The Year of Three Kings
January 20, 1483
Edward IV summoned Parliament to discuss war against France and Scotland. On this date he was at Westminster to open the session.
January 25, 1483
The King of Scotland’s brother the Duke of Albany and his envoy arrived in London.
Candlemas Day, (February 2), 1483
The Duke of Albany and his envoy accompanied King Edward IV and his Queen Elizabeth Woodville in a procession from St. Stephen’s Chapel into Westminster Hall. A week later, Edward authorized the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Scrope and Sir William Parre to treat with the three Scots. Two days later, a treaty was signed.
February 18, 1483
The House of Commons granted a tax for the defense of the realm.
February 20, 1483
Edward offered Francis II of Brittany 4,000 archers for 3 month’s service, and to have them ready off Plymouth or Dartmouth within a month at most after the duke had called for them. On that day, too, Parliament finished up its session by giving Richard, the King’s brother, an hereditary grant to lands in England and Scotland. Richard left London shortly after.
February 22, 1483
Edward dispatched a man to France “on certain our messages to be done there.”
March 6, 1483
Richard reached the city of York, where he was greeted by the Mayor and alderman.
March 8, 1483
Anthony Woodville sent his lawyer Andrew Dymmock a copy of the patents appointing him as Governor of the Prince, which meant that he could move him at will, and also a patent empowering him to raise troops in the Welsh Marches.
Mid-March, 1483
Edward IV went to Windsor.
March 25, 1483
Edward returned to Westminster Palace.
March 30 (Easter) 1483
At some time between March 25 through April 2, 1483, Edward IV went on a fishing trip on the Thames, where he caught a cold. (Dominic Mancini) Using the Croyland Chronicler as her source, Cora Scofield writes: “About this time, Edward’s last illness began.
The King took to his bed. Virgil described the illness as an “unknown disease.” The Norman chronicler Thomas Basin said that the King had upset his digestive system by eating a surfeit of fruits and vegetables. Commines believed it was due to Edward’s disappointment regarding the breakup of the intended marriage between his daughter and the dauphin. Dr. John Rae, in “Deaths of the English Kings” (1913) suggested pneumonia because contemporaries say that Edward lay on his left side. Commines also said that Edward had a stroke. Kendall stated that the King collapsed from stroke or indigestion.
April 4, 1483
The Earl of Essex, treasurer of England, died.
April 6, 1483
A false report of Edward IV’s death had reached York, and a dirge was sung in the Minster.
April 7, 1483
Knowing that he was going to die, Edward summoned Queen Elizabeth Woodville, his children, and his magnates to his bedside. He urged the Queen, her oldest son Thomas Grey of Dorset, and his best friend William Hastings to make peace with one another, a request with which they tearfully complied.
April 9, 1483
Edward IV died.
April 10, 1483
Edward IV’s body was borne to the Chapel of St. Stephens, where there were eight days of solemn obsequies. Notables began to gather in London for the funeral.
April 11, 1483
Edward’s 12-year old son, who was still at Ludlow Castle 200 miles from London, was proclaimed Edward V in his capital city. The Council set his coronation date for May 4th . A 2,000 man-escort for the King was agreed upon, after much passionate debate.
Not trusting the Woodvilles, William Hastings, the late King’s best friend and Lord Chamberlain, wrote to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to tell him of his brother’s death and to suggest that he come to the capitol with a large force and intercept the young King. The Croyland Chronicler says that Hastings also wrote to Buckingham. That evening, William Hastings and John Howard had supper together.
April 14, 1483
Young Edward and his household heard that Edward IV was dead. Rivers was asked to bring the King to London by May 1st. John Rous , antiquarian for the Earls of Warwick, wrote that the friends of the young King’s father “flocked to him” to pay their respects. On this day, Henry Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham, also learned of Edward IV’s death while on his estates at Brecon on the Welsh Marches.
Mid-April, 1483
Richard received Hastings’ letter at his home in Middleham Castle. He then wrote a series of letters: To Anthony Woodville, the Earl Rivers, expressing an interest to meet up with the King and enter London with him; to Hastings, Buckingham, and others warning them of dire consequences if the Woodvilles remained in possession of the King and his government; and, lastly, to the Queen, in which he promised to “come and offer submission, fealty, and all that was due from him to his lord and King, Edward V.” (Croyland Chronicler)
April 16, 1483
Writing on behalf of his uncle Rivers, Edward informed the burghers of Lynn (which was near Rivers’ manor) of his plans to be in London “in all convenient haste.”
With his nephew John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, serving as the chief mourner, Edward IV’s funeral ceremonies commenced at Westminster Abbey.
April 18, 1483
Edward IV’s body was brought by procession to Windsor. In London, there was a clerical convocation in which prayers were offered for Edward V and his mother Elizabeth Woodville.
April 19, 1483
Edward IV was buried at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
April 20, 1483
Having asked his followers to meet him in York, Richard left Middleham Castle, taking 300 men with him.
Council met in London for many days. The Croyland Chronicler wrote that it was “the most urgent desire of all present that the Prince should succeed his father in all his glory.” Council argued over the type of government that should be established during the King’s minority, and the nature of the Protectorate, which, as only living brother of Edward IV, would naturally go to Richard. Council also appointed Edward Woodville Admiral of the Fleet to assemble a navy which would confront French and Breton pirates.
April 21, 1483
In York, Richard held a solemn funeral ceremony for his brother and had all of the nobility of the region take an oath of loyalty to the young King. Richard was the first to do so.
Buckingham received Richard’s letter. He had his servant make plans with Richard to meet him at Northampton.
April 23, 1483
Edward V celebrated St. George’s Day at Ludlow. In the meantime, Richard had left York for Nottingham.
April 24, 1483
Edward V and his household officers left Ludlow.
While in route to Nottingham, Richard received word from Rivers that they would meet in Northampton on April 29th. Richard stopped at Pontefract Castle.
April 26, 1483
Buckingham had left Brecon with 300 men. Richard arrived in Nottingham, where he was met by Buckingham’s servant.
April 29, 1483
Edward Woodville went to sea.
Edward V and his party arrived at Northampton, but Rivers remained behind to meet with Richard and the Duke of Buckingham while Edward and his other household officers rode on ahead to Stony Stratford. Richard and Buckingham arrived in Northampton separately.
According to Polydore Vergil, the Tudor historian, this was the date on which Richard told the Duke of Buckingham that he intended to seize the throne.
April 30, 1483
After having spent a congenial evening with Richard and Buckingham, Rivers was arrested by Richard and Buckingham, who then rode to Stony Stafford to intercept the King, arrest his household officers, and dismiss his escort. Richard then wrote a letter to Council explaining his actions.
May 1, 1483
Queen Elizabeth Woodville, nine-year old Richard, the Duke of York, the five princesses, Elizabeth’s brother Lionel, and her son Tom Grey of Dorset fled to the Sanctuary of Westminster during the early hours. At dawn, Thomas Rotherham, the Archbishop of York, gave the Queen the Great Seal of England in his capacity as Chancellor. Council met to discuss the situation. When Richard’s soothing letter was read to Council, Hastings tried to reassure everyone of Richard’s honorable intentions toward Edward V. He was sure that Richard would treat his prisoners to impartial justice when he arrived in London. Hastings’ words soothed the fears of the Londoners and discredited the Woodvilles.
May 2, 1483
Richard sent the prisoners to his northern strongholds: Rivers to Sheriff Hutton; Grey to Middleham, and Vaughan to Pontefract. When he heard of Rotherham’s actions, he ordered that Rotherham be stripped of the Chancellor’s office, although he was allowed to remain on Council.
May 3, 1483
Edward V, Richard, Buckingham, and the escort left Northampton in the morning and spent the night at St. Albans.
May 4, 1483
Edward V entered London by way of Barnet. The Mayor, aldermen, and 500 citizens dressed in velvet welcomed the royal party at Hornsey Park. Edward was taken to the Bishop of London’s palace. Richard summoned the magnates and citizens to swear fealty to Edward, which was done by all “with the greatest pleasure and delight,” says the Croyland Chronicler.
May 5 – 7, 1483
Richard was riding high in the favor of Council. He turned the Great Seal over to Thomas Bourchier, the Archbishop of Canterbury. At Baynard’s Castle (the London residence of Cicely of York, the grandmother of Edward V and mother of Richard and Edward IV and current residence of Richard), Edward IV’s executors met, but failed to administer his will because Edward’s bequests to his children could not be honored while they were in Sanctuary.
May 9, 1483
Richard dispatched men to take command of Isle of Wight and Portsmouth.
May 10, 1483
Richard was in control when Council met. He dismissed some members who had served Edward IV, but others (Hastings, Stanley, Rotherham, Stillington, Morton) remained. Edward V’s former tutor John Alcock, the bishop of Rochester, was invited to join them. Council decided that the King should be moved to the royal apartments of the Tower of London. Most importantly, Richard of Gloucester was made Protector. His unblemished record of loyalty to Edward IV and the bloodless coup at Northampton and Stony Stratford impressed the councilors. They not only made him Protector but gave him ‘the tutelage and oversight of the King’s most royal person.’ He was given sovereign power “just like another King,” says the Croyland Chronicler. Coins were ordered to be minted in the name of Edward V.
John Russell was appointed Chancellor in Thomas Rotherham’s place. He was an attractive candidate because he had not aligned himself with any faction. He did not want the position, being in his opinion too busy and disliking being promoted over Archbishop Rotherham. Richard began to reward his supporters. He gave the Earl of Northumberland grants and offices for his service, and he made John Wode, the Speaker of the House of Commons and a friend of his, Treasurer.
Despite their enthusiasm for Richard, Council resisted Richard when he attempted to have Rivers, Grey, Vaughan and Haute accused of treason. They further criticized him for not taking proper concern for the dignity and safety of the Queen. At the same time, they joined with Richard in denouncing Edward Woodville and asking him to disband his fleet, although it was they who had authorized him to man the fleet. All but two ships returned.
May 11 – 23, 1483
Richard sent an envoy to the French pirate Lord Cordes as a prelude to a truce. Committees of councilors met in the Star Chamber of Westminster, in the Tower of London, or in each other’s homes. During this time, Richard appointed people to try to persuade the Queen and her children to leave Sanctuary. He encouraged people to visit her. Despite this show of good will, he seized the lands of Rivers, Grey, Dorset, and other members of the family wherever he could.
May 13, 1483
Writing in the name of Edward V, Richard issued writs to summon all the peers of the realm to London for a Parliament three days after the coronation, now scheduled for June 22, 1483. When he asked Council to extend his Protectorate until Edward V reached his majority, Council decided that this was a matter for Parliament.
May 14, 1483
Richard appointed John Howard Chief Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster. He authorized men to go to sea to capture Edward Woodville.
May 15, 1483
John Howard gave Richard an expensive gold cup that weighed 65 ounces. Richard made the Duke of Buckingham Constable of England, Chief Justice and Lord Chamberlain of the whole of Wales for life, and the stewardship of 50 castles and lordships in the principality. He was given the power to array the King’s subjects in those counties and control of all royal castles and manors therein (which must have included Ludlow Castle). Buckingham replaced Rivers on the Council of the Marches and was given almost sovereign power in Wales.
Mid May, 1483
As Richard was shown favor and showed his favor to his supporters, he and they began to take on the appearance of a political party. People of this group included John Howard and the Duke of Buckingham, of course, Francis Lovell, the childhood friend of Richard, Robert Stillington, former Chancellor to King Edward and intimate friend of George of Clarence, and John de la Pole, nephew to Richard through his sister, and Thomas Langton, a cleric.
May 20, 1483
William Hastings was allowed to continue as Lord Chamberlain of England and Governor of Calais, and Richard appointed him Master of the Mint. He was given no other rewards. Writs were issued in the name of the King, saying that those who wanted to be knighted at the coronation should present themselves in London on June 18th.
May 21, 1483
Thomas Langton, Richard’s adherent, was elevated to the Bishopric of St. David’s.
End of May, 1483
Council found its power diminished in favor of Buckingham and Howard. They began to question Richard’s motives and worry about the safety of the young king. Many were intimidated by Richard’s treatment of the Woodvilles, and were afraid to speak out. But as the important men of England held back in fear and confusion, Richard appealed to the magnates and citizens of London on a daily basis, trying to win their confidence and approval. Suspicions of Richard grew. The Croyland Chronicler said that, in spite of Richard’s public gestures of loyalty and the setting of a date for the coronation, there were those who wondered why the King’s relatives and servants were still being held in prison. Among the supporters of Edward V, a feeling of uncertainty grew.
Beginning of June, 1483
Unease, restlessness, and doubt gathered “like mist at Westminster and the Tower. It is a thing of dark corners and the rustle of whispers, insubstantial but pervasive. (Kendall)”
The antiquarian John Rous, writing several years after these events, said that Richard “showed extraordinary cunning by dividing the Council.” Richard met in private with his supporters at Crosby Place, while the rest – foremost of whom were Hastings, Rotherham, Morton and others loyal to Edward V – met at Baynard’s Castle and Westminster to plan the coronation and discuss routine business.
Many of Edward’s supporters began to feel that Richard was conspiring against the King at these secret meetings. Dominic Mancini and Thomas More both report that Edward’s supporters met in private in each other’s homes to discuss the situation. To discover Richard’s intentions, William Hastings employed his lawyer, William Catesby, to attend Richard’s meetings and report to him what they were about.
June 5, 1483
Richard’s wife Anne Neville arrived in London and sent a box of wafers to John Howard’s wife. Richard wrote a letter to the city of York, stating his affection for them, and gave it to his man John Brackenbury to deliver. Also on that day, Richard moved from Baynard’s Castle to Crosby Place, his London townhouse.
Letters were sent in the King’s name to 50 esquires, commanding them “to prepare and furnish yourselves to receive the noble order of knighthood at our coronation.” .
June 8, 1483
On this date, Phillippe Commynes later claimed that Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, presented himself to Council providing evidence that Edward IV had been precontracted to another woman before marrying Elizabeth Woodville. But Simon Stallworthe, reporting the events of the Council meeting, said that nothing unusual had happened.
Before June 9, 1483
Richard was reported to have sounded out Hastings’s loyalty through either Buckingham (as reported by Dominic Mancini) or Catesby (as reported by Thomas More), and was told that Hastings would accept Richard as Protector, but not as King. More said that Hastings responded “with terrible words” which were repeated to Gloucester.
Many writers report that by now, the friends of Edward V were alarmed for his safety and worried that Richard was contemplating usurping the throne. Polydore Vergil said that Hastings, Stanley, Morton and Rotherham met to discuss the possibility of seizing the King by force and of deposing Gloucester of the Protectorship and removing Buckingham from Council. They might have even approached the Queen through Jane Shore, Edward IV’s beloved mistress. The Croyland Chronicler, who probably sat on Council himself, insisted that Hastings was not conspiring against Gloucester, but a fragment from a commonplace book of a London merchant indicated that “divers imagined the death of the Duke of Gloucester, and it was espied,” and Hastings’ name was mentioned.
Mancini said that Richard “considered that his prospects were not sufficiently secure without the removal or imprisonment of those who had been the closest friends of his brother and were expected to be loyal to his brother’s offspring.” This group would include Hastings and John Morton.
A Welsh chronicler Humphrey Lluyd indicated that Richard wanted to remove Hastings because “Hastings would not freely have this man crowned.”
June 9, 1483
Simon Stallworthe, a servant of John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, wrote to William Stoner, saying that “There is great business against the coronation.” Plans for the event were advancing rapidly. He said that negotiations with the Queen in Sanctuary had broken down, and the Council members refused to visit her anymore.
Stallworthe mentioned a meeting of the Council, but had nothing to report except the plans for the coronation, which was now scheduled for June 22nd. He said that the Queen, her children, her brother Lionel Woodville, and others remained in Sanctuary. He mentioned that the Prior of Westminster was in trouble because of certain goods that the Queen’s son Thomas Grey of Dorset had delivered to him.
June 10, 1483
Richard wrote to the Civic Council of York, asking for as many men as possible “to aid and assist us against the Queen, her blood adherents and affinity,” whom he claimed were trying to destroy him, Buckingham, and the “old royal blood of this realm.”
Building up to his usual apologies for Richard’s treacherous behavior, Paul Murray Kendall comments that “the gatherings of Hastings and his friends had not gone unnoticed, nor the occasions that they found to speak together with the young King,” inferring that they should have been ignoring the King as Richard was doing.
June 11, 1483
Richard wrote more letters to the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Neville, etc. Ratcliffe delivered them, as well as carrying warrants for the executions of Rivers, Grey, Vaughan, and Haute in defiance of Council.
June 12, 1483
Richard summoned Buckingham, Hastings, Morton, Rotherham, Stanley, John Howard and his son Thomas to a council meeting at the Tower the next day, while he scheduled another one for the same day at Westminster, ostensibly for the finalization of the coronation plans, with John Russell presiding.
June 13, 1483
Too discrete to accuse his friend the Duke of Norfolk’s father of being a louse, Thomas More would later say that Hastings was escorted to the Tower by a “mean knight.” In later editions of More’s work, this “mean knight” was identified as Thomas Howard, the son of John Howard. Richard wanted to make sure than Hastings turned up at the Council meeting.
At 9 am, Richard entered the Tower, all smiles. He then left, but returned at about 10:30, and had Hastings executed. All sources agree that Hastings was executed within minutes of his arrest. Great Chronicle stated that the execution was done “without any process of law or lawful examination.” The Croyland Chronicler said that innocent blood had been shed, “and in this way, without justice or judgment, the three strongest supporters of the new King were removed.”
As for the other friends of Edward V whom Richard arrested, Thomas Rotherham, the Bishop of York, was committed to the temporary custody of Richard’s supporter James Tyrell. He was sent to the Tower by June 21st. John Morton was sent to Tower, and, although the University of Oxford pleaded for his release, he was put into the custody of the Duke of Buckingham. The Croyland Chronicler and Dominic Mancini indicated that they were spared from capital punishment because they were clergymen. John Forster and Stanley were briefly imprisoned. Jane Shore’s possessions were confiscated, she was thrown in prison, and forced endure public humiliation for harlotry.
Two hours after the execution, Richard sent out heralds to calm the populace, reading a proclamation that was so long, so detailed and issued so swiftly that it almost certain that it had been drawn up before Council met. As he did when he captured King Edward V and his officers at Stony Stratford, Richard attacked the morals of his enemies, even as he sought to assure the public. The Great Chronicle said thus “was this nobleman murdered for his truth and fidelity which he bore unto his master.” Deprived of their leaders and intimidated by this show of violence, the moderates on Council could not effectively oppose Richard.
Thomas Grey knew that Sanctuary would no longer protect him. He fled Sanctuary, hiding in a field of corn to elude Richard’s men, and escaped to France. Sometime later, Lionel Woodville, the Bishop of Salisbury, left Sanctuary and returned to his diocese.
Richard assembled the whole Council to describe what he had done. He denied the King’s attendants access to him.
About Hastings, the Great Chronicler of London says: “And thus was this noble man murdered for his troth and fidelity which he bare until his master (Edward V).’ It was an unpopular move, as shown by the fear, dismay and consternation which it immediately produced in the capital. The mayor had reassurances that there had been a plot against the person of the King and that Hastings its originator had paid the penalty. Mancini says that many people suspected that “the plot had been feigned by the duke so as to escape the odium of such a crime.” An uprising was also kept in check by the report that many thousands of Richard’s northerners and the Duke of Buckingham’s men were now approaching the capital. Rous says that Stanley was released early because Richard feared that his son Lord Strange might stir up trouble for him in the northwest. Thomas More says about Hastings that he was “a good might and a gentle… a loving man and passing well-loved. Very faithful and trusty enough, trusting too much.” Vergil describes his “bountifulness and liberality, much beloved of the common people, bearing great sway among all sorts of men and persons of great reputation.”
June 14, 1483
John Brackenbury arrived in York with Richard’s letter expressing his great affection for the city.
June 15, 1483
Jane Shore, the beloved mistress of Edward IV who was arrested with other supporters of Edward V on June 13, did public penance at St. Paul’s, wearing only her kirtle and carrying a lighted taper. She was then cast into prison.
Richard’s supporter Richard Ratcliffe reached York, where he delivered to the Civic Council the Protector’s order to send an armed force to the Earl of Northumberland at Pontefract for mustering on the 18th.
June 16, 1483
A “wary and nervous Council” met at the Tower. They argued about the release of King Edward V’s 9-year old brother Richard, the Duke of York, from the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. Richard surrounded the Sanctuary with troops. John Howard and his son Thomas hired eight boats full of soldiers to escort the Richard, the Duke of Buckingham, Thomas Bourchier (the Archbishop of Canterbury), John Russell (Bishop of Lincoln), and themselves to Westminster and then formed an armed chain around the Abbey. Dominic Mancini says, “When the Queen saw herself besieged and preparation for violence, she surrendered her son, trusting in the word of the Archbishop of Canterbury that the boy should be restored after the coronation.”
Polydore Vergil says that Richard was already lodging in the Tower by this time. Shortly after this date, Edward and Richard, the sons of Edward IV, were moved to the innermost apartments of the Tower proper. They were seen more rarely behind bars and windows, says Mancini. They were seen shooting and playing after June 16 but before the second week of July. There is a possibility that the Chronicler was referring to Edward alone on some of these occasions.
With the flight of Thomas Grey, little Edward of Warwick, the 8-year old son of the late George, Duke of Clarence, had no legal guardian. Richard commanded that he come to the city and be kept in the household of his maternal aunt, Anne Neville, Richard’s wife.
June 17, 1483
Writs were issued, canceling the meeting of Parliament on June 25, but some of these writs arrived after people had already left their homes for the capital. Preparations for the crowning of Edward V were abandoned. Orders were sent north for the executions of Rivers, Grey and Vaughan.
June 17 – 22, 1483
Edward V’s attendants were dismissed.
June 19, 1483
The Civic Council in York called up the troops required by Richard.
June 21, 1483
Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York and partisan of Edward V and his mother, was sent to the Tower.
Simon Stallworthe, a servant of John Russell, wrote to William Stoner. He was ill and sick at heart. He reported Hastings’ death and the delivery of little Richard, Duke of York, from Sanctuary. He stated that Lord Lisle, the Queen’s brother-in-law, had sought the favor of Richard and attended upon him. Stallworthe reported that 20,000 men of Richard and Buckingham were expected to arrive, for what purpose he didn’t know, except to keep the peace. He said that the rest of Hastings’ party was in prison. Richard had now appointed Russell as the new Chancellor to replace Rotherham, but Stallworthe said that Russell didn’t want the job and was busier than he wanted to be. Stallworthe reported that Hastings’ men had entered Buckingham’s service.
News of the troops heading for London causes alarm and concern, especially since there was already a considerably military presence wearing Richard’s livery in the city. The mayor organized a watch to keep the peace.
London was in the grip of rumor, doubt, fear, and speculation. Richard stopped wearing mourning and started wearing purple. He took to riding through the city with a great train of lords and attendants. He spent his time between Baynard’s Castle and Crosby Place and entertained increasing numbers of guests.
Paul Murray Kendall, who is the source for the above, reports that Richard started to talk with others about Robert Stillington’s “revelation” concerning Edward IV’s alleged marriage pre-contract with another woman before he married Elizabeth Woodville, his Queen.
June 22, 1483
As Francis Leary says, this date was “the lost coronation day of the lost little King.”
Dr. Ralph Shaa, brother of the Mayor of London and celebrated orator, delivered a dastardly sermon entitled “Bastard slips should not take deep root” at St. Paul’s Cross. Other preachers gave sermons around the city, indicating, as Mancini writes, that the “progeny of King Edward should be instantly eradicated, for neither had he been a legitimate King, nor could his issue be so.” Shaa died the next year, a death attributed by the London Chronicles and Thomas More to shame and remorse.
Richard, Buckingham, and a great train of magnates went to St. Paul’s Cross to hear Shaa deliver his speech questioning the legitimacy of Edward IV’s children by Elizabeth Woodville. Buckingham and other speakers impugned Edward IV’s paternity and spoke in favor of Richard.
Popular historian Alison Weir reports that the Duchess of York, mother of Edward IV and Richard, and grandmother of Edward V, lived in retirement at Berhansted Castle, but had come to London for her grandson’s coronation. Some of the preachers had slandered her virtue by casting aspersions about Edward IV’s legitimacy. In 1484, when the Act “Titilus Regius” was passed, Richard allowed the allegations of bastardy to be indirectly leveled again, having himself described as the undoubted son of the Duke of York.
June 23, 1483
Imprisoned at Sheriff Hutton, Anthony Woodville, the Earl Rivers, was told that he would be taken to Pontefract Castle and executed. He made a will in which Russell and Catesby were mentioned as executors. He asked Richard to oversee the carrying out of his wishes. His will was never proved. He asked to be buried at Pontefract with the Lord Richard Grey.
Buckingham went to Guildhall to address the mayor, aldermen, and chief citizens on behalf of Richard. He spoke eloquently and persuasively for an hour and a half, so that all who heard it marveled. He talked about the pre-contract and remarked that the kingship was “no child’s office.” He was greeted with silence.
June 24, 1483
Richard Ratcliffe arrived at Pontefract with troops from York. He conveyed Richard’s orders for the executions to the Earl of Northumberland who was waiting for him with troops of his own. Rivers was escorted to Pontefract, where he joined Richard Grey, who was brought up from Middleham Castle, and Vaughan, who was already there. The contemporary John Rous says, “The said lords were condemned to death by the Earl on the false charge that they had in fact plotted the death of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and, for a thing they had never contemplated, the innocent humbly and peacably submitted to a cruel fate.” Rous describes Northumberland as the chief judge, but the Croyland Chronicler affirms that there was no trial.
Buckingham reiterated Richard’s claim to the throne in an eloquent speech before the mayor and aldermen.
June 25, 1483
Rivers, Grey, and Vaughan were beheaded in the presence of Northumberland, Ratcliffe, the assembled northern forces, and some of the public. None of the men was allowed to make a speech. Rous said that afterwards, when the bodies were prepared for burial, Rivers was found to be wearing a consecrated hair shirt “which was long after displayed in the church of the Carmelite friars in Doncaster as a holy object.” Rivers and Grey were buried naked in a common grave in a monastery at Pontefract, but Vaughan, called “an aged knight” by the Croyland Chronicler, was eventually laid to rest at Westminster Abbey under a Latin epitaph which translates as “To love and to wait upon,” an allusion to his devoted service to Edward V.
All contemporary writers agree that these men were innocent. No evidence to the contrary has ever been produced. Rous says that they were “unjustly and cruelly put to death, being lamented by everyone, and innocent of the deed for which they were charged.” Thomas More states that their only fault was in being “good men, too true to the King.” Polydore Vergil says that their only offence was to stand in the way of Richard’s ambitions. The Croyland Chronicler observes that this was the “second innocent blood which was shed on the occasion of this sudden change.”
A great number of lords and commoners in England were summoned to Westminster. Mancini says that they “supposed they were called both to hear the reason for Hastings’ execution and to decide again upon the coronation of Edward.” Mancini says that Richard secretly dispathed Buckingham to the lords with orders to submit their decision regarding the disposal of the throne. Buckingham brought with him a petition, says the Croyland Chronicler. The petition is lost, but was included in the “Titilus Regius” passed in 1484. It is couched in lofty, indignant, moral tones, typical of Richard’s propaganda campaign. Charles Ross describes it as something that “provides us with our fullest knowledge of Richard’s claim in its considered and developed form…This document is a mixture of the specious moralizing and deliberate deceit which characterized Richard’s propagandist effusions.”
Buckingham’s words reflected the spirit of the petition when he delivered an attack on the government of Edward IV. He gave three reasons for the invalidity of Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville: It was made without the consent of the lords and through witchcraft, made privately and secretly, without the edition of banns, and was bigamous, since Edward had already made a pre-contract with another woman.
Since 8-year old Edward of Warwick was the son of Richard’s elder brother George, and since attainders for treason can be reversed, young Warwick had a better right to the throne than Richard. However, Alison Weir nicely puts it: “As far as Gloucester was concerned, the time for legal niceties was long past.” Buckingham let the lords “decide.”
What Richard passed off now as “Parliament” deposed Edward V. Charles Ross says it was acting illegally. Parliament had been summoned in the name of a king who was now declared not to be a king. Nonetheless, Richard claimed that he had been ordained king “by the concord assent of the Lords and Commons.”
June 26, 1483
The lords gathered at Baynard’s Castle to petition Richard to take the throne. Buckingham was “master of ceremonies.” Richard accepted. He seated himself in the marble chair of the King’s Bench. The date of his coronation was set. He made Russell his Chancellor, and John Gunthrope the Keeper of the Privy Seal, Catesby was Chancellor of the Exchequer, his personal friends Francis Lovell and Robert Percy respectively his Chamberlain and Comptroller. He made John Kendall his secretary.
June 28, 1483
John Howard got what he wanted: The Dukedom of Norfolk. He was created hereditary Earl Marshall of England. He was given half of the Mowbray estates, and Lord Berkeley was given the other half and made Earl of Nottingham. Both of these had formerly belonged to 9-year old Richard of York, the younger brother of the deposed King Edward V, by Acts of Parliament in 1478 and 1483. As these acts had not been repealed, these offices were illegally taken. Howard’s son Thomas was made Earl of Surrey. Buckingham was made Great Chamberlain of England.
A few days later
Richard’s forces arrived from the North, accompanied by some of Buckingham’s troops. They numbered approximately 3,000 to 4,000 men. They mustered outside of London. Richard decided to employ them as auxiliary police at his coronation.
July 1, 1483
The army Richard had summoned from the North arrives and camps outside the gates of London. Dominic Mancini says there were 6,000 men. Richard decides to use them as auxiliary police at his coronation because “he was afraid lest any uproar should be fomented against him at his coronation. He himself went out to meet the soldiers before they entered the City.” The Great Chronicler states that “there was hasty provision made for his coronation.”
July 4, 1483
Richard and Anne go by barge from Westminster to the royal apartments of the Tower of London. At the request of the University of Cambridge, Richard formally releases Rotherham from the Tower and makes Thomas Stanley steward of his household.
Security for the coronation was tight.” A proclamation orders a 10 pm curfew for the next three nights and forbids the citizens of London from carrying arms. Visitors had to stay in officially approved lodgings. Mancini states that northern soldiers were “stationed at suitable points” along the streets and that they stayed there until after the coronation.
July 5, 1483
Richard and Anne leave the Tower and proceed to Westminster, with Richard on horseback and Anne in a litter. A procession of magnates, prelates, knights, and household attendants follows him as he takes the traditional journey from the Tower to Westminster.
July 6, 1483
Richard is crowned. It’s a well attended coronation, since the English peerage had come to London for the Parliament that had been postponed. The Duchess of York, Richard’s mother, did not attend, neither did Katherine Woodville, the Duchess of Buckingham, whose husband had been so instrumental in obtaining the throne for Richard. He supervises the assembling of the great procession in the White Hall. John Howard is given the traditional honor of the Mowbrays — the office of Earl Marshal – and has been created High Steward of England for the crowning. Robert Stillington, who had given Richard the color of justification for his usurpation, supports Richard. Thomas Bourchier, the Archbishop of Canterbury, does the crowning, “albeit unwillingly,” says Mancini. Bourchier does not attend the 5 ½ hour banquet at Westminster Hall. His place to the right of Richard is taken by the Bishop of London.
July 7 or 8, 1483
Richard and Anne go to Greenwich Palace and then to Windsor. The northern troops are sent home. Richard sends word of his usurpation to the rulers of Europe. He set Buckingham, Norfolk and Northumberland as his lieutenants in Wales, East Anglia, and the North. (Kendall)
around July 13, 1483
Mancini leaves England. He says that, before his departure, the Princes had “ceased to appear altogether,” and this is corroborated by every other source. Already people are thinking and fearing the worst. Mancini writes: “I have seen many men burst forth into tears and lamentations when mention was made of him (Edward V) after his removal from men’s sight, and already there was a suspicion that he had been done away with. Whether, however, he has been done away with and by what manner of death, so far I have not at all discovered.”
July 13, 1483
Richard issues a provisional grant naming the Duke of Buckingham as the rightful heir to the disputed Bohun inheritance. Richard makes John Howard the Lord Admiral. Paul Murray Kendall, Richard’s sometimes-apologetic defender, dishonestly says that Howard also received the yearly income from 23 royal estates and the “outright gift” of almost 100 manors, without mentioning that they had been Lord Rivers’. Richard also gives his supporter Robert Brackenbury Hastings’ office of Master and Worker of the King’s Money and Keeper of the Exchange. Francis Lovell, Richard’s childhood friend, is made Lord Chamberlain and Chief Butler of England.
Richard appoints Dr. Thomas Hutton to negotiate with Duke Francis of Brittany for a meeting to redress complaints about piracy advanced by both sides. He also asks Hutton to find out about Sir Edward Woodville and his retinue. Richard doesn’t mention Tudor because he doesn’t want Francis to suppose that he thinks Tudor is important.
July 15, 1483
Buckingham is made Lord High Constable of England, an office which makes him chief commander of the army and gives him jurisdiction over military offenses, control of all matter relating to heraldry and chivalry, and responsibility for fortifications and defense. In this latter capacity, the Tower of London was under his jurisdiction.
July 17, 1483
Robert Brackenbury, a northerner and a long-time supporter of Richard, is made Constable of the Tower. He had a reputation for being a well-intentioned, if naïve, man of kindly disposition, who was popular at court.
July 18, 1483
A royal warrant is issued, authorizing payment of wages to 13 men for their services to “Edward, bastard, late called King Edward V.” These are the servants who were dismissed after the death of Hastings.
Sir William Knyvett, a servant of Buckingham, is made constable of Castle Rising.
William Collynsbourne writes the rhyme “The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our Dog, ruleth all England under the Hogge” and nails it to the door of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
July 19, 1483
Richard makes his son Lieutenant of Ireland, a title customarily borne by Yorkist heirs to the throne.
July 20, 1483
Richard leaves Windsor and goes to London. Anne, his wife, follows him there later. This marks the start of Richard’s royal progress through England.
July 22, 1483
Richard goes westward at the head of a great procession, accompanied by his nephew John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, and probably Buckingham, who is said to have left the King’s party at Gloucester. Buckingham’s name is omitted from a list of those present at a dinner given in the King’s honor by Magdalen College, Oxford (July 24). Richard spends the first night of his progress in Reading.
July 23, 1483
From Reading, Richard issues a grant pardoning Hastings’ “offences” and promising to be a good and gracious lord to his widow Katherine, who is granted the wardship and marriage of her son Edward, possession of Hastings’ moveable property and custody of his estates during her son’s minority. Hastings’ high offices had been split between Buckingham, Catesby, and Lovell. He displays similar generosity to Lord Rivers’ widow.
July 24, 1483
Richard reaches Oxford and is dined at Magdalen College. He stays the might and spends most of the following day there.
July 25, 1483
He rides to nearby Woodstock Palace where he loads more offices onto Howard, making him Surveyor of Array in 13 counties, Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster, and a member of the Council. He also grants him 46 manors in East Anglia and rents from 25 others, all the former property of the Earl Rivers.
While at Woodstock, Richard “disafforests” for the use of the common people some land which Edward IV had annexed for his own pleasure. London, Gloucester, and Worcester offer him a benevolence, but he declines, saying that he would rather have their hearts than their money. John Kendall reports to the magistrates of York that the King is well received.
July 26, 1483
Richard spends more time in Oxford, inspecting the colleges. He then stays for a few days as a guest of Francis Lovell.
July 27, 1483
William Berkeley is confirmed as Governor of the Isle of Wight. (Ross)
July 28, 1483
Richard gives Howard 20 more of Rivers’ manors, making him the most wealthy and powerful subject in the kingdom, after Buckingham.
July 26-29, 1483
While staying at Lovell’s, Richard learns that there are conspiracies. The Croyland Chronicler indicates that the Princes “were under special guard. In order to release them from such captivity, the people from the South and the West of the Kingdom began to murmur greatly and to form assemblies and confederacies, many of which worked in secret, others openly, and with this aim.” The conspirators are disaffected Yorkists, loyal to the line of Edward IV but not to Richard III, as well as Lancastrian dissidents and the Woodville faction: The Queen’s three remaining brothers are all involved. Some of the plotters (stupidly) appeal to Buckingham to join them, but he rejects the offer out of hand.
We do not have much information about the nature of the conspiracy. The Elizabethan antiquarian John Stow wrote in 1580 of a plot in July 1483 to secure the release of Edward V and little Richard of York from the Tower by diverting their gaolers with a blaze.” There was also a plot to spirit their sisters overseas. Such a plot would guarantee some measure of safety for the Princes as well. If the boys were killed and Elizabeth of York was abroad, she would be considered the rightful Queen and might find a foreign prince willing to take up arms to restore her to her inheritance and thus gain a crown.
July 29, 1483
Richard writes to Russell in vague terms about the conspiracy. Henceforth, as Croyland says, “the noble church of monks at Westminster and all the neighboring parts assumed the appearance of a castle and fortress, while men of the greatest austerity were appointed by King Richard to act as keepers thereof.” John Nesfield is appointed captain and head of these men, so that no one can enter or leave the monastery without his permission. Some of the conspirators go underground or flee abroad.
Richard rides to Gloucester. More says that this is when he devises the murder of the Princes. This is when he allegedly sends for John Green, who has been employed by Richard and by Tyrell in various capacities. A John Green was also working in Edward IV’s household in 1474 and 1475. Richard sends Green to Brackenbury to tell him to put the Princes to death. More says Brackenbury knelt “before Our Lady in the Tower” and “plainly answered that he would never put (the Princes) to death, though he should die therefore.”
July 30, 1483
John Green signs a warrant appointing one John Gregory to take hay, oats, horsebread, beans, peas, and litter for all of the expenses of the King’s horses and litters for a period of six months.
July 31, 1483
Richard and Buckingham meet at Gloucester, Buckingham having spent a few days in London after Richard had left on July 20th.
At the end of July, Richard’s follower James Tyrell travels on the King’s business from London to York and then to Warwick, where Richard is from August 8 through the 15th. Tyrell is Richard’s Knight of the Body, and has traditionally been fingered as the man who arranged the assassinations of Edward V and little Richard of York.
August 2, 1483
Richard and Buckingham leave Gloucester. Richard continues on progress and Buckingham returns home to Brecon. This was the last time they ever saw each other, although they continued to correspond.
August 4, 1483
Richard gives the Abbot of Tewkesbury Abbey a gift of 310 pounds from the rents of Clarence’s estates.
August 8, 1483
Richard goes to Warwick Castle and stays there a week. Queen Anne meets up with him there.
August 15, 1483
Richard leaves Warwick and goes to Coventry. According to Sir Thomas More, it was here that John Green returned from the Tower and reported to Richard that Robert Brackenbury, one of Richard’s most trusted men and Constable of the Tower, refused to participate in the murders of Edward V and little Richard of York. Another one of Richard’s men, James Tyrell, was then drafted for the mission.
Buckingham reaches his home in Brecon. Tudor writers state that he was upset over Richard’s plans to murder Edward V and little Richard and sought out the counsel of John Morton, who was a prisoner in his home. Buckingham later allegedly meets Margaret Beaufort, the Countess of Richmond and Henry Tudor’s mother, on the road between Bridgenorth and Worchester, where he is persuaded to renounce his own claim to the throne in favor of her son.
August 16, 1483
Paul Murray Kendall reports that James III sent Richard a proposal for an 8-months abstinence of war with a view to permanent peace on this day. He further states that Richard also requested an oath of allegiance from the Earl of Desmond in Ireland, inferring that they had a common sorrow because the Queen’s family had participated in the murders of Desmond’s father and of Richard’s brother George. Richard said that the guilty parties would suffer.
August 18, 1483
At Leicester, Richard writes a flippant reply in response to Louis XI’s casual letter regarding his taking of the throne. Richard tells him he will honor the truces that Edward IV had set up between himself and Louis for as long as they have to run. He tells him to stop his subjects from harassing English merchants at sea.
August 19, 1483
Little Edward, the only child of Richard III and Anne Neville, leaves Middleham Castle to join his parents in Pontefract. He stays a couple of days in York. He is so sickly that he has to be conveyed in a chariot.
August 20-23, 1483
Richard spends time at Nottingham Castle.
August 23, 1483
Richard’s secretary John Kendall writes a letter to the city of York affirming his devotion. The mayor of York and four aldermen of the City had given little Edward gifts when they heard of Richard’s accession to the throne. In his letter, Richard’s secretary suggests that the King and Queen should be “worshipfully received with pageants” in order to impress the southerners and “men of worship” who are with them.
August 24, 1483
Richard progresses to Pontefract Castle, where he has summoned 70 knights and nobles of the north. Little Edward joins up with his parents and is created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
August 27, 1483
Richard reaches Pontefract Castle, to which little Edward of Middleham was taken by chariot. He issues orders for the appointment of commissioners to deal with those who were arrested in connection with the end-of-July conspiracies to restore Edward V.
August 29 or 30, 1483
Richard, Anne, and Prince Edward make their state entry into York, accompanied by a large retinue of people.
August 30, 1483
Louis XI dies, leaving his kingdom to his 13-year old son Charles VIII, who, unlike his unfortunate peer Edward V of England, has a Regent (his half-sister Anne Beaujeau) who is honorable.
August 30-31, 1483
James Tyrell leaves York for London, where he is told to pick up robes and wall-hangings for the investiture of Edward of Middleham as Prince of Wales. (Thomas More writes that Tyrell left Warwick for London on or before August 15th, but Vergil says York, and the Wardrobe account verifies this.) John Deighton allegedly rides with him. He was Tyrell’s horsekeeper, says More. Dighton might have been a bailiff for the manor of Ayton in North Yorkshire, which was owned by Northumberland. Alison Weir extrapolates that Tyrell needed to leave London on September 4th in order to get back to York by the 8th. Since Tyrell left York on August 30th, the likeliest date on which he was in London was September 3rd, the night of which Weir speculates was the night on which the Princes were murdered.
Late August, 1483
Richard appoints a commission of oyer and terminer for the capital and another for the surrounding counties upon hearing of unrest. He also hears from Duke Francis of Brittany that the government of Louis XI of France wanted Henry Tudor and wanted to make war. Francis asks for 4,000 archers at Richard’s expense and another 2 or 3,000 at his expense, but Richard doesn’t comply.
Thomas Langton, whom Richard had made Bishop of St. David’s in May, is now made Bishop of Salisbury upon Lionel Woodville’s flight into exile.
Early September, 1483
Thomas Langton, whom Richard had made Bishop of St. David’s on May 21, 1483, and whom Richard had just recently made Bishop of Salisbury, writes to the Prior of Christ Church, saying that the King “contents the people where he goes best that ever did prince. On my truth, I never liked the condition of any prince so well as his.” Ironic, in light of the favor that Richard had shown him personally and in light of the rebellion which was even then simmering in the South.
September 3, 1483
Modern popular historian Alison Weir speculates that the murders of Edward V and his little brother Richard occurred on this night because this was the date on which Richard’s man James Tyrell reached London on an errand to fetch robes and wall hangings for the investiture of Richard’s little son Edward of Middleham as Prince of Wales on September 8. She claims that Tyrell would have had to conduct the assassinations no later than the 3rd in order to make it back to York with the robes and wall hangings in time for the ceremony.
September 7, 1483
Richard III and his Queen Anne Neville watch a morality play in York.
September 8, 1483
Little Edward of Middleham, the son of Richard III and Anne Neville, is invested as Prince of Wales in York. It is so grand a ceremony that people in the rest of the country think that the King and Queen have had a “second” coronation. Richard knights the Spanish ambassador.
The Croyland Chronicler says that the Princes remained in the Tower while the coronation, progress, and investiture of little Edward of Middleham were taking place. After that, he doesn’t say what happened to them.
September 18, 1483
Richard shows his gratitude to York by excusing them from half of the taxes that are owed to the Crown yearly. During this time, he also makes the castle of Sheriff Hutton a royal household, where he establishes his adult nephew John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, and his 8-year old nephew, Edward of Warwick, son of the late George of Clarence.
After Mid-September 1483
Anne Neville returns to Middleham with her son Edward, while Richard travels south.
September 24, 1483
According to the Rolls of Parliament, September 24, 1483 was the day on which the leaders of the October 1483 rebellion “launched their enterprise.” On this day, Buckingham, having defected from Richard to join the opposition’s camp, writes to Henry Tudor, telling him to invade England on October 18th. Charles Ross, an important modern historian, rightly attacks Richard’s defender Paul Murray Kendall’s claim that “It was the Woodvilles…who dominated the movement, provided most of its strength, and directed its energies.” Paul Murray Kendall, although admitting that the first purpose of the rebellion was to restore King Edward V, apparently does not want to accept the fact that Richard was unpopular with a great many of his subjects, especially those in the South. Ross continues, in refutation of Kendall, “On the contrary, although Woodville influences and connections were not unimportant, an analysis of the movement reveals a very different picture. The strongest link among the rebels lay in the fact that most were loyal former servants of Edward IV, and amongst these some of the most influential had had close connections with his household.” Rosemary Horrox (in “Richard III: A Study in Service”) and Lillian Gill (in “Richard III and Buckingham’s Rebellion”) collaborate Ross excellently in their books, works of major importance in shedding light upon this little-studied event.
Late September, 1483
Richard spends a couple of days at Pontefract.
Early October, 1483
Richard moves toward Lincolnshire.
October 2, 1483
With 10,000 crowns from Francis of Brittany and 5,000 mercenaries, ships, and a portion of Edward IV’s treasury, Henry is ready to invade England.
October 3, 1483
Henry Tudor’s fleet sails from Brittany but a storm drives his ships back and keeps him in port.
October 10, 1483
Richard spends the night at Gainsborough.
Howard tells Paston and “6 tall fellows in harness” to join him in London.
Kent rises prematurely. (The rising was supposed to occur on October 18th.) They want to march on London, but Norfolk is there. Having captured and interrogated the rebels, Norfolk writes to Richard, revealing Buckingham’s treachery and the details of the rebellion.
October 11, 1483
Richard goes to Lincoln where he learns that a rebellion has broken out in the southern counties and that Buckingham has risen in revolt against him.
October 12, 1483
Richard writes to Russell, calling Buckingham “The most untrue creature living” (next to himself, I suppose).
October 13, 1483
Riot at Gravesend fair, where one “Bonting slew Master Mowbray with diverse others.” Lillian Gill says that this is perhaps William Boutayn, the yeoman of the Crown who was sent by Norfolk to quash the rebels but instead joined them. He was attainted at Maidstone and was probably one of those four yeomen of the Crown who were executed (drawn and quartered, says Ross) on December 4, 1483, at Tyburn.
October 15, 1483
A storm of unusual violence hits southwest England.
Buckingham is publicly proclaimed a traitor.
October 18, 1483
The date on which the coordinated uprisings against Richard were to take place and Tudor was to land in England.
Buckingham attempts to join the conspirators in the southwest by crossing the River Severn, despite the rain and gales.
William Clifford of Iwade, a yeoman of the Crown, is arrested by this date and would be executed on December 4, 1483.
October 19, 1483
Richard sends proclamations to the south and west, offering a thousand-pound reward for Buckingham. He names Morton and Dorset, and others, as traitors.
October 20, 1483
Lord Strange (Stanley’s son) leaves Lathom for an unknown destination with 10,000 men.
October 19-23, 1483
The “other” Thomas Vaughan (the one who hates Tudor) captures Brecknock for the King.
The royal host pauses at Grantham.
October 21, 1483
George Stanley had orders to muster at Leicester against the rebels.
October 23, 1483
Richard issues more proclamation, one of which accused Dorset of immorality and adultery with “Shore’s wife.”
October 24, 1483
Richard leaves Leicester and marches south with an army, hoping to intercept Buckingham so that he and his men would not unite with the rebels in the South West.
Gill says the royal host arrived at Coventry on this date.
October 28, 1483
Richard pauses at Oxford before going on through North Tidworth and Hungerford.
October 31, 1483
Date around which Richard arrives in Salisbury, where Buckingham is being held a prisoner.
November 1, 1483
Buckingham is captured and delivered to the King at Salisbury by the sheriff of Shropshire.
November 2, 1483
The last date to which Edward V’s coronation was postponed during Summer 1483.
Buckingham is executed at Salisbury.
Two of Henry Tudor’s ships reach Plymouth but he returns to Brittany when he hears about the collapse of the rebellion.
“The banner of rebellion was raised at Bodkin on 2 November (Edward V’s 13th birthday) on behalf of a new king (meaning Henry Tudor rather than Edward V, who was presumed to be dead).”.
November 4, 1483
Richard leaves Salisbury.
November 8, 1483
Richard reaches Exeter “where his enemies had made a stand.”
November 13, 1483
St. Leger, Thomas Rameney, “and another” are executed in Exeter.
November 25, 1483
Richard is back in London.
December 4, 1483
These people were executed by Richard III for their parts in the October Rebellion: George Brown, Knight of the Body who had carried the flag of St. George at Edward IV’s funeral; William Clifford, and four of the following Yeomen of the Crown: William Knight, Richard Cruse, William Frost, Richard Potter, Richard Fisher, John Boutayne, Roger Kelsale, and William Strode.
December 25, 1483
Henry Tudor makes promise to marry Elizabeth of York.
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