Great Britain -- History -- Richard III, 1483-1485; Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485
He did not, however, by any means extend this conciliating policy to
the case of the young ex-king and his brother; indeed, it would have
been extremely dangerous for him to have done so. He was aware that
there must be a large number of persons throughout the kingdom who
still considered Edward as the rightful king, and he knew very well
that, if any of these were to obtain possession of Edward's person, it
would enable them to act vigorously in his name, and to organize
perhaps a powerful party for the support of his claims. He was
convinced, therefore, that it was essential to the success of his
plans that the boys should be kept in very close and safe custody. So
he removed them from the apartments which they had hitherto occupied,
and shut them up in close confinement in a gloomy tower upon the outer
walls of the fortress, and which, on account of the cruel murders
which were from time to time committed there, subsequently acquired
the name of the Bloody Tower.
[Illustration: THE BLOODY TOWER.]
Richard and the queen remained at the Tower until the day appointed
for the coronation, which was Tuesday. The ceremonies of that day were
commenced by a grand progress of the king and his suite through the
city of London back to Westminster, only, as if to vary the pageantry,
they went back in grand cavalcade through the streets of the city,
instead of returning as they came, by barges on the river. The
concourse of spectators on this occasion was even greater than before.
The streets were every where thronged, and very strict regulations
were made, by Richard's command, to prevent disorder.
On arriving at Westminster, the royal party proceeded to the Abbey,
where, first of all, as was usual in the case of a coronation, certain
ceremonies of religious homage were to be performed at a particular
shrine, which was regarded as an object of special sanctity on such
occasions. The king and queen proceeded to this shrine from the great
hall, barefooted, in token of reverence and humility. They walked,
however, it should be added, on ornamented cloth laid down for this
purpose on the stone pavements of the floors. All the knights and
nobles of England that were present accompanied and followed the king
and queen in their pilgrimage to the shrine.
One of these nobles bore the king's crown, another the queen's crown,
and others still various other ancient national emblems of royal
power. The queen walked under a canopy of silk, with a golden bell
hanging from each of the corners of it. The canopy was borne by four
great officers of state, and the bells, of course, jingled as the
bearers walked along.
The queen wore upon her head a circlet of gold adorned with precious
stones. There were four bishops, one at each of the four corners of
the canopy, who walked as immediate attendants upon the queen, and a
lady of the very highest rank followed her, bearing her train.
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