Edward IV
-
Although Commines is the principal source for Robert Stillington being the clergyman who informed Richard of the alleged marriage between Edward IV and Lady Eleanor Talbot, the treatment of the bishop after the accession of Henry VII does appear to support the idea that he was the man involved. Indeed it appears that the Lords…
-
In 1475, before embarking for his campaign to (re)conquer French lands for England, Edward IV wrote a will stating that, in the event of his death, he desired to be buried at the Royal Chapel of St. George’s at Windsor Castle. He wanted to be placed under the ground with an effigy of a corpse…
-
Part 3 – Woe to that land that’s governed by a child! “ I can add colours to the chameleon, Change shapes with Proteus for advantages, And set the murderous Machiavel to school. Can I do this, and cannot get a crown? Tut, were it further off, I’ll pluck it down.” (william Shakespeare) “…
-
Part 2: The hearts of men are full of fear “ My Lord, whoever journeys to the Prince, For God’s sake let us two not stay at home; For by the way I’ll sort occasion As indexed to the story we late talked of, To part the Queens proud kindred from the Prince.” (Shakespeare:…
-
We know from the resulting petition from the Three Estates that this followed the testimony of Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells. So, if there was anything untoward about the process, how was this prelate rewarded by the new King? A list of Edward IV’s council members is attached to this post but it…
-
(some personal reflections on events in England between April and the autumn 1483) Part 1: ‘Now is the winter of our discontent…’ “ …O, full of danger is the Duke of Gloucester, And the Queen’s sons and brothers haught and proud; And were they to be ruled, and not to rule. This sickly land might…
-
Browsing for one thing and finding something else seems to be a common phenomenon, and sometimes I’m not sure if what I notice is right or not. Anyway, this morning I happened upon a portrait of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, daughter of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York. Therefore granddaughter of Edward IV. The…
-
We know that Edward IV made the Duke of Gloucester Constable of England for life in 1471, when he was restored but deprived of the services of John Tiptoft (Earl of Worcester) and Richard, Earl Rivers, both of whom had been executed during the Warwick-Lancastrian revolt. So he was definitely Constable in the aftermath of…
-
I have come across a few conversations on the net in which the question is asked: If Eleanor Talbot was married to Edward IV, why did she not speak out when he ‘married’ Elizabeth Woodville? It’s a fair enough question, although in my view a tad on the naive side. 15th Century England was not…
-
Most of us are familiar with the story of “Perkin Warbeck” and the letters he wrote back to the Low Countries. Depending on his identity, his parents hailed from there if he was an impostor or his aunt was Dowager Duchess of Burgundy if he was Richard of Shrewsbury, the former Duke of York and…