The White Rose being so triumphant, the young King abandoned himself
entirely to pleasure, and led a jovial life. But, thorns were springing
up under his bed of roses, as he soon found out. For, having been
privately married to Elizabeth Woodville, a young widow lady, very
beautiful and very captivating; and at last resolving to make his
secret known, and to declare her his Queen; he gave some offence to the
Earl of Warwick, who was usually called the King-Maker, because of his
power and influence, and because of his having lent such great help to
placing Edward on the throne. This offence was not lessened by the
jealousy with which the Nevil family (the Earl of Warwick’s) regarded
the promotion of the Woodville family. For, the young Queen was so bent
on providing for her relations, that she made her father an earl and a
great officer of state; married her five sisters to young noblemen of
the highest rank; and provided for her younger brother, a young man of
twenty, by marrying him to an immensely rich old duchess of eighty. The
Earl of Warwick took all this pretty graciously for a man of his proud
temper, until the question arose to whom the King’s sister, Margaret,
should be married. The Earl of Warwick said, ‘To one of the French
King’s sons,’ and was allowed to go over to the French King to make
friendly proposals for that purpose, and to hold all manner of friendly
interviews with him. But, while he was so engaged, the Woodville party
married the young lady to the Duke of Burgundy! Upon this he came back
in great rage and scorn, and shut himself up discontented, in his
Castle of Middleham.
A reconciliation, though not a very sincere one, was patched up between
the Earl of Warwick and the King, and lasted until the Earl married his
daughter, against the King’s wishes, to the Duke of Clarence. While the
marriage was being celebrated at Calais, the people in the north of
England, where the influence of the Nevil family was strongest, broke
out into rebellion; their complaint was, that England was oppressed and
plundered by the Woodville family, whom they demanded to have removed
from power. As they were joined by great numbers of people, and as they
openly declared that they were supported by the Earl of Warwick, the
King did not know what to do. At last, as he wrote to the earl
beseeching his aid, he and his new son-in-law came over to England, and
began to arrange the business by shutting the King up in Middleham
Castle in the safe keeping of the Archbishop of York; so England was
not only in the strange position of having two kings at once, but they
were both prisoners at the same time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account