The lives of four monarchs...
Kings and Queens in profile: Queen Anne
As part of our Kings and Queens series, James Anderson Winn, professor of English at Boston University and the author of Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts, tells you everything you need to know about Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs
Tuesday 15th July 2014
James Anderson Winn
BBC History Magazine
Born: 6 February 1665
Died: 1 August 1714
Ruled: from 1702 to 1714
Family: the daughter of James, Duke of York (later James II) and Anne Hyde
Successor: Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, who ruled as George I
Remembered for: achieving the Union of England and Scotland and bringing the War of the Spanish Succession to a conclusion
Anne as princess: Anne Stuart and her older sister Mary were the only surviving offspring of James, Duke of York by his first Duchess, Anne Hyde. At the age of three, Anne was sent to France to have her eyes treated (as she suffered from an eye condition). There she stayed more than two years, learning the language perfectly.
In 1671, not long after her return, her mother died, and her father, who had become a Roman Catholic, was soon in search of a duchess. His 15-year-old bride, Maria Beatrice of Modena, was less than four years older than Princess Mary, who would later be married (at 15) to William of Orange.
Princess Anne’s own marriage was delayed by politics: fearful of Catholics in the wake of a supposed plot to assassinate the king (Anne's uncle Charles II), a strong party in parliament attempted to pass laws preventing Charles's brother James from succeeding to the throne. Charles sought to defuse the crisis by sending James and Maria to Scotland, where Anne visited them in 1681–82.
In 1683, shortly after Charles had defeated his foes, Anne married Prince George of Denmark. When the king died on 6 February 1685 (on Anne’s 20th birthday), her father succeeded as James II, but his arrogant attitude toward parliament and his aggressive Catholicism alienated the English establishment, and a group of powerful men invited the Protestant Dutchman William of Orange to invade.
Anne and her husband supported the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which replaced James II with a dual monarchy (the only one in British history) of William III and Mary II, though they later had reasons to regret that choice. The princess, who had already suffered several miscarriages and had lost two infant daughters to smallpox in 1687, gave birth to a son in 1689, just months after the coronation. As William, Duke of Gloucester, he would live the longest of her children.
Despite the welcome presence of a Protestant heir, the two sisters quarreled, and when William removed John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, from his court and military posts, Mary insisted that Anne part company with Sarah Churchill, who was her favorite. Refusing to obey this command, Anne left the court and moved into separate lodgings – this was the beginning of estrangement that continued until Mary II’s death in 1694. To Anne’s eternal regret, Gloucester died in 1700, a few days after his 11th birthday.
Anne as Queen: When William III died (on 8 March 1702), Anne succeeded to the throne. Within a few weeks she had named Marlborough as her Captain-General and her longtime friend Sidney Godolphin as Lord Treasurer. For most of her reign, these two men executed her policies at home and abroad. Forming an alliance with the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, the queen declared war on France in May, and Marlborough won significant victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708 ), and Malplaquet (1709).
Despite these unprecedented successes, domestic politics were fierce. The Tory party gained a substantial majority in the election of 1702, and withstood an attempt by the ministry to break their power in 1705. The Whigs swept into power in 1708, but were soundly defeated in 1710 and 1713.
Because the party holding a majority in parliament did not automatically gain all the ministerial posts, the queen was subject to relentless partisan pressure from both sides, yet she managed to prevent party passions from erupting into violence, and achieved a major success in forging the Union with Scotland in 1707.
Her later years were sad. Prince George died in 1708, and Anne’s long association with Sarah Churchill ended bitterly in 1710. A Tory ministry headed by Robert Harley, intent on making peace, persuaded the queen to part company with Godolphin and then with Marlborough. Although her war-weary nation welcomed the Peace of Utrecht (1713), the queen did not have long to enjoy its benefits: worn out by physical ailments and party strife, she died on 1 August 1714, and was succeeded by George I, the first of the Hanoverian monarchs.
Queen Anne: facts about her life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Edward II
As part of our Kings and Queens series, medieval historian Kathryn Warner tells you everything you need to know about Edward II, king of England and lord of Ireland.
Friday 31st July 2015
Kathryn Warner
BBC History Magazine
Born: 25 April 1284, at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales
Died: 21 September 1327, at Berkeley Castle (but some believed that he lived on after this time)
Ruled: July 1307–January 1327
Family: the youngest child of Edward I (1239–1307) and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile (1241–90)
Successor: his 14-year-old son, who became Edward III
Remembered for: his defeat to Robert the Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, and for being overthrown by his wife in favour of his son
Life: Edward II was born in Caernarfon, north Wales on 25 April 1284, as at least the 14th (possibly 16th) and youngest child of Edward I and his first wife, Spanish queen Eleanor of Castile.
His three older brothers John, Henry and Alfonso died in childhood, and Edward succeeded his father as king of England in July 1307, when he was 23.
His reign was a disaster. He was unsuited to the position into which he was born, and had been left a very difficult legacy by his father – enormous debts, an unwinnable war in Scotland, dissatisfied magnates, and hostile relations with powerful France.
Consequently, Edward’s reign lurched from one crisis to another: endless conflict with his barons, constant threats of civil war, and failed military campaigns in Scotland.
A notable feature of his reign is his reliance on male ‘favourites’, most famously Piers Gaveston, whom Edward made Earl of Cornwall and who was executed in 1312 by a group of English earls.
Edward’s dedication to his last and most powerful favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, brought both of them down in 1326 after they alienated Edward’s queen, Isabella of France. She invaded her husband’s kingdom with the help of her own favourite, the English baron Roger Mortimer.
Edward was forced to abdicate his throne to his 14-year-old son Edward III in January 1327 – it was the first time this had ever happened in England.
Edward II is best known for his humiliating defeat to Robert Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, and for the alleged manner of his murder at Berkeley Castle on 21 September 1327 – by having a red-hot poker inserted into his anus.
This story is, however, a myth, as is the tale invented in the Hollywood film Braveheart that Edward’s queen, Isabella, had an affair with William Wallace, who was the real father of Edward’s son. Wallace was executed two-and-a-half-years before 12-year-old Isabella even arrived in England, and there is no doubt whatsoever that Edward II was the father of all of Isabella’s four children.
There is evidence to indicate that Edward was not killed at Berkeley Castle in 1327 at all, but survived for years afterwards, perhaps in Italy. Utterly implausible as this sounds, many influential people – including the archbishop of York; the bishop and mayor of London; earls, lords, sheriffs and numerous others, firmly believed that Edward was still alive.
Edward is often considered to be one of England’s worst kings, and given that he was the first one forced to abdicate, this is not an unfair judgment. He was entirely unconventional by the standards of his time. He is said to have enjoyed the company of his lowborn subjects and their pursuits; dug ditches and thatched roofs; and swum in the company of carpenters, fishermen and ditchers.
Edward’s 19-year reign was inglorious, yet he and his era have their fascinations. He is one of only a handful of people throughout history to found colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge, something he should perhaps be better remembered for.
Kathryn's biography of Edward II, Edward II: The Unconventional King, was published by Amberley in October 2014 and is available to buy now.
Edward II: facts about his life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Edward IV
Late medieval and early Tudor historian Amy Licence tells you everything you need to know about Edward IV, the first Yorkist King of England
Wednesday 21st May 2014
Amy Licence
BBC History Magazine
Born: 28 April 1442, at Rouen, Normandy
Died: 9 April 1483, at the Palace of Westminster
Family: the second surviving child and eldest son of Richard, third duke of York (1411–60), and Cecily, duchess of York (1415–95). Cecily was the daughter of Ralph Neville, first earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort
Ruled: 1461–70 and 1471–83
Successor: His 12-year-old son, Edward, was proclaimed king (Edward V), and Edward IV's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, named as protector. Edward V is one of the famous princes in the Tower, allegedly murdered by Richard. Richard took the throne, becoming Richard III
Remembered for: Defeating the Lancastrians to establish the House of York
Life: Edward was born in Rouen Castle on 28 April 1442. Both his parents were descended from Edward III, giving him a significant claim to the throne.
At first his father, Richard, Duke of York, served the Lancastrian Henry VI loyally, but, after returning to England, found himself marginalised from government. York acted as Protector during Henry VI’s illness, but increasing hostility towards him led to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses.
When Edward was 18, York’s patience ran out, and he attempted to take the throne for himself. He was killed in battle soon afterwards.
Edward avenged his father’s death and defeated the king’s forces at Towton in 1461. He was then crowned king, while Henry VI was in exile.
In the early years of his reign, he suppressed Lancastrian challenges to his throne and proved himself to be a charismatic and popular ruler. Tall, young and handsome, he was renowned for his love affairs and athleticism.
In 1464, while negotiations were being made for a French marriage, Edward made a secret match with Elizabeth Woodville, a Lancastrian widow with two children. It proved to be unpopular with his cousin, the Earl of Warwick, who resented the advancement of the large Woodville clan and the snub over France.
A year later, Henry VI was captured and held in the Tower of London, so Edward’s position seemed safer.
However, by 1469, Warwick had run out of patience. He married off his eldest daughter to Edward’s brother George, and led a rebellion against the king.
Taken by surprise, Edward was briefly held captive by Warwick, although he was able to escape and the trio were reconciled. Warwick’s dissatisfaction had not abated though, and the following year he fled to France and forged a new alliance with Henry VI’s wife, Margaret of Anjou.
The Earl then returned to England and took control of London and the Lancastrian King while Edward was in the north. Isolated from his capital, Edward made a dangerous escape to the Low Countries, almost being drowned at sea. From exile, Edward plotted his return.
Six months later, in the spring of 1471, he landed with a small force in Yorkshire, and gathered troops as he marched south. After having defeated Warwick, he moved to secure his kingdom, by killing the Prince of Wales in battle at Tewkesbury.
Henry VI later died in the Tower, probably on Edward’s orders. Edward was finally reunited with Elizabeth and his children. She had borne him a son while in sanctuary during his exile.
Edward’s second reign ran smoothly. He imported Burgundian customs and fashions, restructuring his household and embarking on a number of building projects. In 1475 he led an invasion of France – bloodshed was avoided, and it secured Edward a large annual income.
After a final rebellion by his brother George, Edward felt he had no choice but to order his execution in 1478. He also declared war on Scotland in 1482, supporting a rival claimant to that kingdom’s throne, and sending his brother Richard to lead an invasion. In spring 1483, Edward fell ill and died suddenly at the age of 40.
Amy Licence is a late medieval and early Tudor historian focusing on women's lives. She is the author of Anne Neville, Richard III’s Tragic Queen.
You can follow Amy on Twitter @PrufrocksPeach.
Edward IV: facts about his life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Mary, Queen of Scots
As part of our Kings & Queens Week, we explore the life of one of history’s most controversial monarchs: Mary, Queen of Scots
Wednesday 29th July 2015
Mary Pope
BBC History Magazine
Born: 8 December 1542, Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, Scotland
Died: 8 February 1587, Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England (executed)
Ruled: 1542–67
Family: Mary was the only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise.
She was married three times: to Francis, King of France (1558-60); Lord Darnley (1565-67) and the Earl of Bothwell (1567-78 ). Mary had one child with Lord Darnley in 1566, who went on to become James VI and I of Scotland and England.
Remembered for: Being involved in an assassination plot against her cousin, Elizabeth I, in an attempt to kill England’s queen and take the throne for herself. Mary may also have been involved in the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley, who was killed on 9 February 1567.
Mary was overthrown by the Scots and forced to abdicate in July 1567. She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587 at the age of 44.
Her Life: Mary was just six days old when she became queen of Scotland following her father’s death. Being only a baby, her mother, the French Mary of Guise, acted as regent on Mary’s behalf.
Amid tensions between English and Scottish powers, when she was just eight months old Mary was betrothed to Prince Edward, Henry VIII’s son, in the hope of calming rivalries between the two countries. However, Catholics opposed this betrothal and the match was eventually broken off.
To demonstrate his frustration, Henry VIII ordered a number of savage raids on Scotland, which later became known as ‘The Rough Wooing’. Henry’s army “set fire to the Abbey of Holyroodhouse where James V was buried, burned crops in the Tweed Valley and set ablaze the Border abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.”
In 1548, the Scots decided to resume their traditional alliance with the French by betrothing Mary to the four-year-old Dauphin of France, Francis. Mary was sent to the French court, where she was brought up among the daughters and wives of French nobles.
At the age of 15 Mary was married to Francis, who became king of France just a year later. The marriage created an alliance between the crowns of Scotland and France, but it was cut short when Francis unexpectedly died just a year later, in 1560.
As an 18-year-old widow who had spent most of her youth in France Mary returned to her home country of Scotland. The Catholic Mary found a country that had changed significantly over the years. It was now predominately Protestant, following religious reforms implemented under the guidance of Presbyterian theologian John Knox.
Initially, Mary was able to rule somewhat successfully under the guidance of William Maitland of Lethington and Lord James. However, her marriage in 1565 to her Catholic second cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley, sparked a breakdown in relations between the monarch and the Scottish nobles at court.
Mary’s second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. (Credit: National Galleries Of Scotland/Getty Images)
Mary’s marriage quickly began to collapse, and tensions at court reached new heights in 1566 when Darnley and a number of nobles burst into the room in which the heavily-pregnant Mary was having supper with her Italian secretary, David Rizzo, and stabbed him 56 times. The group claimed that Rizzo and Mary were having an affair, with Rizzo trying to gain greater influence at court.
Despite giving birth to a son, James, in June 1566, Mary relationship with her husband deteriorated further still. Just eight months later, Darnley’s body was found outside a house just beyond the walls of Edinburgh – coincidentally, after an explosion in the house. Darnley’s body was found outside, raising speculation that he had been unharmed by the explosion but instead murdered and left in the grounds.
Mary’s suspected involvement in the murder of Darnley on 10 February 1567 was “a political mistake of the first order”, says historian Sean Lang; her marriage three months later to the main suspect, the Earl of Bothwell, was “an act of breathtaking stupidity”.
Mary’s marriage to the Earl of Bothwell alienated the Scottish nobles, who in June 1567 raised arms against her army at the battle of Carberry Hill. Mary was forced to surrender and abdicate, while Bothwell escaped to Scandinavia.
Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Kinross-shire, and her infant son, James, was made king of Scotland. Just months later Mary managed to escape the castle, yet she failed to save her crown at the battle of Langside, outside Glasgow, in May 1568.
Mary then fled south, hoping that she could find shelter and support in England from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. However, as Mary held such a strong claim to the English throne and could threaten the queen’s position, Elizabeth I had Mary imprisoned and kept under surveillance for the next 19 years.
Being the next legitimate heir to the English throne, Mary became the subject of a number of Catholic plots against Elizabeth’s life. Despite claiming innocence to association with the assassination plots in the 1570s and 1580s, Mary’s personal letters were intercepted in 1586 by Elizabeth’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham.
The warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots's execution. (Credit:*© WENN Ltd / Alamy)
Walsingham found enough evidence to arrest Mary on the basis that she was involved in the Babington Plot against Elizabeth – a ploy led by Catholic noble Anthony Babington to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary with the support of an invasion from abroad.
Mary was put on trial for treason and, in October 1586, she was condemned to death. Despite her initial hesitation, Elizabeth finally signed Mary’s death warrant and, on 8 February 1587, Mary was executed at Fotheringhay Castle at the age of 44.
Mary was initially buried in Peterborough Cathedral, but in 1612 James VI and I had his mother’s remains moved to the King Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
Mary, Queen of Scots: facts about her life, marriages and death | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Queen Anne
As part of our Kings and Queens series, James Anderson Winn, professor of English at Boston University and the author of Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts, tells you everything you need to know about Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs
Tuesday 15th July 2014
James Anderson Winn
BBC History Magazine
Born: 6 February 1665
Died: 1 August 1714
Ruled: from 1702 to 1714
Family: the daughter of James, Duke of York (later James II) and Anne Hyde
Successor: Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, who ruled as George I
Remembered for: achieving the Union of England and Scotland and bringing the War of the Spanish Succession to a conclusion
Anne as princess: Anne Stuart and her older sister Mary were the only surviving offspring of James, Duke of York by his first Duchess, Anne Hyde. At the age of three, Anne was sent to France to have her eyes treated (as she suffered from an eye condition). There she stayed more than two years, learning the language perfectly.
In 1671, not long after her return, her mother died, and her father, who had become a Roman Catholic, was soon in search of a duchess. His 15-year-old bride, Maria Beatrice of Modena, was less than four years older than Princess Mary, who would later be married (at 15) to William of Orange.
Princess Anne’s own marriage was delayed by politics: fearful of Catholics in the wake of a supposed plot to assassinate the king (Anne's uncle Charles II), a strong party in parliament attempted to pass laws preventing Charles's brother James from succeeding to the throne. Charles sought to defuse the crisis by sending James and Maria to Scotland, where Anne visited them in 1681–82.
In 1683, shortly after Charles had defeated his foes, Anne married Prince George of Denmark. When the king died on 6 February 1685 (on Anne’s 20th birthday), her father succeeded as James II, but his arrogant attitude toward parliament and his aggressive Catholicism alienated the English establishment, and a group of powerful men invited the Protestant Dutchman William of Orange to invade.
Anne and her husband supported the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which replaced James II with a dual monarchy (the only one in British history) of William III and Mary II, though they later had reasons to regret that choice. The princess, who had already suffered several miscarriages and had lost two infant daughters to smallpox in 1687, gave birth to a son in 1689, just months after the coronation. As William, Duke of Gloucester, he would live the longest of her children.
Despite the welcome presence of a Protestant heir, the two sisters quarreled, and when William removed John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, from his court and military posts, Mary insisted that Anne part company with Sarah Churchill, who was her favorite. Refusing to obey this command, Anne left the court and moved into separate lodgings – this was the beginning of estrangement that continued until Mary II’s death in 1694. To Anne’s eternal regret, Gloucester died in 1700, a few days after his 11th birthday.
Anne as Queen: When William III died (on 8 March 1702), Anne succeeded to the throne. Within a few weeks she had named Marlborough as her Captain-General and her longtime friend Sidney Godolphin as Lord Treasurer. For most of her reign, these two men executed her policies at home and abroad. Forming an alliance with the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, the queen declared war on France in May, and Marlborough won significant victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708 ), and Malplaquet (1709).
Despite these unprecedented successes, domestic politics were fierce. The Tory party gained a substantial majority in the election of 1702, and withstood an attempt by the ministry to break their power in 1705. The Whigs swept into power in 1708, but were soundly defeated in 1710 and 1713.
Because the party holding a majority in parliament did not automatically gain all the ministerial posts, the queen was subject to relentless partisan pressure from both sides, yet she managed to prevent party passions from erupting into violence, and achieved a major success in forging the Union with Scotland in 1707.
Her later years were sad. Prince George died in 1708, and Anne’s long association with Sarah Churchill ended bitterly in 1710. A Tory ministry headed by Robert Harley, intent on making peace, persuaded the queen to part company with Godolphin and then with Marlborough. Although her war-weary nation welcomed the Peace of Utrecht (1713), the queen did not have long to enjoy its benefits: worn out by physical ailments and party strife, she died on 1 August 1714, and was succeeded by George I, the first of the Hanoverian monarchs.
Queen Anne: facts about her life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Edward II
As part of our Kings and Queens series, medieval historian Kathryn Warner tells you everything you need to know about Edward II, king of England and lord of Ireland.
Friday 31st July 2015
Kathryn Warner
BBC History Magazine
Born: 25 April 1284, at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales
Died: 21 September 1327, at Berkeley Castle (but some believed that he lived on after this time)
Ruled: July 1307–January 1327
Family: the youngest child of Edward I (1239–1307) and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile (1241–90)
Successor: his 14-year-old son, who became Edward III
Remembered for: his defeat to Robert the Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, and for being overthrown by his wife in favour of his son
Life: Edward II was born in Caernarfon, north Wales on 25 April 1284, as at least the 14th (possibly 16th) and youngest child of Edward I and his first wife, Spanish queen Eleanor of Castile.
His three older brothers John, Henry and Alfonso died in childhood, and Edward succeeded his father as king of England in July 1307, when he was 23.
His reign was a disaster. He was unsuited to the position into which he was born, and had been left a very difficult legacy by his father – enormous debts, an unwinnable war in Scotland, dissatisfied magnates, and hostile relations with powerful France.
Consequently, Edward’s reign lurched from one crisis to another: endless conflict with his barons, constant threats of civil war, and failed military campaigns in Scotland.
A notable feature of his reign is his reliance on male ‘favourites’, most famously Piers Gaveston, whom Edward made Earl of Cornwall and who was executed in 1312 by a group of English earls.
Edward’s dedication to his last and most powerful favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, brought both of them down in 1326 after they alienated Edward’s queen, Isabella of France. She invaded her husband’s kingdom with the help of her own favourite, the English baron Roger Mortimer.
Edward was forced to abdicate his throne to his 14-year-old son Edward III in January 1327 – it was the first time this had ever happened in England.
Edward II is best known for his humiliating defeat to Robert Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, and for the alleged manner of his murder at Berkeley Castle on 21 September 1327 – by having a red-hot poker inserted into his anus.
This story is, however, a myth, as is the tale invented in the Hollywood film Braveheart that Edward’s queen, Isabella, had an affair with William Wallace, who was the real father of Edward’s son. Wallace was executed two-and-a-half-years before 12-year-old Isabella even arrived in England, and there is no doubt whatsoever that Edward II was the father of all of Isabella’s four children.
There is evidence to indicate that Edward was not killed at Berkeley Castle in 1327 at all, but survived for years afterwards, perhaps in Italy. Utterly implausible as this sounds, many influential people – including the archbishop of York; the bishop and mayor of London; earls, lords, sheriffs and numerous others, firmly believed that Edward was still alive.
Edward is often considered to be one of England’s worst kings, and given that he was the first one forced to abdicate, this is not an unfair judgment. He was entirely unconventional by the standards of his time. He is said to have enjoyed the company of his lowborn subjects and their pursuits; dug ditches and thatched roofs; and swum in the company of carpenters, fishermen and ditchers.
Edward’s 19-year reign was inglorious, yet he and his era have their fascinations. He is one of only a handful of people throughout history to found colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge, something he should perhaps be better remembered for.
Kathryn's biography of Edward II, Edward II: The Unconventional King, was published by Amberley in October 2014 and is available to buy now.
Edward II: facts about his life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Edward IV
Late medieval and early Tudor historian Amy Licence tells you everything you need to know about Edward IV, the first Yorkist King of England
Wednesday 21st May 2014
Amy Licence
BBC History Magazine
Born: 28 April 1442, at Rouen, Normandy
Died: 9 April 1483, at the Palace of Westminster
Family: the second surviving child and eldest son of Richard, third duke of York (1411–60), and Cecily, duchess of York (1415–95). Cecily was the daughter of Ralph Neville, first earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort
Ruled: 1461–70 and 1471–83
Successor: His 12-year-old son, Edward, was proclaimed king (Edward V), and Edward IV's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, named as protector. Edward V is one of the famous princes in the Tower, allegedly murdered by Richard. Richard took the throne, becoming Richard III
Remembered for: Defeating the Lancastrians to establish the House of York
Life: Edward was born in Rouen Castle on 28 April 1442. Both his parents were descended from Edward III, giving him a significant claim to the throne.
At first his father, Richard, Duke of York, served the Lancastrian Henry VI loyally, but, after returning to England, found himself marginalised from government. York acted as Protector during Henry VI’s illness, but increasing hostility towards him led to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses.
When Edward was 18, York’s patience ran out, and he attempted to take the throne for himself. He was killed in battle soon afterwards.
Edward avenged his father’s death and defeated the king’s forces at Towton in 1461. He was then crowned king, while Henry VI was in exile.
In the early years of his reign, he suppressed Lancastrian challenges to his throne and proved himself to be a charismatic and popular ruler. Tall, young and handsome, he was renowned for his love affairs and athleticism.
In 1464, while negotiations were being made for a French marriage, Edward made a secret match with Elizabeth Woodville, a Lancastrian widow with two children. It proved to be unpopular with his cousin, the Earl of Warwick, who resented the advancement of the large Woodville clan and the snub over France.
A year later, Henry VI was captured and held in the Tower of London, so Edward’s position seemed safer.
However, by 1469, Warwick had run out of patience. He married off his eldest daughter to Edward’s brother George, and led a rebellion against the king.
Taken by surprise, Edward was briefly held captive by Warwick, although he was able to escape and the trio were reconciled. Warwick’s dissatisfaction had not abated though, and the following year he fled to France and forged a new alliance with Henry VI’s wife, Margaret of Anjou.
The Earl then returned to England and took control of London and the Lancastrian King while Edward was in the north. Isolated from his capital, Edward made a dangerous escape to the Low Countries, almost being drowned at sea. From exile, Edward plotted his return.
Six months later, in the spring of 1471, he landed with a small force in Yorkshire, and gathered troops as he marched south. After having defeated Warwick, he moved to secure his kingdom, by killing the Prince of Wales in battle at Tewkesbury.
Henry VI later died in the Tower, probably on Edward’s orders. Edward was finally reunited with Elizabeth and his children. She had borne him a son while in sanctuary during his exile.
Edward’s second reign ran smoothly. He imported Burgundian customs and fashions, restructuring his household and embarking on a number of building projects. In 1475 he led an invasion of France – bloodshed was avoided, and it secured Edward a large annual income.
After a final rebellion by his brother George, Edward felt he had no choice but to order his execution in 1478. He also declared war on Scotland in 1482, supporting a rival claimant to that kingdom’s throne, and sending his brother Richard to lead an invasion. In spring 1483, Edward fell ill and died suddenly at the age of 40.
Amy Licence is a late medieval and early Tudor historian focusing on women's lives. She is the author of Anne Neville, Richard III’s Tragic Queen.
You can follow Amy on Twitter @PrufrocksPeach.
Edward IV: facts about his life, death and reign | Kings and Queens in profile | History Extra
Kings and Queens in profile: Mary, Queen of Scots
As part of our Kings & Queens Week, we explore the life of one of history’s most controversial monarchs: Mary, Queen of Scots
Wednesday 29th July 2015
Mary Pope
BBC History Magazine
Born: 8 December 1542, Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, Scotland
Died: 8 February 1587, Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England (executed)
Ruled: 1542–67
Family: Mary was the only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise.
She was married three times: to Francis, King of France (1558-60); Lord Darnley (1565-67) and the Earl of Bothwell (1567-78 ). Mary had one child with Lord Darnley in 1566, who went on to become James VI and I of Scotland and England.
Remembered for: Being involved in an assassination plot against her cousin, Elizabeth I, in an attempt to kill England’s queen and take the throne for herself. Mary may also have been involved in the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley, who was killed on 9 February 1567.
Mary was overthrown by the Scots and forced to abdicate in July 1567. She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587 at the age of 44.
Her Life: Mary was just six days old when she became queen of Scotland following her father’s death. Being only a baby, her mother, the French Mary of Guise, acted as regent on Mary’s behalf.
Amid tensions between English and Scottish powers, when she was just eight months old Mary was betrothed to Prince Edward, Henry VIII’s son, in the hope of calming rivalries between the two countries. However, Catholics opposed this betrothal and the match was eventually broken off.
To demonstrate his frustration, Henry VIII ordered a number of savage raids on Scotland, which later became known as ‘The Rough Wooing’. Henry’s army “set fire to the Abbey of Holyroodhouse where James V was buried, burned crops in the Tweed Valley and set ablaze the Border abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.”
In 1548, the Scots decided to resume their traditional alliance with the French by betrothing Mary to the four-year-old Dauphin of France, Francis. Mary was sent to the French court, where she was brought up among the daughters and wives of French nobles.
At the age of 15 Mary was married to Francis, who became king of France just a year later. The marriage created an alliance between the crowns of Scotland and France, but it was cut short when Francis unexpectedly died just a year later, in 1560.
As an 18-year-old widow who had spent most of her youth in France Mary returned to her home country of Scotland. The Catholic Mary found a country that had changed significantly over the years. It was now predominately Protestant, following religious reforms implemented under the guidance of Presbyterian theologian John Knox.
Initially, Mary was able to rule somewhat successfully under the guidance of William Maitland of Lethington and Lord James. However, her marriage in 1565 to her Catholic second cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley, sparked a breakdown in relations between the monarch and the Scottish nobles at court.
Mary’s second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. (Credit: National Galleries Of Scotland/Getty Images)
Mary’s marriage quickly began to collapse, and tensions at court reached new heights in 1566 when Darnley and a number of nobles burst into the room in which the heavily-pregnant Mary was having supper with her Italian secretary, David Rizzo, and stabbed him 56 times. The group claimed that Rizzo and Mary were having an affair, with Rizzo trying to gain greater influence at court.
Despite giving birth to a son, James, in June 1566, Mary relationship with her husband deteriorated further still. Just eight months later, Darnley’s body was found outside a house just beyond the walls of Edinburgh – coincidentally, after an explosion in the house. Darnley’s body was found outside, raising speculation that he had been unharmed by the explosion but instead murdered and left in the grounds.
Mary’s suspected involvement in the murder of Darnley on 10 February 1567 was “a political mistake of the first order”, says historian Sean Lang; her marriage three months later to the main suspect, the Earl of Bothwell, was “an act of breathtaking stupidity”.
Mary’s marriage to the Earl of Bothwell alienated the Scottish nobles, who in June 1567 raised arms against her army at the battle of Carberry Hill. Mary was forced to surrender and abdicate, while Bothwell escaped to Scandinavia.
Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Kinross-shire, and her infant son, James, was made king of Scotland. Just months later Mary managed to escape the castle, yet she failed to save her crown at the battle of Langside, outside Glasgow, in May 1568.
Mary then fled south, hoping that she could find shelter and support in England from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. However, as Mary held such a strong claim to the English throne and could threaten the queen’s position, Elizabeth I had Mary imprisoned and kept under surveillance for the next 19 years.
Being the next legitimate heir to the English throne, Mary became the subject of a number of Catholic plots against Elizabeth’s life. Despite claiming innocence to association with the assassination plots in the 1570s and 1580s, Mary’s personal letters were intercepted in 1586 by Elizabeth’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham.
The warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots's execution. (Credit:*© WENN Ltd / Alamy)
Walsingham found enough evidence to arrest Mary on the basis that she was involved in the Babington Plot against Elizabeth – a ploy led by Catholic noble Anthony Babington to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary with the support of an invasion from abroad.
Mary was put on trial for treason and, in October 1586, she was condemned to death. Despite her initial hesitation, Elizabeth finally signed Mary’s death warrant and, on 8 February 1587, Mary was executed at Fotheringhay Castle at the age of 44.
Mary was initially buried in Peterborough Cathedral, but in 1612 James VI and I had his mother’s remains moved to the King Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
Mary, Queen of Scots: facts about her life, marriages and death | History Extra
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