The Reluctant Queen Read online

  "George says that the king is not faithful to the queen." said Isabel.

  "She knows it but she never reproaches him. She just treats it as though it is natural. I told George I would never be like that so he will have to be a good husband when he marries me. He says Elizabeth is very clever. All she cares about is having children and getting her family into high places and rich marriages. He says she will think of one for him and one for me ... and it won't be for us to be married to each other but to a Woodville for each of us. That makes us laugh, because we are going to marry each other, says George, and nothing is going to prevent us."

  "Oh, Isabel," I cried.

  "I hope it all comes right for you."

  "Of course it will come right. Our father will see to that." When I look back over that time, I can follow step by step how everything fell into place and how gradually we approached disaster.

  Now that I see it all so much more clearly and with the advantage of hindsight, I cannot blame my father. He had worked hard to attain his power but he had simply misjudged his puppet. He had found it difficult to understand the nature of Edward and it was imperative for him to do so if he were to succeed in his schemes. He had dismissed Edward as a light-living luxury-loving young man which he was but there was another side to his nature.

  From the beginning Edward had the making of a king who was determined to become one and remain one. This my father failed to see. Edward was a great soldier and so far had never been beaten on the battlefield. He had avoided conflict, was not in the least vindictive, and was inclined to forgive his enemies and bear few grudges, and this, in some ways, added to his strength. He knew what he owed to my father; he realised he could be a powerful enemy; but Edward was determined to rule in his way and no other man's. When he had sought the crown and Warwick had helped him attain it, he had listened and obeyed his mentor the earl because he recognised his power at the time to make or break him; but he was now made; he was the king and all must be made aware of it.

  I think that was the true state of affairs and who could blame Edward? My father had agreed to accept him as king, to work for him and serve him. The quarrel over Edward's marriage could have been forgotten and the king would have borne no rancour. They could have resumed their normal relationship and have been of inestimable help to each other. It was my father's pride -and that only which stood in the way of a reconciliation.

  There was a difference of opinion between them on foreign policy. My father had been wooed by the King of France who had seen in him the real ruler of England, which had been true in the first period of Edward's reign. My father greatly valued the friendship of France. For many years there had been conflict between the royal house of France and that of Burgundy; and both the French and the Burgundians would be watching what was happening in England and would be aware of the coolness between the king and the Earl of Warwick. Therefore Burgundy decided to woo Edward.

  Since he had come to the throne, Edward had matured considerably and he would have realised that my father's power was increased by the support of the King of France. He had given my father the chance to patch up their quarrel, but Edward would know that the resentment still smouldered and would grow when Warwick fully understood that Edward was no longer prepared to be led.

  He may well, at this time, have come to think of my father as an enemy. My father was a little careless and so was the archbishop, for when the Pope's emissary came to England, he did not present himself to the court in the customary manner, but went straight to The Moor in Hertfordshire which was the archbishop's residence in the South of England.

  It was natural that the king should want to know what business was taking place between Rome and the archbishop and he must have discovered that he was seeking not only to become a cardinal but also a dispensation for the marriage of George and Isabel.

  This would have made Edward highly suspicious, for neither of these projects had his approval.

  Poor Isabel! I was glad she did not know at that time of all the difficulties which were being put in her way. She was too blissfully happy to accept the fact that she was just a pawn in the game to be moved whichever way was most advantageous to the players.

  My father managed to persuade the king that it was necessary for him to accept an invitation to the court of France.

  I remember his departure at the head of a cavalcade, and heard the shouts of "A Warwick!" and "Long live the earl." It was very heartening. When we saw him thus we could believe he really was mightier than the king and that Edward must soon realise this and it would all be as it had been before.

  It was unfortunate that no sooner had my father left for France than emissaries from the Duke of Burgundy arrived. We heard about the magnificent reception they had received at court and The Rift how feasting and jousting had been arranged to make the visitors understand how welcome they were. It was a situation which needed my father's attention and he should not have been out of England at such a time.

  But how were we, at Middleham, to know that momentous events were building up to a climax which would change our' lives?

  We heard vague rumours and we did know that the; Burgundians were in England and being well received by the king while my father was being feted by the enemy of Burgundy in France which was a strange situation.

  Visitors to Middleham told us how the Woodvilles were very much to the fore, making sure that the visitors from Burgundy noticed them; and they made it clear that they had the friendship of this powerful family which had so recently come into evidence. Meanwhile the king showed his regard for the Burgundians by inviting them to the opening of Parliament. My mother was worried, I knew, though she said nothing.

  "Who cares about the Burgundians!" said Isabel.

  "As soon as we get the dispensation, George and I will be married. And once we are, nobody can stop us."

  "Do you think it will be easy to get the dispensation?" I asked.

  "Of course."

  "I think what our mother is worried about is that the king has all these people at court while our father is a guest of the King of France and he is not friendly with Burgundy."

  "What do you know about it?"

  "Very little. But then, what do you know?"

  "I know I am going to marry George and that is all that matters to me."

  I knew Isabel well, so I was fully aware that she did not want to think of all these conflicts because in her heart she knew that her fate was not in her own hands or even those of George; but in those of my father and the King of England.

  Then something rather alarming did happen. If my father had been in England, it might not have come to pass, but he was away and, although Uncle George was determined to fight for the family of Neville, he was not sure how to do it. We learned of this through a visitor to the castle. It was some distant cousin who had called to tell my mother the was and I suppose to assure us that our most humble connections "ever forgot that they belonged to the House of Neville. My mother sent for refreshments for him, but before they were brought, he blurted out: "The Archbishop of York is no longer Chancellor, my lady."

  "What?" cried my mother. She had turned so pale I thought she was going to faint.

  "My lady, when the archbishop knew that the Burgundians were going to attend the opening of Parliament, he sent a message to say he was too ill to deliver the Chancellor's address."

  "But it is the custom." stammered my mother.

  "Yet... if he were ill..."

  "My lady, they say that the king did not believe he was ill and looked upon it as an insult to Burgundy."

  My mother put her hand to her head.

  "And ... so the king has taken the Great Seal?"

  "Yes, my lady. My Lord Herbert rode with the king to the archbishop's palace and asked him to give it up."

  The earl will be ... angry."

  "Yes, my lady."

  "And what of the Great Seal?"

  "It has been given to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, my lady."r />
  "Is that all?"

  "My lady, it is enough."

  "What does this mean!" I asked my mother later.

  "It is a slight on the family."

  "If my father were here ..."

  "I don't know of anything that he could have done. It is another instance of the king's declaring that he will go his own way."

  "But to take the Chancellorship from Uncle George ..." I said.

  "Your father will regret leaving England."

  Isabel had not spoken. I knew she was wondering what effect this would have on the dispensation.

  I think that incident, more than any other, brought home to us the fact that our father was no longer the most powerful man in England.

  The entertaining of the Burgundians came to an abrupt end when news reached England of the death of Duke Philip of Burgundy and the emissaries prepared to leave. Duke Philip was succeeded by his son, Charles, which made the proposed match with Margaret of York, the king's sister, even more desirable, for now she would be marrying the duke himself instead of his heir. My father returned from France.

  At Middleham we waited in some trepidation to see what would happen next. I know my mother wished we were at Warwick Court in London rather than Middleham, so that she would have been closer to events. As it was, we had to wait until news was brought to us, which was very frustrating.

  It seemed a long time before my father arrived at Middleham and when he did, none could help but be aware of his smouldering rage: and in the heart of his family he let it burst forth.

  "The King has chosen Burgundy!" he said.

  "He will now be the enemy of France. Everything I have worked for has been thrown away at the instigation of these traitors."

  We all knew that the traitors were the Woodvilles, for all the troubles dated back to the king's marriage. If only it had ended there. But the woman whom the king had married was surrounded by scheming relations and they had determined to set themselves up and rule England in place of the Nevilles. The great disaster was that they were succeeding. I learned what had happened later. It seemed certain that the king's sister was destined to become the Duchess of Burgundy. Moreover, when an embassy from the King of France arrived in England its members were coldly received.

  "There was no one to meet them," said my father, "except myself and Clarence! Clarence has been my friend in this." That pleased Isabel.

  "Of course, he would be father's friend," she said.

  "He is going to be his son-in-law."

  I looked at her sadly and prayed she would not be disappointed. She would be miserable if anything stopped the marriage she had set her heart on.

  "I asked the king to see them and he agreed," I heard my father tell my mother.

  "He was reluctant, but it was less trouble to see them than make an issue of it by refusing. But all the time he was listening to them he appeared bored and inattentive. Clarence was a great help with them. They thought him charming but, of course, it could not make up for the king's manner. I apologised to them. I told them I was ashamed. Do you know what they said to me?

  "Do not distress yourself, my lord earl. You will be avenged." My mother tried to soothe him, but there was little she could do.

  "Our enemies have taken the Great Seal from my brother," went on my father.

  "Do you realise what this means? The king has declared for Burgundy and most blatantly has he done this while I was on a mission to France."

  "It is very upsetting." replied my mother.

  "If you had been here it could not have happened."

  "It is war." cried my father.

  "Yes, this is war between the Nevilles and the Woodvilles and that means war between Warwick and the king."

  It was rarely that my father spent so much time at home, but these were days of activity. There was much coming and going at the castle. One of the first to arrive was Uncle George one-time Chancellor and now only Archbishop of York.

  His anger was as fierce as that of my father but perhaps, I thought, that was because he was less able to control it. For my father there had been only hints and signs; for the archbishop there had been an unmistakable blow. He would never forget the insult of the king's arrival at his London palace to demand the return of the Seal; and at this time he was obsessed by the thought of revenge.

  His rage had been exacerbated by a definite insult from the king. When Edward had discovered that Uncle George was in secret negotiations not only for the dispensation needed by Clarence and Isabel, but for the support of his election to the College of Cardinals, the king himself had put forward a candidate Thomas Bourchier, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury. What made this so intolerable was that Bourchier was elected and Edward sent a personal message to Uncle George telling him so.

  Uncle George said: "It is time the king was taught a lesson."

  "That is so." agreed my father.

  "But we should have to be very sure of success before we undertook the task of doing it."

  Members of the family were gathering at Middleham. Even the most obscure were making their way to us to assure my father of their loyalty to the family.

  Clarence came and, to my great delight, Richard was with him.

  Richard was bewildered. I was sure he did not know what this was all about. His brother had brought him with him and Richard at first had clearly expected this to be a friendly call on the man whom, next to his brother, he admired more than any other in the kingdom.

  Isabel said to me when we were alone: "It is because of our marriage that they have come. I think the king may try to stop it now that he is not on friendly terms with our father."

  "Oh, Isabel, I do hope it does not go as far as that."

  "Think of the way the king has treated Uncle George! My George is very angry with his brother. He says the Woodvilles have ruined him and he is too weak to resist them. What sort of a king is that?"

  "Be careful what you say."

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  "George says that Edward is showing himself unworthy to be king. George says ..."

  I turned away. George was a very indiscreet young man. I had always suspected that, and now I knew it was true.

  When Isabel and I were alone with our mother, she said: "I want to talk to you girls very seriously. You know there is trouble between the king and our family. You must not listen to gossip and you must guard your tongues. You must not be tempted to say anything that could be construed as treason."

  "Is my father going to war with the king?" asked Isabel.

  "Hush, hush! I never heard such nonsense. Of course not. It is just a difference of opinion. Your father is the king's most loyal subject, as he always was."

  Isabel pursed her lips and smiled. She had her own views and I could see that my mother was very disturbed.

  Isabel talked indiscreetly but I hoped only to me, which did not count. George was evidently equally indiscreet if what she told me was true.

  "George says his brother is ruining the realm," she said.

  "He spends most of his time with women ... not the queen ... though she knows about it and says nothing. She never protests as long as he lets her family have all the best positions in the country. That's no way to rule a kingdom. So ... well... what if he were no longer king ...?"

  "What do you mean?" I cried. There are others who could take the crown,"

  "You mean ...?"

  She smiled and I followed her reasoning. She was seeing herself in a crown, receiving the homage of her husband's subjects. Isabel, Queen of England.

  "And you ... well, after all, you are my sister. George has a brother and I think you do not exactly dislike him."

  "Richard!"

  "Why not? With our father and all the Nevilles ... and the brothers of the ex-king... his sons-in-law. Well, you see ..."

  "It is not possible."

  "I tell you, it is ... and we are going to see that it is."

  "Who?"

  "George ... my father ..." she
answered.

  That was wild talk, but I was not entirely dismayed to hear it. I was of an age when many girls in my position would find themselves betrothed to men whom they had never seen before -yet so far nothing had been said about a husband for me. If Isabel was suitable for the Duke of Clarence then I could be for the Duke of Gloucester. In the old days it might have been a possibility but that was before this unhappy state had arisen bringing strife between my father and the king. Richard would have to marry where his brother, the king, wished him to, and so would Clarence.

  I did have an opportunity of talking to Richard, and I felt a little embarrassed when I did so.

  "What is going on?" he asked.

  "Everything seems different."

  There has been trouble. You know my Uncle George is no longer Chancellor."

  "Yes, but it is the earl, your father, who has changed."

  "He has much on his mind."

  "He is constantly in the company of my brother George."

  "Well, they were always good friends."

  "But I was brought up here. I feel sure that the earl wants to tell me something. I am not sure what."

  "I think he probably wants to explain his side of the question."

  "Side of what question?"

  "You must have seen that the king and my father have not been quite on the old terms for some time."

  "Not since Edward's marriage, you mean. Your father did not like that, I know. But it is for a man and in particular a king to say whom he will and will not marry." "Kings are in very important positions."

  "Certainly, but it is not the duty of subjects to show displeasure at their choice."

  Richard would always support his brother. He might imply that he would have preferred his brother to have married more suitably, and that he deplored the manner in which the Woodvilles were seizing power, but his brother had given them what they had and that was an end of the matter.

  I realised that I could not tell Richard of my fears and I tried to assure myself that they were unfounded.