Richard III: His Life & Character, Reviewed in the Light of Recent Research

by Sir Clements R. Markham

On the evening of that July 9, 1460, she rode away with her beloved child, a homeless fugitive. Between Eccleshall and Chester she was made prisoner by a party led by one John Cleger, a servant of Lord Stanley. Every instinct was on the alert when danger approached her child. She watched an opportunity while her captors were rifling the baggage, and escaped with little Edward in her arms. The adventures through which they passed are not recorded, but she was eventually joined by the Duke of Somerset, who conducted her to a safe refuge at Harlech Castle in Wales.

The Duke of York, with Henry in his power, induced the Parliament to alter the succession, and the claims of Henry's son were ignored. Henry VI. wrote a letter to his wife, ordering her to accept the new settlement, and to join him in London with her child. This must have been one of the bitterest moments of her unhappy life. But no reverse could daunt this romantic heroine. She went by sea from Harlech to Scotland, and thence called upon all her supporters in the north to rally round the standard of King Henry. Margaret's appeal met with a prompt answer, and on the last day of the year 1460 the Duke of York lost his life at Wakefield, overwhelmed by superior numbers. The road was thus open to London, and Margaret made a vigorous effort to recover the birthright of her child. On February 17, 1461, she won the second battle of St. Albans and recovered the person of her husband; but she failed to induce the citizens of London to open their gates to her, and was obliged to retreat northwards. The Queen and her child appear to have been in the thick of the fight; and this was the third battle at which Edward had been present before he had reached his eighth year. The royal party retreated to York, while preparations were made for the final and decisive struggle between the two factions. On March 4, 1461, the young Earl of March was proclaimed King, and on the 29th he won the crowning victory of Towton.

Queen Margaret, with her husband and child, had remained at York, and there she received the news of the destruction of her hopes. There was nothing left for her but instant and rapid flight. The fugitives from Towton told her to mount at once, and the unhappy family, with a few faithful friends, galloped out of Bootham Bar, and plunged into the forest of Galtres. The Dukes of Somerset and Exeter and Lord Roos attended them. They escaped to Berwick and thence to Edinburgh, where Henry found a suitable abode with the Grey Friars. Margaret passed the following winter in Scotland, but in the spring, seeing no present hope from her English adherents, who appeared to be crushed, she resolved to seek help from abroad. Taking the little prince with her, she sailed from Kirkcudbright in April 1462, and landed in Brittany, whence she proceeded to the court of her cousin Louis XI., who was then at Chinon. It was resolved that some assistance should be given to the undaunted heroine in men and money. Her old champion Pierre de Brezé now flew to the succour of the forlorn Margaret in her distress. He organized an expedition, and in October 1462 he sailed to the coast of Northumberland with the Queen and her son. They landed at Tynemouth, but the foreign levies were repulsed and fled to their ships, abandoning de Brezé and the Queen. The fugitives were afterwards cut to pieces by troops under Sir Robert Ogle when they landed at Holy Island. De Brezé, with Margaret and her child, escaped from Tynemouth in a fishing boat and, after a perilous voyage, they landed safely at Berwick, which was then a Scottish port.

In Scotland there was but a cold welcome for Queen Margaret. It was necessary to make her way to Bamborough, which still held out for her, and there, abandoning present hope, the Queen and her child embarked to commence a life of exile in April 1463. They were accompanied by a band of faithful friends who would not desert them in their extremity. Chief among them was the Lord Chief Justice, Sir John Fortescue.

The Duke of Somerset, now a double-dyed traitor, with Sir Hugh Percy and others then rose in rebellion, and captured the castles of Alnwick and Bamborough. The Marquis Montagu, followed by Edward IV. in person, advanced rapidly from the south to put down the new insurrection. On April 25, 1464, the insurgents were defeated at Hedgley Moor, and soon afterwards the rest of Somerset's forces entrenched themselves near Hexham. Poor Henry was brought from Edinburgh, where he was quite contented with his Grey Friars, to the camp. The entrenchments were thrown up on Lyvel's plain, near Dowelwater, and Somerset awaited the attack. On May 8, 1464, Montagu came in sight, assaulted the position, and, after a desperate resistance, carried it with great slaughter. The Duke of Somerset, Lords Roos and Hungerford were taken and beheaded, Henry galloped off on a swift horse in the direction of the Scottish Border. He concealed himself in the west of Yorkshire for a year, but was captured at Bolton Hall in June 1465 and taken to the Tower.[[4]]

Meanwhile, Queen Margaret encountered a furious gale of wind which lasted for twelve hours, but her vessel at length reached the Flemish port of Sluys. Thence she proceeded by Lille and Hesdin to the Court of the Duke of Burgundy at St. Pol. Here the exiles were hospitably received and supplied with money, and, after some stay, they went on to the castle of Koeur-la-Petite near St. Mihiel, on the Meuse. King René had assigned this castle as the residence of his daughter and grandson, with their followers.

No boy who had only reached his eleventh year ever went through such vicissitudes as Edward of Lancaster. He had been at four pitched battles, had ridden over hundreds of miles, had been seized by robbers, had wandered in trackless forests, had passed many nights on the bare ground, and in open boats. He had made hairbreadth escapes, and had suffered privations and hardships. Few children could have survived such a life. He must have had a robust frame combined with the high courage of his race. Through all, and protecting him at every step, he had his heroic mother as his companion; surrounding and pervading his life with her devoted love. Such experiences must have left a deep impression on the boy's character. It was a wild and turbulent opening for the young life, but now at last there was to be a brief interval of rest. For a few years he was to live more peaceably, receiving instruction and enjoying some pleasures, before destiny hurried him to a violent death.

St. Mihiel is a small town on the right bank of the Meuse, in the diocese of Verdun and Duchy of Bar. Near it there are enormous rocks overhanging the river, called Les Falaises de St. Mihiel. In the fifteenth century there was cultivation along the river banks, while extensive forests covered the Argonne mountains further back. Nearly opposite St. Mihiel, on the left bank of the river, was the old castle of Koeur-la-Petite, which René gave to his daughter Margaret[[5]]; and he contributed to her support as far as his narrow means would allow. Here she dwelt for the five succeeding years, watching the growth and education of her boy, and enjoying more happiness than she had known since her ill-fated marriage. She was within a few miles of Pont-à-Mousson, the place of her birth, and often saw her beloved father, and her sister Iolanthe.

Young Edward was devoted to field sports and martial exercises. His companions were the sons of knights and esquires who had remained faithful to his mother; and he loved to gallop with them over the valley, and to exercise with sword and lance. So much of his time was passed in these outdoor exercises that, as his years increased, the graver advisers of his mother began to think that he should give rather more of his attention to the acquisition of learning.