Cold Case Reopened: The Princes in the Tower (2 page)

29
th
April 1483

Sir Edward Woodville sets sail with the English fleet, taking his third of the royal treasure with him.

Edward V and Rivers arrive in Northampton.
 

Buckingham and Gloucester meet just north of Northampton.
 

Sir Richard Grey (Son of Elizabeth Woodville by first marriage, half brother to the king) arrives from London with message from the queen.
 

Grey, Rivers and Edward V press on towards London in greater haste. They arrive in Stony Stratford 14 miles to the south.

Rivers and Grey ride back to Northampton to meet the Dukes. Edward V is instructed to continue to London in the morning.

Buckingham and Gloucester arrive in Northampton to find the king has already left. They each take up residence in a different inn in the town.
 

Rivers and Grey return to Northampton and they dine with the Dukes. The meeting is believed to be amicable. Rivers retires for the night to a third inn.
 

Gloucester and Buckingham meet alone for the rest of the night.

Gloucester orders Rivers to be locked into his inn and guards placed upon it.
 

30
th
April 1483

Gloucester and Buckingham enter the inn and place Rivers under arrest, stating that he had turned the king against them. Sir Thomas Gower is given responsibility for the custody of Rivers.

Gloucester, Buckingham and Grey ride to Stony Stratford to meet the king.
 

The Dukes pay due respect to the king.
 

The Dukes then make accusations against Rivers and Grey about conspiring against Gloucester.

They arrest Grey and the king's escort of Sir Thomas Vaughan and Sir Richard Haute.
 

The king, Gloucester and Buckingham together with the arrested men return to Northampton.
 

The 2000 men of the king's escort are disbanded by Gloucester.
 

Gloucester writes to the council and the Lord Mayor of London informing them of the events that have taken place that day.
 

News of the events at Northampton reach Elizabeth Woodville around midnight.

1
st
May 1483

In the early hours of the morning the dowager queen, Elizabeth Woodville, makes the decision to flee into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. With her go Richard Duke of York, Dorset, Elizabeth of York and all Elizabeth Woodville's other daughters. Both Elizabeth and Dorset probably take their share of the royal treasure with them.
 

The Abbot of Westminster receives the Woodville party in the college hall.
 

Just before dawn the Lord Chancellor Archbishop Rotherham of York arrives at the Abbot's house and delivers to Elizabeth Woodville the Great Seal of England.
 

News of the events of the previous day spread throughout London. There is unrest on the streets and people begin preparing for a civil war.

The council sits in the morning and beforehand Rotherham regrets his actions surrendering the Great Seal and sends a man to collect it from Elizabeth Woodville.
 

Hastings writes to Gloucester informing him of events in London.
 

2
nd
May 1483

Rivers is sent to Sheriff Hutton Castle. Grey is sent to Middleham Castle. Vaughan is sent to Pontefract. All these were powerhouses of Gloucester.
 

Gloucester receives Hastings' communication. He replies ordering Rotherham's removal as Lord Chancellor. He entrusts the keeping of the Great Seal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier.

3
rd
May 1483

The king, Gloucester and Buckingham leave Northampton. They stay in St Albans for the night.

4
th
May 1483

The date is fixed for the coronation by the council. It is clear no coronation will occur as the king is not yet present in London.
 

The king, Gloucester and Buckingham leave St Albans.
 

They are welcomed at Hornsey Park by the Lord Mayor, the aldermen and the sheriffs of London.

The king stays the night at the Palace of the Bishop of London, at St Paul's Churchyard.
 

Gloucester spends the night at Baynard's Castle.

10
th
May 1483

All goes quiet for around a week. Then the council sits at the Bishop's Palace for a session that lasts a number of days.

The accommodation arrangements are discussed for the young king. The traditional place of residence before a coronation was the royal apartments in the Tower of London. This location is agreed upon by all present.

1. Gloucester formally accepts the title
   “Protector and Defender of the Realm”.
   

A new date is fixed for the king's coronation of 24
th
June.
 

The council instruct Sir Edward Woodville to disband the fleet or become an enemy of the state.

The Bishop of Lincoln is appointed Lord Chancellor.
 

13
th
May 1483

Buckingham and Archbishop of Canterbury are appointed to negotiate with Elizabeth Woodville about her and her family withdrawing from sanctuary.
 

All the peers of the Realm are summoned to London for Parliament, which would be held just three days after Edward V's coronation.

15
th
May 1483

Buckingham is created Constable of England, Chief Justice and Lord Chamberlain of Wales.

19
th
May 1483

Sometime between the 10
th
and 19
th
May, Edward V is moved to the Tower of London. On the 19
th
May the king signs a grant issued at
“Our Tower of London”,
confirming he is in residence there.
 

23
rd
May 1483

It is reported that Buckingham and the Archbishop of Canterbury meet with no success regarding Elizabeth Woodville's agreement to withdraw from sanctuary.
 

Much of the fleet had returned to port. However, Sir Edward Woodville and two other ships had sailed to France.

5
th
June 1483

Gloucester moves from Baynard's Castle to Crosby Place in Bishopsgate.
 

Anne Neville, wife of Gloucester, arrives at Crosby Place.
 

Gloucester holds private council with Buckingham and various others.
 

Hastings, Rotherham and others meet in the Star Chamber to plan the coronation.
 

7
th
June 1483

Buckingham probably meets Hastings in private to suggest that Gloucester should take the throne.

9
th
June 1483

The council meets at the star chamber.
 

Hastings holds private meetings with others on the council considered loyal to the king.

Spies report Hastings' secret meetings to Gloucester.
 

10
th
June 1483

Gloucester writes to the City of York requesting troops to help protect him and Buckingham from what he believes to be murderous schemes of the queen.
 

11
th
June 1483

Gloucester writes to leading northern nobles requesting aid.
 

Gloucester issues and dispatches execution warrants for Rivers, Grey, Vaughan and Haute.

12
th
June 1483

Summons issued in Gloucester's name for a council meeting the following day. Buckingham, Hastings, Morton, Stanley, Rotherham, Lord Howard and Sir Thomas Howard are to meet with Gloucester at the Tower of London. The others on the council will meet in the Star Chamber to finalise the plans for the coronation.
 

13
th
June 1483

The council meeting at the Tower of London begins at 9am.
 

Gloucester leaves the room as routine business is conducted.
 

Gloucester returns after around 90 minutes. He accuses Hastings, Morton, Stanley, Rotherham of conspiracy with the queen against him. Armed guards enter the council meeting and all four men are arrested.

Hastings is executed, without trial, within an hour of his arrest.
 

Men, widely believed to be in the employment of Gloucester, run through the streets of London crying
“Treason”.

Gloucester meets with the Lord Mayor and informs him that Hastings had plotted against him. The Mayor shares this information with the people of London as he returns from the Tower.
 

There is shock on the streets of London at the events in the Tower.
 

Rotherham, Stanley and Morton are all held in custody.
 

14
th
June 1483

Some time shortly after the events of 13
th
June Edward V's personal servants are dismissed and not allowed access to the king.

16
th
June 1483

Council meeting, with reduced numbers due to arrests and execution, takes place at the Tower of London.

Agreement made to “obtain” Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York for the coronation of his brother.

1. Troops surround Westminster Abbey.
   

The Archbishop of Canterbury meets with Elizabeth Woodville in the hope to persuade her to give up her son to Gloucester's care.

Elizabeth Woodville hands over Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

York meets his uncle, Gloucester, in the Star Chamber.
 

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Howard take York via boat to the Tower of London. One assumes he was reunited with the king.
 

The king is moved from the royal apartments to be with his brother, possibly within the White Tower or the Bloody Tower.

Gloucester himself takes up residence in the Tower of London. However, this could have occurred a few days earlier, there is no definitive record.
 

17
th
June 1483

The Parliament scheduled for three days after the coronation is cancelled.
 

21
st
June 1483

The coronation is postponed.

There are various reports that the boys were seen playing in the garden of the Tower after the 16
th
June. One report suggests that they practiced archery on one occasion.
 

News reaches London of an armed force heading south from the north.
 

The Lord Mayor arranges watches in the city in order to keep peace.
 

22
nd
June 1483

Dr Ralph Shaa (brother to the Lord Mayor) delivers a sermon at St Paul's Cross. In it he states that Edward IV was illegitimate and as such should never have been king. In turn Edward IV's sons should not take the crown.
 

23
rd
June 1483

Rumours circulate London that Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid due to an existing pre-contract between the king and Lady Eleanor Butler.

24
th
June 1483

Buckingham addresses the Lord Mayor and leading citizens at the Guildhall. He presses the case of the pre-contract between Edward IV and Lady Eleanor Butler.
 

25
th
June 1483

Rivers, Grey, Vaughan and Haute are executed at Pontefract castle.
 

Buckingham addresses a gathering of England's nobles who are in London for the coronation. He states the young king and his brother are bastards because of the pre-contract of their father. He says that Gloucester is the rightful heir. He has a petition for all present to sign requesting that Gloucester take the throne. Buckingham's great concern was that Gloucester might refuse, so he demanded that everyone present press the Protector to the claim the throne.

The assembly of nobles declared Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and all their children illegitimate.

Edward V is no longer king.

26
th
June 1483

Buckingham rides at the head of a great procession of nobles to Baynard's Castle. Here they present the petition to Gloucester. Gloucester at first refuses the crown but after words from Buckingham he agrees to become king.
 

Gloucester arrives at Westminster Hall and takes the sovereign's oath. He returns to Baynard's Castle.
 

Hence Gloucester is now Richard III.

Richard III rides to St Paul's to hear his own proclamation.
 

28
th
June 1483

Buckingham created Great Chamberlain of England.

Lord Howard created Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England. Lord Berkeley created Earl of Nottingham. Sir Thomas Howard created Earl of Surrey. Both the Dukedom of Norfolk and Earl of Nottingham were titles held by Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.

Richard III coronation is scheduled for 6
th
July 1483.

2
nd
July 1483

6000 troops from the North of England arrive in London.
 

4
th
July 1483

The king and queen take up residence at the Tower of London.