Richard and the Woodvilles
by Lynda Pidgeon

Click here to view pedigree of the Woodvilles family.

It is generally assumed that because of Richard’s actions in 1483 there was a history of distrust and dislike between Richard and the Woodvilles. This would not have been surprising; after all this was true of the attitude between Clarence and the Woodvilles, and most people of the time disliked the Woodvilles. Or did they?

There is a large element of myth about feelings towards the Woodvilles, and much of what is written is with the benefit of hindsight. If the family were not so universally unpopular, and if Richard did not distrust and dislike them, how else could the events of 1483 be explained? What evidence exists to suggest that Richard and the Woodvilles did not get on and even disliked one another?

Unfortunately there is no juicy gossip in the Paston Letters to shed light on their feelings, so we only have official records to rely on. These mention occasions when the paths of Richard and the Woodvilles crossed, but they cannot indicate any feelings upon the part of either. This has not stopped some historians from trying. Kendall’s biography of Richard III is full of purple prose, his description of Richard and the Woodvilles being no exception: 

In the Woodville court Richard could not have been at ease … He could not bring himself to enjoy the company of the Woodvilles, whose arrogance shone as bright as the newness of their fortunes … Sir Thomas Grey … was already in training to become a boon companion of the King … In the tilt-yard the talk was all of Anthony Woodville … The Queen, beautiful and rapacious, … viewed the King’s two brothers only as rivals of her family for the favours of her lord. Woodvilles surrounded Edward like a glittering hedge … (4)

It is important to bear in mind that when Edward married Elizabeth Woodvilles on 1 May 1464 Richard was only eleven years old, and he spent the years 1465 to 1468 in the care of Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick (‘the kingmaker’). It might thus be argued that while in the Warwick household he learnt to dislike the Woodvilles as much as Warwick and his brother Clarence did. Yet he did not join them in their rebellion of 1469 but joined Edward against them. His loyalty to his brother may have led to an acceptance of, if not a liking for, his new in-laws.  There is nothing to suggest that he came into contact with the Woodvilles before 1469.

In May 1469 Richard may have attended the Garter ceremony at Windsor and he was with Edward in June on a pilgrimage to Bury St Edmunds. Also present on both occasions were Lord Rivers, Anthony, Lord Scales and other Woodvilles. It was during the pilgrimage that Edward heard about Warwick’s rebellion. Edward went to Nottingham to raise troops; presumably he sent Rivers to Northampton while Scales remained in East Anglia. Richard’s whereabouts are unknown. In July Rivers and his youngest son, John, were captured and executed by Warwick. Edward himself fell into Warwick’s hands and was taken north, but by September he had been released, and went back to London. On 17 October he created Richard Constable of England. This may have produced the first reason for conflict between Richard and the Woodvilles. The elder Lord Rivers had previously held the office of Constable; it had been made an hereditary title and Anthony, now Lord Rivers, could have expected to assume the office. Perhaps Edward came to some arrangement with Anthony to waive his claim in Richard’s favour.

When rebellion broke out again in 1470 Edward was forced to flee the country. With him were Richard, Anthony Woodvilles and William, Lord Hastings. They headed for the coast at Lynn where they took ship for the Low Countries. Richard and Anthony were together on the same ship, sharing exile and an equal desire to return Edward to the throne.

Rosemary Horrox has suggested a ‘family’ link between Richard and the Woodvilles. Richard held lands in East Anglia, and in the receiver’s accounts for these lands is an annuity of £5 payable to Katherine Haute. The Hautes were related to the Woodvilles through the marriage of earl Rivers sister Joan to Sir William Haute. The suggestion is that Katherine was Richard’s mistress, as his illegitimate daughter was called Katherine. (Katherine married James Haute).(3) Richard Haute junior, , was also associated with Richard, serving with him on the Scottish campaign and being knighted by him. There were therefore links with the wider Woodvilles family.

There are other links between Richard and the Woodvilles in East Anglia. In 1471 Richard had been granted the confiscated estates of Lewis FitzLewis. On 16 March 1475 Richard granted these lands to Elizabeth Woodvilles and others, possibly at Edward’s request? This would have bolstered Woodvilles holdings in the region. In March 1483 Anthony asked Richard to act as an arbitrator in a dispute he had with Roger Townshend over property in Norfolk. This suggests co-operation between Richard and the Woodvilles and at least an element of trust.

In February 1472 Elizabeth had granted Richard ‘a stewardship worth £100 a year’ (2). This was during the dispute between Richard and Clarence over the Warwick lands. Elizabeth was clearly demonstrating who she was giving her support to, but this should perhaps be viewed in the light of her hostility towards Clarence rather than any deep affection for Richard. In January 1478 Richard was in London to attend the marriage of Prince Richard, Duke of York to Anne Mowbray. In the previous November he had paid homage to the young prince for his Norfolk lands, attended the council held at Westminster and the events held to celebrate his young nephew’s marriage.

The execution of Clarence in 1478 is often cited as the reason for Richard’s withdrawal from court and his hatred for the Woodvilles. Mancini, writing in 1483, thought so. He claimed Richard ‘avoided the jealousy of the queen from whom he lived far separated’. (1). He speaks of ‘long-standing hostility’ between the Queen and Clarence. Sir Thomas More explained Clarence’s death as being brought about ‘by the Queene and the Lordes of her bloode which highlye maligned the kynges kindred’ (2). Mancini goes on to claim that  ‘At that time Richard duke of Gloucester was so overcome with grief for his brother that he could not dissimulate so well, but that he was overheard to say that he would one day avenge his brother’s death’. More makes a similar comment, though he believed Richard’s grief was ‘simulated’ (2). 

Credence is given to these stories by the case of the earl of Desmond. Elizabeth was held responsible for the death of Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, in 1468. When Richard was king he gave instructions for those responsible for Desmond’s killing to be prosecuted and sympathised with his son, claiming particular understanding because ‘… of his brother the duc of Clarence, as other his nighe kynnesmen and gret frendes’ (1). This is seen as referring to Elizabeth’s share in the responsibility for their deaths, although the document does not name her.*

It is important to remember that these statements all relate to 1483 and later. Richard benefited from the death of Clarence, and there is no evidence to indicate that he went against Edward and put in a good word to try and save Clarence.

Between 1478 and 1483 Richard was busy in the North, especially in the war against Scotland. His absence from the court can therefore be easily explained. It was the speed with which events unfolded in 1483 and his change from loyal brother and supporter of the crown to usurper that has caused most speculation and the need for a satisfactory explanation. Distrust and hatred of the Woodvilles seems the best solution. Certainly Mancini and More felt this to be a satisfactory explanation. It is certainly true that the action of Hastings in April 1483 in support of Richard was motivated by a distrust of the Woodvilles and the fear of a Woodvilles-dominated king. But then Hastings had fallen foul of the Woodvilles over his appointment as captain of Calais. Also there were a number of nobles who had been deprived by the Woodvilles of their due inheritance and they looked for an opportunity for redress. The council too was uneasy about a Woodvilles-dominated king, again according to Mancini they had voted against a Woodvilles regency because Dorset had claimed ‘… we are so important, that even without the king’s uncle we can make and enforce these decisions’. (5)

Richard’s actions once he had control of the young king seem to enforce this line of reasoning. He did not hesitate to execute Antony Woodvilles or his nephew Richard Grey. According to More, during a council meeting in the Tower Richard claimed Elizabeth had used witchcraft against him. On June 10 Richard sent an urgent message to York asking for help ‘against the queen, her blood adherents and affinity, which have intended and daily doeth intend, to murder and utterly destroy us and our cousin, … by their damnable ways …’ (5).

However, these were exceptional times. It is perhaps too easy to read something into the past to explain these events. Did Richard’s actions in 1483 really require him to have a longstanding hatred of the Woodvilles? His loyalty had been to Edward, and while his brother lived a balance was maintained between the demands and desires of the Woodvilles and the ambition and desires of Richard. The unexpected death of Edward and the prospect of a young Woodvilles king changed the status quo heavily in the Woodvilles’ favour. Richard’s primary loyalty now was surely to himself and his family and protecting them and his interests. He did not really need to like or dislike the Woodvilles to carry out this aim.

Books

(1) David Baldwin, Elizabeth Woodville, 2004
(2) Michael Hicks, ‘False, Fleeting, Perjur’d Clarence’, 1980
(3) Rosemary Horrox, Richard III: A Study in Service, 1989
(4) Paul Murray Kendall, Richard III, London 1973 edition
(5) Charles Ross, Richard III, 1981

* The execution of the earl of Desmond has been the subject of a recent article by John Ashdown-Hill and Annette Carson, in volume 15 of The Ricardian