Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty (16 page)

The future seemed bleak to Elizabeth Woodville following the failure of Buckingham’s rebellion, and during the first half of 1484, she remained in the sanctuary at Westminster with her daughters. With parliament’s declaration that her marriage was invalid, she had been stripped of her title of queen and was referred to in all official documents as simply ‘Dame Elizabeth Grey’, by reference to her first marriage. She also lost the dower granted to her by Edward, and with her five daughters remaining with her, the sanctuary must have seemed impossibly crowded. Elizabeth was aware that, whilst they remained in sanctuary, the future of her daughters was uncertain, and ever a pragmatist, she slowly began to respond to Richard III’s overtures of friendship. The fact that Elizabeth was prepared to make terms with Richard has, on occasion, been used to support the belief that she did not consider him to have been responsible for the murder of her sons, the princes in the Tower. However, this position is impossible to substantiate, and Elizabeth was already well aware that the King had ordered the execution of her second son by her first marriage, Sir Richard Grey, as well as her brother, Earl Rivers, following his coup at Stony Stratford in 1483. Elizabeth Woodville appears to have set aside personal feeling in her agreement with Richard, and it is clear that this was done, in the main, to ensure that both she and her daughters had some kind of future in England. She took steps to ensure her daughters’ safety against the man who had murdered their half-brother, uncle and, in all likelihood, their two brothers. On 1 March 1484, Richard made a written agreement with Elizabeth, declaring that

I Richard by the Grace of God King of England and of Fraunce, and Lord of Irland, in the presens of you my Lords spirituell and temporell, and you Mair and Aldermen of my Cite of London, promisse and swere verbo regio upon these holy Evangelies of God by me personelly touched, that if the doughters of dame Elizabeth Gray late calling her selff Quene of England, that is to wit Elizabeth, Cecill, Anne, Kateryn, and Brigitte, woll come unto me out of the Sanctwarie of Westminster and be guyded, ruled, and demeaned after me, than I shall see that they shalbe in suertie of their lyffs, and also not suffre any manner hurt by any maner persone or persones to them or any of theim or their bodies and persones, to be done by way of ravissement or defouling contrarie their willes, nor them or any of theim emprisone within the Toure of London or other prisonne; but that I shall put them in honest places of good name and fame, and theim honestly and curtesly shall see to be founden and entreated, and to have all things requisite and necessary for their exibicion and findings as my kynneswomen.

The fact that Richard was required to swear that he would not imprison his nieces in the Tower suggests a great deal about what was believed to have happened to their brothers. For Richard, obtaining the princesses was a major coup, and he placed Elizabeth, the eldest, with his own wife at court.

Elizabeth of York turned eighteen in February 1484, and as the eldest daughter of Edward IV, she was, politically, of great interest. To many people in England, she was the heiress of the house of York and had the best hereditary claim to the throne of England. This had not been lost on Margaret when she promoted the match for Elizabeth with her son, and Richard III was also aware of her value. Although, legally, Elizabeth was illegitimate, this was not how she was viewed by most people, and in securing her person, Richard hoped to frustrate Henry’s pretensions.

By 1484, Richard had been married to the youngest daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker, Anne Neville, for around twelve years. Anne was always sickly and bore her husband only one child, a son who was named as Prince of Wales on his father’s accession to the throne. In April 1484, soon after Edward IV’s daughters emerged from the sanctuary, Richard’s son died suddenly, leaving the King without an heir and with a wife who, although still only in her twenties, was recognised as being incapable of further childbearing. By the end of 1484, rumours had emerged that Richard intended either to kill or discard his wife so that he could marry his niece, Elizabeth of York, and as if to fuel this speculation, it was noted that, at Christmas, Elizabeth appeared wearing the same dress as the Queen. From a dynastic point of view, a marriage to Elizabeth did indeed make perfect sense for Richard, and it would have served both to ensure that his children had the best possible claim to the throne and to frustrate Henry Tudor’s claims once and for all. The fact that the potential couple were uncle and niece was not insurmountable, and the Pope had the power to grant a dispensation for such a union. There is also some evidence that Elizabeth herself desired the marriage, and the early seventeenthcentury historian George Buck paraphrased a now lost letter supposedly written by Elizabeth in February 1485:

When the midst and last of February was past, the lady Elizabeth, being more impatient and jealous of the success than every one knew or conceived, writes a letter to the Duke of Norfolk, intimating first, that he was the man in whom she most affied, in respect of that love her father had ever bore him, &c. Then she congratulates his many courtesies, in continuation of which, she desires him to be a mediator for her to the king, in behalf of the marriage propounded between them, who, as she wrote, was her only joy and maker in this world, and that she was his in heart and thought; with all insinuating that the better part of February was past, and that she feared the queen would never die.

Buck has been described as a ‘faithless writer’, and the fact that the letter no longer exists and was mentioned by no other writer must cast doubt on its truth. However, it is interesting in that the forceful character that it shows Elizabeth to have had is echoed in another, more reliable source, the ballad
Ladye Bessiye
, which also deals with the period. It is possible that Elizabeth of York, who so desired to be the queen of Henry Tudor, may first have sought to marry her uncle in order to achieve her ambitions. Even the
Crowland Chronicle Continuations
suggest that Elizabeth of York may not have been as placid as she is often portrayed, with the chronicler claiming that Richard’s councillors were concerned at the prospect of the match ‘for fear lest, if the said Elizabeth should attain the rank of queen, it might be in her power to avenge upon them the death of her uncle, earl Anthony [Rivers], and her brother Richard [Grey]’. Henry Tudor in Brittany was concerned enough about the rumours to look around for an alternative bride, seeking to marry a daughter of his old guardian, Sir William Herbert, in an attempt to win that family’s support. This scheme progressed as far as messengers being sent to the lady’s brother, Sir Walter Herbert, and her brother-in-law, the Earl of Northumberland.

Queen Anne Neville died on 16 March 1485, amidst rumours that the King had poisoned her in order to free himself to marry Elizabeth. This is unlikely, and Anne almost certainly died of the illness that had plagued her for much of her life. However, it demonstrates just how unpopular Richard had become in a reign that was still less than two years old. The idea that he might marry his niece, whilst possible with a dispensation, was against custom in England and caused disgust. Finally, amidst mutterings of discontent, the King was forced to make a public denial that any marriage was planned:

Whereas as there have been long discussions and much uninformed talk among the people by evil-disposed persons, who have … sown these rumours to the very great displeasure of the king, showing how the queen was poisoned by consent and will of the king, so that he might marry and have to wife the Lady Elizabeth, eldest daughter of his brother, late King of England, deceased, whom God pardon … the king sent for and had before him at St John’s Day, yesterday, the mayor and aldermen. And in the great hall in the presence of many of his lords and many other people he shewed his grief and displeasure, and said it never came into his thought or mind to marry in such manner, nor was he pleased or glad at the death of his queen but as sorry and heavy in heart as a man could be … And he then admonished and charged every person to cease from such untrue talking, on peril of his indignation.

For a king to have to take such a humiliating and unprecedented step demonstrates that Richard’s rule was in trouble, and this would not have been lost on Margaret, who, whilst under house arrest, was allowed a great deal of contact with the outside world.

For Margaret, Richard’s increasing unpopularity once again raised the possibility of her son succeeding to the throne. The execution of Buckingham, although a disaster for his rebellion in 1483, proved to be fortuitous for Henry Tudor, as it removed a dangerous rival to the Lancastrian succession. Although Margaret was unable to take any direct action during her imprisonment, she persuaded her husband to look more favourably on her son’s cause, and there is some evidence that the ever-cautious Stanley began to commit himself secretly to Henry Tudor. The only detailed contemporary source for the activities of Elizabeth of York and Lord Stanley between March and August 1485 is the ballad
Ladye Bessiye
, which was composed by a member of Stanley’s household, Humphrey Brereton, during the reign of Margaret’s son. The ballad only survives in later copies, but even allowing for poetic licence, it is likely to contain much that is factual.

According to
Ladye Bessiye
, after the Queen’s death, Richard placed Elizabeth of York in Stanley’s London house, remembering that Edward IV, on his deathbed, had asked Margaret’s husband to watch over his daughters. Margaret was certainly not allowed to live in London in 1485, and it is likely that she remained in Lancashire during the events described in the ballad. As Stanley’s wife, it is inconceivable that she would have been oblivious to what was going on in her husband’s house, and it is possible that she was able to make contact with Elizabeth of York, as she had previously done with Elizabeth Woodville. According to the ballad, Elizabeth hated Richard and blamed him for the murder of her brothers. She summoned Stanley to her and begged him to help Henry:

For & he were King, I shold be Queene;

I doe him loue, & neuer him see

Thinke on Edward, my father, that late was King,

Vpon his deathe-bed where he did lye:

Of a litle child he put me to thee,

For to gouerne and to guide;

Unto your keeping hee put mee,

& left me a booke of prophecye;-

I haue itt in keeping in this citye;-

He knew that yea might make me a Queene,

Father, if thy will itt be;

For Richard is no righteous kinge.

Although certainly romanticised, the idea that Elizabeth of York was determined to be a queen does agree with the supposed letter that she wrote to the Duke of Norfolk and suggests that she, like her mother and Margaret, may have been involved in the plot against Richard. Elizabeth was remarkably well informed of Stanley’s strength, pointing out that his brother, Sir William Stanley, could muster 500 men and that his son, Lord Strange, could bring another 1,000. Stanley’s younger son, Edward, could provide a further 300 and his nephew, Sir John Savage, 1,500. Stanley, at first, refused to listen, declaring that they would both be undone if Richard heard of what was said. Elizabeth berated him and threw her headdress to the ground, weeping and declaring that she would never be queen. Trying desperately to silence her, Stanley promised to meet with her again that night and finally agreed to send Brereton to fetch Sir William Stanley and Lord Strange. The Stanleys arrived in London on 3 May, and it was agreed to send a message to Henry in Brittany, with Elizabeth personally sending £10,000 (a figure which is likely to be grossly exaggerated). Once again, Brereton was sent as messenger, and when he reached Henry, he gave him a letter from Elizabeth, as well as her money and a ring, which Henry kissed three times. After thinking of what was proposed for some time, Henry said to Brereton,

Comend me to Bessye, that Countesse cheere,-

& yett I did neuer her see,-

I trust in god shee shall be my Queene,

for her I will trauell the sea.

Comend me to my ffather Stanley,-

My owne mother marryed hath hee.

If accurate, the ballad suggests that Henry was already assured of the support of the Stanleys before he sailed for England, and this was almost certainly down to Margaret’s persuasions as much as Elizabeth’s. According to the ballad, when Henry landed and met with Stanley, his stepfather declared that ‘thou hast thy mothers blessing by mee’, a further indication that Margaret was fully aware, and involved, in all that was happening. For Stanley too, the prospect of becoming the stepfather of the king must have been an enticing one and overpowered his usual caution to some extent.

Margaret remained active in her support of her son, and in the early months of 1485, her servant, Reginald Bray, set about collecting a large sum of money for the payment of Henry’s mercenaries, presumably at Margaret’s request. Bray also sent messages urging Henry to mount his invasion, and by the middle of 1485, Richard’s fortunes appeared at their lowest ebb. The King was worried enough about the threat posed by Henry to issue a proclamation attacking Jasper Tudor, the Bishop of Exeter, the Earl of Oxford, Sir Edward Woodville and others who were with him in France, referring to them as ‘his Rebels and Traitors, disabled and attainted by the authority of the High Court of Parliament’ and accusing them of forsaking ‘their natural country’. He then moved on to attack Henry’s claims to the throne, declaring,