was charming all right. There are thousands of people right now all around the world who would agree with that. It’s the monster part that’s causing all the problems and on that score, there’s plenty of debate. You wouldn't believe the number of books written about him. There’s a Richard the Third Society too. Lots of people belong. They’re called Ricardians and their aim is to basically rewrite history.’
‘Why?’ Gail shrugged. ‘The guy's been dead for what, five hundred years?’
‘That's what I mean. Why? I'm talking about a lot of intelligent, professional people here who care deeply about this man's reputation. Anyhow, I think it’ll be fun to follow the trail as it were, visit the places associated with him and, hopefully meet some Ricardians and find out the truth. Well, what do you think?’
‘This is going to be a fun trip, isn’t it; I mean lots of shopping, theatre and such?’
Laura frowned. ‘Of course; why, what’s the problem?’
‘Nothing. I’ll get the coffee.’
*****
‘Right, that’s it,’ Laura announced as she finished going over the itinerary. ‘A copy for you so you can show Wayne and the girls and, I guess you might as well have this old road atlas. It’s out of date, so I had a new one sent.’ She sighed as she gathered her notes together. ‘I have to warn you, the driving is going to be hell on wheels. Sorry, but you did say you wanted to see as much of England as possible, so I …’
Laura was interrupted at this point when the doorbell rang. Gail hurried off then returned with a pizza delivery box and, with a flourish, dropped it on the table.
‘I ordered this early this morning for noon delivery. Roger told me you were coming over so I ordered the pizza, bought a bottle of red wine and trashed my bedroom. And, I might add, read up a little on the Kings and Queens. It was a toss-up between Mary, Queen of Scots and Richard. I couldn’t see us doing Mary all the way from London, so that left Richard. You’ve mentioned him before you know, and, I must admit, it’s an interesting story. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up joining the Richard the Third Society.’
‘I doubt it. For one thing, it was noted in a recent survey that most members are female, left-handed and librarians, which rules us out, on two counts anyway. And, you have to believe that Richard was a good guy, and frankly I don’t think he was, even after discounting all the Tudor propaganda.’
‘What do you think he was?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ Laura said with a shrug. ‘Perhaps he was no better or worse than his contemporaries. With the childhood he had, maybe he could best be described as justifiably certifiable.’
‘You mean he was nuts?’
Laura chuckled. ‘Maybe; certainly something was wrong somewhere.’
‘Let me get organized then you can tell me all about his childhood while we have lunch.’
Gail disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Laura to settle into the adjacent breakfast room. The patio doors were open to the warmth of yet another beautiful August summer morning. It was a lovely room with its profusion of plants and dried flower arrangements, but Laura also liked it because it was the only room in which Gail allowed smoking.
‘Right, I think I’ve got everything,’ Gail announced as she prepared the table.
‘Are you sure you want to hear this?’
‘Come on, maybe we can get some clues from those early, formative years. Tell me.’
‘Okay,’ Laura said with a sigh. ‘But the truth is he had one hell of a childhood.’
*****
Slowly, methodically, Laura eased Gail back through time more than five hundred years to an age of unspeakable violence, sudden death, treachery and deceit. Richard was born on October 2nd, 1452, the last surviving son of Richard, Duke of York and Cicely Neville. He had three older brothers. Edward was ten years old, Edmund was nine, and George was four when Richard was born. There were sisters too. With the exception of Richard, all the children seemed to have inherited their mother's fair good looks and excellent constitution. Richard resembled his father; slender, dark-haired and short of stature. He may well have been a sickly child. Although certainly not the deformed monster of Tudor propaganda, he lacked the sheer physical presence of his brothers, especially Edward, who epitomized the physical ideal of king-like majesty.
The Wars of the Roses, in the midst of which Richard was born, involved two competing royal Houses - York and Lancaster. The prize was the throne of England and absolute power. The King, Henry the Sixth, was mentally ill. His wife, Margaret of Anjou, was a rapacious woman whose ruling passion was her young son Edouard who was one year younger than Richard. A power struggle between the forces of the Duke of York and the Royalists was inevitable. When Richard’s father reached for the golden prize, it was too late. In December, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield, Richard lost his father, an uncle and his brother Edmund. Queen Margaret ordered that their heads be struck off and displayed atop Micklegate Bar in York.
The “Story”, as it came to be called, unfolded further as various characters leapt from the pages of history to succeed or fail on the whim of chance. Richard’s exile in Burgundy, his brother Edward’s successful bid for the throne when Queen Margaret overplayed her hand and lost the support of the people. The bloody Battle of Towton where 28,000 men perished, crippling the power base of the House of Lancaster. Then in June, 1461 the coronation of a new king - Edward the Fourth of the House of York. From penniless exile, Richard now stood third in line of succession to the English throne. He was not yet nine years of age.
King Edward was a popular monarch who readily won the hearts of his subjects. Young Richard basked in the reflected glory of his brother’s reign and adored him as he adored his mentor and namesake, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as the “Kingmaker”. Warwick, however, was not content just to make a king, he was determined to rule him as well, and this Edward refused to allow. Hostilities increased when Edward secretly married Elizabeth Wydville, a commoner and widow five years older than her husband. A known Lancastrian, she had been a maid of honour to Queen Margaret. The court was appalled. Greedy, ambitious and arrogant, Elizabeth also had a large family, all of whom King Edward would be expected to provide for as befitting the dignity of the queen’s relatives. The elevation of the Wydville clan to positions of rank well beyond their humble origins caused considerable friction at court, ultimately leading to pro and anti-Wydville factions.
For nearly four years Richard escaped the wrangling of court life high in the moorlands at Middleham in Yorkshire. Under the watchful eye of the Earl of Warwick, Richard learned martial arts and courtly manners as well as receiving a conventional education. They were to be the happiest years of his life.
In February, 1469, just sixteen years of age, Richard - now Duke of Gloucester - presided at a commission in Salisbury set up to try two alleged traitors - Thomas Hungerford and Henry Courtenay - both of whom were subsequently found guilty and executed. King Edward’s determination to keep his youngest brother at his side and to involve him more and more in the administration of raw power had a sinister side. Trouble was brewing and treason rode the winds.
Sickened by the power and influence of the Wydvilles and by Edward’s adulterous and excessive lifestyle, Warwick
