The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA (5 page)

Proof that a second wife for the king had already been discussed before the first had died lies in the fact that, on Tuesday 22 March, less than a week after Anne Neville's death, and before her body had even been buried, Sir Edward Brampton, a converted Portuguese Jew who had long served King Edward IV, was sent back to his former homeland to offer, on Richard's behalf, for the hand of King John II's elder sister, the Infanta Joana.
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It is also as a result of Brampton's negotiations in Portugal that we have knowledge of the alternative English plan for a marriage with the Spanish infanta, in case the Portuguese match should come to nothing. In fact, the contemporary commentator Álvaro Lopes de Chaves, writing retrospectively in about 1488, reported that the Portuguese Council of State had been very anxious to ensure that the Portuguese marriage proposal was accepted. Behind their forceful support of the proposed Anglo-Portuguese marriage pact lay the councillors' openly expressed fear that if the Portuguese marriage did not take place, Richard III ‘could marry the Infanta Doña Isabel of Castile [sic] and make alliance with
those
kings, and become your enemy and opponent'.
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Indeed, knowing that such an alliance with England was only too likely to prove agreeable to ‘the Catholic Kings' of Spain, the Portuguese royal advisers reiterated their anxiety, strongly underlining the risk that if the projected marriage with their own Infanta Joana were not quickly brought to a successful conclusion, ‘the sovereigns of Castile may give him [Richard] their eldest daughter as his wife'.
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The Portuguese councillors were also well aware that Richard III was in a hurry to remarry, since they commented specifically on the fact that ‘it suits the king of England to marry straight away'.
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In fact, the marriage proposal brought to Portugal by Sir Edward Brampton was for a double alliance. Richard III himself would marry Joana, while his niece, Elizabeth of York, would marry John II's cousin Manuel, Duke of Beja (who later became King Manuel I). This point too is established beyond question by Álvaro Lopes de Chaves who referred to a ‘marriage between the daughter of King Edward of England … and the Duke of Beja Dom Manuel … which said marriage had previously been appointed by Edward Brampton on his coming as ambassador of King Richard (brother to the said King Edward) to swear the betrothals and commit the Princess Joana in marriage'.
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On the Portuguese side it was hoped that, in return for the proposed matches, Richard would provide King John II with English help against dissident members of the aristocracy, who were being supported from Castile.

Brampton's overtures were later followed up by someone described as the Count or Earl of Scales [Scalus].
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In earlier publications relating to this subsequent visit, both Barrie Williams and his modern Portuguese source, Gomes dos Santos, mistakenly assumed that the activities of this ‘Count Scales' represented a follow-up embassy from Richard III. In addition, Williams embroils himself in vain speculations as to the identity of ‘Count Scales'.
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Unfortunately, he is at sea in suggesting that
Richard
Woodville might have inherited the Scales title from his elder brother, Anthony. In fact this title had merely been acquired by Anthony Woodville as a result of his marriage to the Scales heiress. Nevertheless, it is known that Anthony attempted to bequeath it to his other brother
Edward
.
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This attempt had no legal validity, but it explains why Edward Woodville might have called himself ‘Lord Scales' – and indeed, the Portuguese records establish beyond question that in fact he did so.

They also prove that Edward Woodville's visit to King John took place
after
Richard III's death, in 1486, at a time when Edward was returning home to England after taking part in the ongoing Spanish
reconquista
of the southern kingdom of Granada.
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Thus his visit would be too late in its timing to have any interest for us in the present context, were it not for the fact that the
soi-disant
‘count' sought to revive half of Richard III's proposed Portuguese marriage pact – namely the part involving the marriage of one of his nieces to Dom Manuel, Duke of Beja (King John's cousin). By seeking to revive this proposal, Sir Edward explicitly drew attention to the fact that Richard III's initial overtures in 1485 had included such plans for the marriage of one of Edward IV's daughters with Dom Manuel. We shall return to this interesting second aspect of Richard III's Portuguese marriage project shortly.

As for the Infanta Joana, she was a few months older than her prospective husband, having been born in February 1452. She was deeply religious, and had already rejected previous offers of marriage from several other European rulers. However, either because she herself was genuinely interested in the proposed English royal marriage, or because she was placed under considerable pressure by her brother, King John, Joana seems to have given very serious consideration to the idea of marriage to Richard. In fact, had the latter not lost the Battle of Bosworth, the Portuguese royal marriages would very probably have taken place.
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As has already been noted, of the two princesses who were apparently regarded as the leading potential contenders for the English consort's crown, it must have been the fact that the Infanta Joana was the most senior living heir of the house of Lancaster (after her brother, King John) which chiefly influenced Richard III and his council in her favour, for in other respects she might well have been considered less than ideal. As a childless and hitherto unmarried princess, thirty-three years of age, her chances of bearing for Richard the all-important son and heir he so badly needed must, in retrospect, be regarded as somewhat questionable. There is no doubt that, in terms of age, the fourteen-year-old Spanish infanta, Doña Isabel de Aragón y Castilla, who shared Richard III's birthday (2 October) but who was eighteen years his junior, would have been a far more promising prospective mother of a future prince of Wales.
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As we have seen, the proposed Portuguese marriage was part of a package deal. Not only was Richard III to marry Joana, but also his niece, Elizabeth of York – the eldest illegitimate daughter of Edward IV by Elizabeth Woodville – was to marry the Portuguese prince Manuel, Duke of Beja, cousin (and eventual successor) of King John II. The subsequent attempts on the part of ‘Count Scales' to revive this second marriage proposal were aided by the fact that Richard III's negotiations had apparently never referred to Elizabeth of York by name, but had simply spoken of ‘[a] filha del Rej Duarte' ([the] daughter of King Edward).
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For Richard III this circumlocution may have been advantageous in that it skirted round the potentially tricky problem of Elizabeth of York's status. In 1485 she was, of course, a mere royal bastard and not an English princess – but unfortunately for Richard there were no legitimate English royal daughters then available for the marriage market. Without actually being openly deceitful, the terminology employed by Richard's envoys tended to imply that the proposed bride was an English princess – and indeed, probably the most senior royal daughter available.
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There may also have been one other advantage. If anything should happen to Elizabeth, one of her sisters could easily be substituted for her without the need for renegotiations. This was a period when death readily claimed young victims, and even promising royal sprigs did not always manage to successfully complete their journey into adulthood. Some children of Edward IV by Elizabeth Woodville had already died young.
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The names of Elizabeth, Cecily and Anne of York may have meant little even to King John II, while his cousin, Dom Manuel (who was to marry this English girl), was at that time a relatively minor member of the Portuguese royal house, whose marriage negotiations probably did not demand the detailed precision which would, for example, have surrounded the betrothal of King John's son and heir. But undoubtedly both the Portuguese king and his cousin had heard of King Edward IV himself. Thus ‘King Edward's daughter' was in every way a convenient phrase.

Later, this rather vague terminology proved fortunate for ‘Count Scales', because at the time of his negotiations in 1486 Elizabeth of York was actually no longer available (having recently married Henry VII). However, Cecily of York was then on the marriage market. The annulment of Cecily's previous marriage at about this juncture – and at the behest of Henry VII – may have been no accident, for she was more or less of an age with Dom Manuel. Failing her, her younger sister Anne could also have been considered. Indeed, evidence survives that Anne of York
was
put forward as a candidate for the hand of Dom Manuel. This evidence comprises a papal dispensation permitting such a marriage in spite of the fact that the proposed partners were related within the prohibited degrees.
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Given all these points, it is not surprising that, in 1486, ‘Count Scales' continued to refer vaguely to ‘the daughter of King Edward' in his Portuguese marriage negotiations. Moreover, the existence of the dispensation of 1491 strongly suggests that Edward Woodville may have been acting on direct instructions from Henry VII who, in one way or another, was intent on picking up and carrying into effect at least some of the matrimonial projects of Richard III.
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There were two reasons why Richard III should have included Elizabeth of York in his marriage plans in 1485. The first was the fact that, as we have already noted, no legitimate English princesses were available as marriage pawns. The second point is the fact that one of Richard III's promises to the girl's mother, Elizabeth Woodville – solemnly made towards the end of the eleven months (April 1483–March 1484), during which the latter had remained in sanctuary with her daughters at Westminster Abbey – had been that, if she would emerge from her self-imposed seclusion, she and her daughters would be well treated and that suitable marriages would be arranged for the girls:

Memorandum that I Richard by the grace of God king of England and of Fraunce and lord of Irland in the presens of you my lords spirituelle & temporelle and you Maire and Aldermen of my Cite of London promitte & swere
verbo Regio
& upon these holy evangelies of god by me personally touched that if the doghters of dam Elizabeth Gray late calling her self Quene of England that is to wit Elizabeth Cecille Anne Kateryn and Briggitte wolle come unto me out of Saintwarie of Westminstre and be guyded Ruled & demeaned after me than I shalle see that they shalbe in suertie of their lyffes and also not suffer any maner hurt by any maner persone or persones to theim or any of theim in their bodies and persones to be done by wey of Ravisshement or defouling contrarie to their willes not theim or any of theim emprisone within the Toure of London or other prisone but that I shalle put theim in honest places of good name & fame and theim honestly & curtesly shalle see to be(e) foundene & entreated and to have alle thinges requisite & necessarye(te) for their exibicione and findings as my kynneswomen And that I shalle do marie sucche of theim as now bene mariable to gentilmen borne and everiche of theim geve in mariage lands & tenementes to the yerely valewe of CC marc for terme of their lyves and in like wise to the other doghters when they come to lawfulle Age of mariage if they lyff and suche gentilmen as shalle happe to marie with theim I shalle straitly charge from tyme to tyme loyngly to love & entreat theim as their wiffes & my kynneswomen As they wolle advoid and eschue my displeasure And over this that I shalle yerely fromhencefurthe content & pay or cause to be contented and paied for thexibicione & finding of the said dame Elizabeth Gray during her naturelle liff at iiij termes of the yere that is to wit at pasche Midsomer Michilmesse & Christenmesse to John Nesfelde one of the squires of my body (&) for his finding to attende upon her the summe of DCC marc of lawfulle money of England by even porcions And moreover I promitte to theim that if any surmyse or evylle report be made to me of theim or any of theim by any persone or persones that than I shalle not geve thereunto faithe ne credence not therefore put theim to any maner ponysshement before that they or any of theim so accused may be at their lawfulle defence and answere In witnesse wherof to this writing of my othe & promise aforsaid in your said presences made I have set my signemanuelle the first day of Marche the first yere of my Reigne.
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Richard had already taken positive steps to demonstrate that this had been no empty promise on his part. In 1484 he had arranged the marriage of his own illegitimate daughter, Catherine, to one of his supporters, the Earl of Pembroke, and although the precise date is not on record it was probably at about the same time that he also arranged the marriage of his niece, Cecily (the second surviving daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville), to Ralph Scrope, a younger brother of Thomas, 6th Baron Scrope, who was another of Richard's supporters.
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Cecily's Scrope marriage was a perfectly respectable one for the bastard daughter of a deceased monarch. But the Portuguese royal marriage that was now in prospect for her elder sister went far beyond Richard's promise to marry the girls to gentlemen born, and must have delighted their mother, Elizabeth Woodville. This marriage would heal the split in the Yorkist ranks by offering the Woodvilles a dynastic alliance, which would pose no threat to Richard. Had the marriage taken place, it would instantly have restored Elizabeth of York to legitimate royal rank. Indeed, it would one day have made her Queen of Portugal – though no one could possibly have foreseen that in March 1485. The young girl herself was very excited by the proposal, and apparently wrote to her uncle's right-hand man, John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, imploring him to urge the king, on her behalf, to press on with the project.
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The fact that Elizabeth of York's letter to Norfolk was written as early as mid-February 1484/85 shows that key members of the royal council were already aware of the possibility of a double royal marriage pact with Portugal at least four weeks
before
Queen Anne Neville breathed her last. But naturally no such plans could proceed until Richard's first consort died, and the fact that Anne was lingering in mortal illness seems to have led the young Elizabeth of York to remark, in a rather thoughtless and unkind way – excusable perhaps on the grounds of her youth and her eagerness to be a princess once again – that ‘she feared the queen would never die'.
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