to the King, the Queen, and his future brother Prince Edward at this most joyous occasion and by his authority presented the Infanta Joan to the Court.  Richard warmly welcomed Joan to England as well as Cicely who greeted the Infanta as a daughter, the King then called for the Prince of Wales to come forward.  Edward presented himself to Joan, personally welcoming her to England and pledging to treat her with honor as a Prince and husband should to a lady of such noble birth.  Joan pledged to be a worthy wife and consort so as not to bring shame upon Edward.  The Infanta then thanked the King for his wisdom in giving the matter of her marriage to the Prince of Wales into the hands of Bishop Kempe and the Earl of Worcester and on behalf of her brother and herself beg the forgiveness of keeping them so long away from presence of the King as any and all delays in negotiation and their departure were not of their doing.  Edward thanked Bishop Kempe and Worcester by asking Richard if he could be allowed to reward them for their service to Joan and himself.  Richard approved his son’s gift and added a sum to the Bishop Kempe and made Worcester the Constable of the Tower of London.  Joan then thanked Cicely for her warm welcome and hoped she would be a worthy daughter to the Queen as well as to live up to her example as consort.  Cicely thanked Joan and expressed that Joan was free to bring those ladies-in-waiting she had brought on her journey into her household so as to ease her transition into her new home to which the Infanta thanked her.  Richard then asked Edward and Joan to join him and the Queen on the dias, after which he welcomed the Portuguese ladies-in-waiting and knights to Court before inviting them to join a banquet in honor of Joan.  The Marquis of Valenca accepted the invitation and Richard dismissed Court to the banquet hall.  The next day, 1 December, Bishop Kempe assisted by Bishop Waynflete presided over a small ceremony witnessed by Richard, Cicely, the Marquis of Valenca, a Portuguese noblewoman, and Worcester in which Edward and Joan were wed.  After the ceremony, Joan was styled as the Lady Joan, Prince of Portugal, until her more formal wedding to Edward upon his full installation as Prince of Wales.  A few days later, the entire Court along with the Portuguese party started back for London.

Dynastic Diplomacy

On 21 August 1454, Richard III and Queen Cicely joined Queen Margaret and the Earls of Richmond and Pembroke in Westminster for a mass in honor of Richard’s predecessor, Henry VI.  After the solemn occasion, Margaret officially ended her sanctuary in Westminster Abbey and was given rooms at Windsor Castle by Richard.  A few days afterwards, the 23-year old Pembroke petitioned Richard for permission to marry Lady Anne Wydeville, the 15-year old daughter of Baron Rivers, Richard Wydeville.  Although the marriage would not take place for a few years, Pembroke had heard of Richard’s concern with Margaret’s future considering the examples of Pembroke’s own mother Catherine Valois, the Queen of Henry V, and Anne’s mother Jacquetta of Luxembourg, formerly Duchess of Bedford and now Baroness Rivers, and did not want to surprise the King with news of this marriage agreement.  Richard knew that Pembroke had been having contact with the Wydeville family as Baron Rivers’ eldest daughter Elizabeth Grey had been one of Margaret’s ladies-in-waiting and had been one of the former Queen’s on-and-off companions in sanctuary and now along with her husband, Sir John Grey of Groby, was serving Margaret at Windsor Castle.  All involved had taken no sides during the previous winter and Richard permitted the marriage.  But with Margaret out of sanctuary, Richard decided it was time to prevent another scandalous marriage before he would have to deal with the consequences.

Early in September, Essex and the committee of the Commons and Lords presented their plan for the repayment of debts via the usage of forfeited lands.  Richard endorsed the plan and Parliament in both the Commons and Lords, passed it without a hint of disagreement.  Richard then brought his council together and inquired about what to do about Margaret.  Buckingham suggested that since Henry IV of Castile was looking to marry that they should attempt to present Margaret as a suitable candidate.  Salisbury, while supporting the idea, cautioned that since Margaret was niece to Charles VII of France that it might require that he be consulted.  Richard was loath to work with the man who had just conquered all the English possessions in France save Calais, but accepted that it was a price to pay at the moment.  The King delegated Devon and Warwick, who had taken up his position in Calais, to go to Paris and meet with Charles about presenting Margaret as a candidate for the hand of Henry.  If successful, Devon was to proceed to Castile and present Margaret as a candidate for marriage.  Within the week, Devon had left for Calais.  Soon after he left, Richard finally received a letter from Pope Nicholas V; the Pope apologized for the delay in his response as his concern for Christendom after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks had preoccupied him tremendously.  Nicholas thanked Richard for the concern to Cardinal Kempe’s bodily remains and eternal soul even though Kempe erred inserting himself in a political situation against Richard.  The Pope affirmed Thomas Bourchier as Archbishop of Canterbury and named him Cardinal as befitting his position.  Richard welcomed the news and sent his congratulations to Cardinal Bourchier as well as letter to the Pope thanking him for his response and also his concern about the fall of Constantinople.

Near the end of the month, news from Portugal arrived that negotiations for the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Afonso V’s sister, the Infanta Joan, had been successfully concluded.  Once the preparations for Joan’s journey were finalized she and the delegation would depart Lisbon, but not before Worchester would as instructed be proxy for the Price of Wales in a ceremony before the Portuguese court.  Parliament and the country as a whole welcomed the news of the royal marriage; however the 12-year old Prince of Wales was apprehensive when Richard told him the news though the King knew it was just because of his son’s age.  Richard told the Prince of Wales that it would be several years until he and Joan would be truly married, until then he should treat the Infanta like an honorable Prince should.  Queen Cicely began preparations to have the Infanta join her household beside her younger daughters as well as selecting acceptable ladies-in-waiting and a tutor to help the future Queen of England learn the language of her new country.  A few days later, Warwick sent a message that stated Charles VII sent his warm regards to Richard and supported Richard’s care for his niece by presenting her to Henry IV as a candidate for marriage.  Warwick also wrote that Devon had returned with him to Calais along with a French diplomat before heading to Castile on account that Charles felt the Dauphin might attempt to prevent them from their mission.  Richard replied that Warwick was to join Devon and the French delegation to the Castilian court in Valladolid as well as explaining that he had promised Margaret a large dowry and provided the amount.  For the King, everything seemed to be progressing well as he started to wade into the realm of international diplomacy.  However, Richard needed to find a way to tell Margaret that he was presenting her as a candidate for marriage.

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.