The trouble with the country now was that there were rival factions conspiring against each other which was due to the minority of the King. But if the true King were proved to be a grown man, a man who had the ability to govern, what a boon that would be for the country!
Buckingham was right. He should state the truth and tell the people; then he would be proclaimed Richard the Third.
It would save the country from possible civil war—and the country had had enough of that.
He discussed the matter with Buckingham; he pondered the position deeply. It was right that the truth should be known. It was best for the country.
How should the secret be revealed?
'Let the Lord Mayor of London make the announcement from Paul's Cross/ suggested Buckingham. 'The Londoners will listen to their Lord Mayor as to none other and Sir Edmund Shaa is a good man for the job.'
'My brother knew him well and thought highly of him.'
'Indeed he did. Shaa is a prosperous goldsmith and you know how your brother liked such men. Didn't he find Jane in a goldsmith's shop? Shaa is a member of the Goldsmiths' Company and now Lord Mayor, so let us see him and tell him what is required of him.'
'Yes/ said Richard. 'Send for him.'
Sir Edmund Shaa came to Baynard's Castle for the Protector had moved there from Crosby Place about the time when young Edward had taken up residence in the Tower.
Shaa listened. He had known the late King at the time of his obsession with Eleanor Butler and he could well believe that a marriage had taken place. Yes, he saw that if that were so, the true King was Richard and what a good thing it would be for the country if this was generally accepted to be the case.
'There is another matter,' he said. 'I had heard that your brothers, Edward the King and George Duke of Clarence, were not the sons of the Duke of York, and that so incensed was the Duchess of York when the King married Elizabeth Woodville that she said she would make it known that she had taken a lover while the Duke was away on his many campaigns and that Edward and George were the result of this liaison.'
Richard shook his head, but Buckingham was excited. 'It strengthens the case,' he said. 'Both the late King and his son bastards! My lord, we have to think of the country. We want a good case. We must end this strife, for if it goes on it could well result in civil war.'
'That,' said Richard, 'must be stopped at all events. England is more important than anything. A boy King is the biggest danger which can threaten us.'
Buckingham nodded to Sir Edmund. This was tantamount to the Protector's consent to give the full details at Paul's Cross.
Buckingham was exultant. The plot was going to work. Within a few days Richard would be proclaimed King of England.
'I would not wish it without the people's consent," said Richard.
'My lord, they will be begging you to take the crown.
Fron\ St Paul's Cross the Lord Mayor spoke to the people. He had grave news for them. A great discovery had been made. The little King who had not yet been crowned as Edward the Fifth was not the true King after all. King Edward the Fourth had already been married when he went through a form of marriage with Elizabeth Woodville.
This had been proved and the King's real wife was none other than the Lady Eleanor Butler, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury—a lady of higher rank than Queen Elizabeth Woodville at the hme of her mock marriage. Of course everyone knew how the Woodvilles had risen since that time but let the people consider, they owed their rise to a ceremony which was invalid and should never have been performed at all. The truth was that the young boy whom they called King Edward the Fifth was a bastard and therefore should never have been called King.
There was only one true King of England. They knew him well. He had done good service in the North and held back the Scots. He had served his country and brother with absolute loyalty and devotion. And he was the true King of England.
There was one other matter. Edward himself had been a bastard. The Duchess of York had taken occasional lovers during her husband's frequent absences. Both Edward the late King and George Duke of Clarence were bastards. The Duchess herself had threatened to reveal this at the time the late Edward the Fourth went through a form of marriage with Elizabeth Woodville, so shocked had she been that one of what she called such low birth should marry her son. She did not, however, for that would have meant exposing her own dishonour; but now that the King—and make no mistake he had been a great and good K^ig—was dead, they need not despair. What was past was done with. They had a new King, one who had proved his ability to serve them well.
They had King Richard the Third.
There was silence in the crowds about Paul's Cross. This was the most astounding revelation and if anyone but their Lord Mayor had made it they would have thought he was a madman.
The King married already! The little King a bastard! And those slanderous things they were saying about the Duchess of York!
They wanted to get away to talk together. It was astounding. They did not believe it.
Sir Edmund Shaa watched them walking away, whispering together.
In Baynard's Castle Buckingham and Richard discussed the people's reactions.
'What did their silence mean?' asked Richard.
'That they were shocked of course. Although we have heard the rumours they had not. They will take a little time to get used to the idea.'
'I like it not,' said Richard. 'The announcement should never have been made. I liked not the slander against my mother. I'll swear it is a lie.'
'The important thing is the King's pre-contract. You believe that, I'm sure.'
Tdo.'
'Stillington must be brought forward to show proof.'
'There is no proof. Only Stillington's word.'
'What reason should he have to lie?'
'He might think it would bring him advancement in a new reign.'
'He would never dare to lie in such a matter. We must strike again quickly. I will take some of my men with lords and knights to the Guildhall on Tuesday. There I will make a declaration. The people will have crowded into the hall and will have assembled outside. There I shall state the facts again.'
T forbid you to mention my mother.'
There is no need to. All that matters is that the boy is known as a bastard, and that you are the rightful King of the realm.'
Buckingham went to the Guildhall as he had said he would. There he spoke with the utmost eloquence on the situation which had arisen through the disclosure of Bishop Stillington, and when he had assessed Richard's claim to the throne, he cried out: 'Will you accept Richard of Gloucester as Richard the Third of England?'
There was heavy pause in the crowd which as Buckingham had predicted, filled the Guildhall and spilled into the streets outside.
Then some of Buckingham's men shouted from the back of the halclass="underline" 'Long Live King Richard.'
Buckingham appeared to be satisfied.
The next day the Parliament met. The facts were presented; the marriage discussed, as was the illegitimacy of Edward the Fifth and of Edward the Fourth and the Duke of Clarence. Buckingham reminded the peers that Edward had been bom in Rouen and Clarence in Dublin. Richard was a true Englishman for he had seen the light of day at Fotheringay castle in Northamptonshire. Would they agree that a deputation should be sent to Baynard's Castle and ask Richard to take the crown? They agreed and the following day, Buckingham led the deputation to the Castle where Richard, with a show of reluctance, agreed to accept the crown. The reign of Edward the Fifth was over. That of Richard the Third had begun.
Anne had arrived in London with her son Edward. She was uneasy for she was sure that Edward was not fit to travel. However, on such an occasion she must be present and so must their son, for now she was the Queen . . . Queen of England. On the journey down from Middleham her apprehension had increased. She had grown accustomed to the quiet life at Middleham; she had wished, naturally, that Richard could be with them, but since the death of his brother she had scarcely seen him. It had been something of a shock to her to learn that he had been offered the crown and for what reason.