Richard III and the Murder in the Tower Read Free

fairly content with his northern hegemony and, in the normal run of events, would most probably have proved as useful and loyal a servant to his nephew as he had previously for his brother. 14 Had this been the case, Richard would have proved to have been largely a footnote to history and not in the centre of the controversy that he currently occupies. 15
The Duke of Gloucester Goes South
     
    All changed on that day in early April 1483, as news of Edward’s death spread across the country. The initial reaction of almost everyone, but especially Richard, Duke of Gloucester made it plain that the young prince would soon be crowned the next King of England. 16 However, the political realities of the situation mandated that Richard, now Lord Protector, travel as quickly as was practicably feasible to the capital, London. That it took him more than a week to prepare for this journey does not suggest a tremendous sense of urgency, but certainly information was beginning to accumulate with respect to the changing tide of events in London. The need for his personal presence in the capital was exacerbated by news that members of the queen’s family were questioning the dead king’s wishes and were arguing that a protectorate was simply unnecessary. Under the circumstances, it was very clear that there were the beginnings of a struggle for control of the heir to the throne and with it control of the realm itself. We have no evidence that Richard initiated this conflict. However, we do have a number of indications that the Woodville clan, many of whom were already resident in London, were the source of this emerging dispute. 17
    At the time of his father’s death, the young prince, now nominally Edward V, was at his residence at Ludlow Castle on the borders of Wales. Arrangements were made for him to go to London as soon as possible. As the young Edward headed east, Richard headed south and was most probably kept in touch with the tenor of events in London by those still loyal to the old king’s wishes. In this, his most reliable reported informant was William, Lord Hastings. As the contemporary commentator Mancini indicated:
    According to common report the chamberlain Hastings reported all these deliberations by letter and messengers to the duke of Gloucester, because he has a friendship of long standing with the duke … 18
     
    At this stage of events, we can see that Richard had cause to be very grateful to Hastings, his old friend and comrade-in-arms, for keeping him apprised of developments. Indeed, he appeared not to be receiving information through more formal channels which, as Protector, he should have been. Thus, what was clearly coming, and what would have been evident to almost all, was nothing less than a struggle for the kingdom. Richard had to move quickly in order to neutralise the Woodville strategy of dominating events through the manipulation of the young king. In this, we have to be very sensitive to Richard’s motivations, since his actions at this juncture were almost certainly self-protective in nature. There is little doubt that if the Woodvilles had succeeded in their immediate aspirations, Richard himself, along with others such as Hastings, would most probably have lost not only their position but probably their lives as well. The written evidence of the letter Richard sent to York from London indicates that he was certainly aware of this threat by 10 June. However, it is more than reasonable to suppose that he must have known of this danger even as he began his journey from the north down to the capital. If Edward IV’s demise had been anticipated, it is likely that Richard cogitated upon such eventualities even before the death of his brother and, indeed, it is natural that he and those of his affiliation would have debated future possibilities anyway, even if Edward had not been in failing health.
    The evidence which demonstrates Richard’s unequivocal understanding of the situation comes from his