Richard of Gloucester becomes Protector, and eventually Edward is dethroned.

EDWARD IV. died on April 9, and the council at once recognised his son Edward as his successor. The new king was only thirteen years of age, and, consequently, the government would have to be Dangers of carried on in his name as in the early days of Richard II. and a minority. Henry VI. In England, such minorities had uniformly been unfortunate, and the truth of the proverb, 'Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,' had been forcibly impressed on the English mind by bitter experience; while the story of the evil that befell the mice, or the commonalty, when the cat, or king, was too young to keep down the rats, or nobility, which appears in Langland's Vision of Piers Ploughman, pointed out exactly the sort of evils which invariably followed the accession of a weak sovereign. It is little wonder, therefore, that the accession of so young a king excited more fear than hope in the nation, and prepared the way for his dethronement.

State of

parties.

During Edward's lifetime his determined character and ruthless punishments had kept in check the elements of discord which existed at court; but no sooner was he dead than a struggle began for the possession of the reins of power, and the different sections at once stood out in clear relief. First of all in prominence, but not in real power, were the Woodvilles, who had been raised to position and wealth by Edward as a counterpoise to the Nevilles, but who were still regarded by old Lancastrians as renegades, and by the villes. ancient nobility as upstarts. Their leaders were the queen, her brothers,

The Wood

Official

The old nobility.

the accomplished Anthony, Earl Rivers, and Richard and Edward Woodville, and her sons by her first marriage, Thomas Grey, earl of Dorset, and Sir Richard Grey. Next to them stood the lords of the nobility. council, who had been the friends and advisers of the late king, chief among whom were William, Lord Hastings, a tried warrior and honourable man, who held the post of captain of Calais; Thomas, Lord Stanley, third husband of Margaret Beaufort, who had great estates in Cheshire and Lancashire, steward of the household; and John Howard, created Lord Howard in 1470; and two clergymen, Thomas Rotherham, archbishop of York, and John Morton, bishop of Ely. Outside the official circle stood Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, grandson of the duke killed at Northampton. This young nobleman, as great-grandson of Anne, daughter of Thomas duke of Gloucester, son of Edward III., and also a Beaufort through his mother, was not only a prince of the blood royal, but also heir of half the lands of the Bohuns of Hereford, and wielded great influence in the Severn valley. Another representative of the ancient nobility was John de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, son of the old minister of Henry vi., and husband of Edward's sister Elizabeth, by whom he had a numerous family, of which John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, was the eldest. Lastly Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, son of the earl who fell at Towton, who had been restored to his honours in 1469, and was now warden of the Scottish Richard of marches. While aloof from all these, but most important, Gloucester. was Richard of Gloucester, the ablest son of Richard, duke of York, whose reputation as a warrior was known far and wide, and who was also esteemed in the north as an excellent administrator of civil affairs.

As to the ability of Richard of Gloucester there can be no two opinions; and in matters where his own personal interest was not concerned, he was not without kindliness of heart; but where the interests either of his house or himself were at stake, he knew no scruples whatever. It cannot, however, be proved that he was the actual murderer of Henry vi., and if he took part in the death of Prince Edward at Tewkesbury, he was only one among others. His whole early training must have made him think lightly of the guilt of such crimes as these, which were so obviously for the advantage of his house. His personal courage was unquestioned, and though there is evidence that one of his shoulders was slightly higher than the other, it did not hinder his efficiency as a soldier. In private life his manner and address seem to have been exceptionally winning, and to have given no indication of the darker crimes with which he is credited. His successes in Scotland, and

excellent rule on the border, coupled with his patriotic disgust with the French peace, had caused him to stand high in the opinion of his country

men.

Intrigues for possession of King.

At the moment of Edward's death, the queen, with her brothers Edward and Richard, and her son the earl of Dorset, and the lords of the council, were in London; Earl Rivers and Sir Richard Grey were at Ludlow, in attendance on the Prince of Wales; Buckingham was on his estates; and Gloucester in Yorkshire. The differences between the lords of the council and the Woodvilles at once showed themselves, for the queen claimed the guardianship of the young king, while Hastings, supported by Buckingham, and in accordance, it is believed, with Edward Iv.'s own intentions, wished to fall back on the precedent of 1422, and to make Gloucester protector. At the same time the council positively forbade the Woodvilles to send an escort of more than 2000 men to conduct the king to London. Meanwhile, Gloucester was marching south, and at Northampton, on April 29, found himself within ten miles of the king, who, under the escort of Rivers and Richard Grey, had left Ludlow on the 24th and had just passed through Northampton to Stony Stratford. The same evening Rivers and Grey were sent back by the young king to convey his greetings to Gloucester, and Buckingham also joined the party. The four passed the evening together, but next morning Rivers and Grey were seized, and sent under guard to the north; and the two dukes, taking the little king with them, marched forward to London. They were preceded, however, by the news of the arrest of Rivers and Grey; and on hearing it, the queen at once took sanctuary at Westminster, accompanied by her second son, Richard, a boy of eleven, and her five daughters, the eldest of whom was Elizabeth, now aged about eighteen. Dorset and Edward Woodville, who had hitherto been engaged in raising an armed force, took to flight. In this way the Woodville party was shattered before the king reached London; and on his arrival there, Hastings and the council declared Richard, duke of Gloucester, protector. So far, Richard's conduct seems to have met with general approval, and he was very well received by the citizens. Little sympathy was felt for the fallen Woodvilles.

Richard assumed the protectorate on May 4. The coronation was fixed for June 22, and a parliament was summoned for June 25. The interval was used by Richard of Gloucester to advance Richard his plans a step further. Having gained the goodwill of unites with Buckingham. Buckingham, and brought up a sufficient number of their retainers to put down any resistance, they proceeded to attack the lords

of the council.

Execution of

On June 13, at a council meeting in the Tower, Gloucester suddenly brought against Hastings an accusation Hastings. of plotting with the Woodvilles-which may very well have been true and insisted on his immediate execution, while Rotherham and Morton were thrown into prison. At the same time, Richard subjected to public disgrace Jane Shore, Hastings' mistress, formerly mistress of Edward Iv., who, it is probable, had acted as intermediary between Hastings and the Woodvilles. On the 16th, Gloucester gained a further point by employing the blandishments of the aged time-server, Cardinal Bourchier, archbishop of Canterbury, to induce the queen to allow her son Richard to join his brother in the Tower. Everything being now ready, and all serious opponents dead or in prison, the coronation and parliament were put off, and a sermon was preached at St. Paul's Cross by Dr. Shaw, a brother of the lord mayor, in which the theory was advanced that Edward iv.'s marriage with Elizabeth Woodville was illegal in consequence of a pre-contract to Lady Eleanor Butler; that the right of Clarence's children was barred by their father's attainder; and, therefore, that the true right to the crown lay in the duke of Gloucester. This startling announcement claims the which may or may not be really true-failed to win the throne. applause of the congregation; but two days later the duke of Buckingham repeated the same arguments in a speech to the citizens at the Guildhall, some expressions of applause emanating from the followers of the two dukes were taken for consent, and next day Gloucester, no doubt by pre-arrangement, was waited on by Buckingham at the head of 'many and diverse lords, spiritual and temporal, and other nobles and notable persons of the commons.' They asked him to take the crown; and, with some show of surprise and hesitation, he graciously consented. On or about the same day Rivers and Richard Grey were publicly put to death at Pontefract; and on the 26th Richard went to

Richard

End of Edward's reign.

Westminster Hall, seated himself, as Edward had done before Towton, in the marble chair, and declared his right to rule as an hereditary and elected king. The reign of Edward v. was reckoned as having closed on June 25.

Murder of the Princes-Morton's Conspiracy-Benevolences condemned— Conspiracy of Henry Tudor-Bosworth.

of Richard.

THOUGH the revolution which placed Richard on the throne was the work of a small clique, it does not appear to have excited any great indignation among the people at large. Edward v. was too Ready young and too little known to excite personal enthusiasm; acceptance and the advantages of avoiding a long minority, and substituting for it the rule of a distinguished soldier and administrator, were too obvious to be overlooked by practical men. Of the importance of laying stress on his claims to support on this ground Richard was perfectly aware; and throughout his short reign did all in his power to exhibit himself as a dispenser of justice, and the stern upholder of public morality. The first care of the new sovereign was to reward his followers. Buckingham1 was made constable, and received shortly afterwards the 1 GENEALOGY OF THE STAFFORDS.