The Reluctant Queen

The Rift

Everyone at Middleham was talking about the king's marriage and I guessed it was being discussed all over the country. There was a great deal I did not know at the time but I learned later, little by little.

To my father's chagrin, the people where on the king's side. Was it not just what the handsome boy would do? And, like the romantic lover that he was, he snapped his fingers at conventions and married the object of his devotion.

"God bless him" said the people.

"He may be a king but he is a gallant boy at heart."

It was indeed a romantic story. He had met Elizabeth Woodville in the forest by chance, it was said; but there were some who laughed that to scorn. Who was this woman? She was older than he was and already a mother with two children by her first marriage. She, with her mother, had planned the whole episode. She had stood there, her golden hair loose about her shoulders, holding her two boys by the hand and when the king had appeared she had knelt and begged him to restore her late husband's estates; and, so attracted was he by her outstanding beauty that she was able to trap him into marriage.

Isabel was obsessed with the subject; she was a little piqued because the king had come to Middleham and seen her. Yet he had not fallen madly in love with her. How she envied Elizabeth Woodville!

"It is witchcraft, of course," she said.

"Elizabeth Woodville's mother is said to be a witch. And who is Elizabeth Woodville? There are ladies of higher birth than she is who would have been far more suitable. Oh yes, it was certainly witchcraft."

"Ladies of high birth such as the daughter of the Earl of Warwick?" I asked rather maliciously."I feel sure that if I had been older I studied her. She really was very pretty and well aware of it. Yes, I thought, perhaps if she had been older ... how differently my father would have felt about that! Then he would not be regretting the cancellation of the plans for marrying the king to Bona of Savoy. It was hard to imagine Isabel, my sister, Queen of

"Of course." I said, "the new Queen's mother was the widow of the Duke of Bedford so she is connected with royalty. Was not the Duke of Bedford brother of King Henry the Fifth?"

"Yes, but when he died, she married Sir Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers, and he was killed in battle ... fighting against the king!"

"That's what makes it all so romantic!"

"Everyone expected she would be his mistress, but she said, "No, I will not have you unless you marry me." Had I been her, that is what I should have said."

"If he had wanted to marry you he could have done so without any fuss. Our father would have liked that, surely. In fact, I wonder he did not arrange it."

"He should have done so," she said almost tearfully.

"But it is too late now."

"Isabel, have you thought what this is going to mean to us?"

"We shall not be Yorkists any more."

"Then what shall we be?"

"I suppose," she said, "we shall have to wait and see."

"Does this mean that they are our enemies ... Richard ... George ...?"

She looked grave at the suggestion.

"I do not think," I went on, "that I would ever be Richard's enemy ... certainly not just because his brother had married Elizabeth Woodville."

"Our father is very angry."

"I know. He shuts himself away and does not talk to anyone but our mother."

"He is so shocked by all this. He thought that, as he had made Edward king, he could make him do exactly what he wanted. What has upset him so much is to find he cannot."

And so we talked and scarcely of anything else. We heard rumours of the king's besotted love for his new wife. He had given her everything she wanted and her family were already filling most of the important posts in the country. It seemed that we were in danger of being ruled no longer by the Earl of Warwick, but by the Woodvilles.

There was tension throughout the castle. We all knew that the storm must break soon.

And so we waited for it.

Eventually my father began to look more like his old self, but his anger still burned within him, and, as was proved later, he was making plans.

As Premier Earl of the Kingdom, it would naturally fall to him to present the new queen to the Lords in Reading Abbey. For a few hours he raged and stormed in my mother's presence and declared it would be an added insult for him to do this and he would not endure it; but she managed to persuade him that to decline would mean an open rift with the king himself and this was not the time for that. He saw the good sense of this.

There was so much talk about the situation between the king and the earl that I could not help hearing it and, although at that time I was not old enough to understand it all, I did later, for this quarrel was one which was talked of for years to come.

My father did go to Reading to the ceremony and stood on one side of Queen Elizabeth, while George of Clarence stood on the other and they presented her to the Lords and listened to their acceptance of her as Queen Elizabeth.

I can picture that cold and beautiful woman the poor widow of a man killed in action fighting against the king whom she had now married. I can picture the triumph in her eyes, for she had reached the height of her ambition and, being shrewd, as she proved in later years, she must have been amused to be presented to the Lords of the Realm by the man who, she knew, disapproved with all his heart of her marriage and was now, for the sake of expediency, being forced to accept it.

There was something very significant which came out of that ceremony, for my father's companion in this distasteful office, George, Duke of Clarence, shared the resentment of his brother's marriage as fervently as my father did. It was the beginning of that alliance between Warwick and Clarence.

My father soon began to realise that the marriage was even more disastrous than he had first thought. It was not merely an instance of the king's showing that he had a will of his own and was determined to make his own decisions. The queen had a rapacious and ambitious family, all eager to exploit the amazing good luck which had come to them. The king was under the spell of his wife and that meant grand marriages for members of her family and there were many of them. My father could see that through these alliances with the richest and most powerful men in the land and the taking over of important posts, before long there would be another family ruling England and taking over from the Nevilles. As he and his family had risen to great power through advantageous marriages, none knew better how this could be achieved.

I learned that it was when my father heard that the queen's sister was betrothed to the Earl of Arundel's heir, Lord Maltravers, that his rage broke forth.

Without my mother to restrain him, he took an unprecedented action. He went to the king's chambers and confronted Edward and there gave vent to his anger.

He told the king that it was an act of folly to have married a woman of no standing in the realm, one who had already had a husband and had two sons as old as the king's own brothers, and who came of a family who had actually fought with the enemy.

Moreover, he had placed him, Warwick, his loyal friend and ally, in an invidious position by allowing him to parley with the King of France for a marriage with Bona of Savoy while he was already married. So he had insulted the man who, more than any other, had helped him to the throne.

I see now how clearly that encounter reveals the character of those two men. My father was ambitious in the extreme; he was single-minded, possessed of certain gifts, but he showed a lack of wisdom in some ways. His great rise to power had been largely through the accumulation of wealth and luck; of course, he had made the most of his opportunities, but I have come to wonder whether he lacked the essential qualities for greatness.

Edward was a man of easy temper, it was true. But my father had miscalculated in summing up his character. Edward was luxury-loving, a man who wanted to be on good terms with those about him; he disliked quarrels, I think, partly because he thought they were a waste of time and energy; he saw himself as the benign monarch; he went about the countryside bestowing his smiles on all his people and particularly the female section. He knew that he had behaved badly to my father, but the earl would never understand the sensual nature of a man like the king. Edward had seen Elizabeth Woodville; she had refused to become his mistress: and therefore, because of his insuppressible desire for her, he had been forced to marry her. How could he explain that to a man like Warwick? On the other hand, he was grateful to Warwick, and it grieved him to disappoint him. Perhaps it would have occurred to him that the king should not tolerate a subject's insolence and he should order his arrest. But Edward was not impulsive. Some might think so because of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, but that had been a calculated act; simply, he had had to marry Elizabeth because his desire could not be slaked in any other way.

He would realise, too, that if he ordered Warwick's arrest a civil war might be provoked. He might have seen Warwick joining with the Lancastrians and that would certainly mean disaster for the House of York. So he did what was typical of him. He set aside his kingship and talked to Warwick as though he were still his friend.

The queen's mother was the widow of the Duke of Bedford, he explained gently. She was of the noble house of Luxembourg. There were royal connections on her mother's side. It was unfortunate that she had married a Lancastrian, but that was no fault of hers. Young girls could not choose their husbands. She was beautiful and had already shown herself capable of bearing strong healthy children. If the Earl of Warwick would set aside his disappointment about the marriage to Bona of Savoy, he would realise there was nothing to regret. And such a matter should not come between old friends.

Edward, as everyone knew, was one of the most charming of men, and he did manage to some extent to soothe my father's wounds. There was a reconciliation of a kind. The king embraced the earl and said: "There has been too much friendship between us two, Warwick, for this matter to spoil it."

My father's anger must have cooled sufficiently for him to realise that it would be folly for him to indulge in more outbursts and commonsense got the better of anger. He appeared to agree with the king.

But whatever was said, danger was looming. The Woodvilleswere trying to oust the Nevilles and that was quite unacceptable. My father returned to Middleham.

Richard, naturally, was no longer at Middleham, and I wondered if he would ever come back. But I did see him not very long after the quarrel.

One day my mother called Isabel and me to come to her and she told us we were going on a journey. She looked happier than she had for some time.

"Your uncle George is to be made Archbishop of York, and there will be a grand banquet afterwards. All the nobility will be there and your father wants every member of the family to be present if possible."

Isabel was very excited.

"Will the king be there?" she asked.

"Oh no. I don't expect the king will be there. But he will surely send someone to represent him. We shall see."

I was thinking, could it be that Richard would be there?. The prospect of seeing him made me very happy. Moreover if he were, it might be an indication that this feud between the king and my father was coming to an end.

"We shall go to Cawood Castle," went on my mother.

"It is very pleasant there on the south bank of the Ouse. We shall have the river and it is only ten miles from York, so after the ceremony the company will, with your father and the archbishop, join us there for the feast."

In due course we set out for Cawood and as soon as we arrived, if we had not been aware of it before, we would have realised what an important occasion this was. The castle was swarming with retainers. There were fifty cooks at work in the kitchens and the carcasses of sheep, cattle, pigs, swans and geese were being prepared for the table, together with artistically fashioned pastry commemorating the archbishop's elevation and the power of the Nevilles. It was borne home to me that there was something significant about this occasion.

The party arrived from York and, to my great joy, riding with my father and uncle was Richard.

In the great hall I was seated at the long table with my mother, and Isabel and Richard was with us. He gave me his rare smite! and I knew that meant that he was glad to see me.

All the feasting ... the drinking ... the dancing ... the splendour indicated one thing: the power of the Nevilles which was by no means diminished. The local peasantry had the earl's permission to go the kitchens and take as much meat as they could carry off on their knives; and for that they were ready to throw their caps in the air at any time and shout "A Warwick" as often and as enthusiastically as the great earl wished.

It was a reminder to all that the Nevilles were not to be treated with disdain. The king might travel about the south, smiling and courteous, winning the approbation of the people, but this was the north and the Nevilles were the lords of the north. They had wrested the title from the Percys; and these sturdy, down-to-earth people were not the sort to be seduced by a few superficial smiles.

I could see that Richard was not happy. I longed to talk to him, but I could not do so at the table before my mother, Isabel and the guests who sat with us. But I determined to find an opportunity of doing so before he went away.

It had always been a habit of his to go off alone somewhere and eventually I found him. He was walking in the castle grounds and I called to him."

"Richard, I'm here. Or do you want to be left alone?"

"I don't mind you," he said.

"I was hoping to have a talk with you. Oh, Richard, how deep is this trouble between the king and my father?"

"Your father is making it deep."

"Has he no reason?"

"I suppose there are some who would say he has." He turned anxious eyes to me.

"You know of my brother's marriage?"

"Everyone knows."

"A man must marry where he will."

"Must not a king think of his country?"

"My brother thinks of his country. They are demanding that he get an heir. That is what he is preparing to give them."

"But I have heard that my father was negotiating with the King of France for a suitable marriage. The king allowed him to do so while he was already married."

"I know. Perhaps the king should have told your father. But it is more than that, Anne. The king does not wish others to tell him what he must do. He decides for himself. That is what he means your father to understand. He is sorry to be on ill terms. He does not forget the good service your father has given him in the past and the friendship between them. But he will make his own choice and he has chosen this queen."

"So you, too, are against my father?"

He shook his head.

"I have admired your father more than any man except my brother. They have both been ideals to me. I have often wished that I could be like them. But your father must remember that it is my brother who is the king. The people shout for Warwick in the streets, it is true. I believe that, next to my brother, they respect him more than any other man. It grieves me as much as it does you that they should not be good friends."

"What does George say?"

He was silent for a few seconds. Then he said slowly: "George does not like the queen. George is always ... a little critical. Secretly, I think he would like to be king himself. He is handsome and clever ... and people like him. But he should know that not he nor anyone ... could compete with Edward."

"How loyal you are to the king!"

"I would die rather than fail him. I have taken for my motto "Loyaulte me lie!" I think loyalty is the most important virtue and that is what I have for Edward."

"He is fortunate to have such a brother."

"Nay. It is I who am the fortunate one." Tell me. Why does George not like the queen?"

"George would not like any queen my brother had, for if she produces a son, George would be a step backwards from the throne. Now, you see, he is next in line. I believe that is at the heart of George's dislike. Besides ..."

"Besides, what?"

"Well, the queen is haughty. People have to kneel before her all the time. It is what happens. She was of no importance before her marriage. Now she is the queen and she wants no one to forget it."

"That will not make her very popular."

"I believe she does not crave popularity. She just wants to be the Queen of England. Surely that is ambition enough."

"Richard, I believe you do not like her either."

"Have I shown that?"

"Yes, you have." .

He hesitated for a moment, then he said: "The Woodvilles are arrogant. They have come too high too quickly. They are pushing themselves into the highest positions in the land; and the queen is seeking great marriages for all her relations ... her sons ... her brothers. There are many of them. People are saying that before long we shall have the Woodville clan ousting ..."

'... ousting the Nevilles," I finished.

"Yes, they are saying that. We shall be ruled by the Woodvilles and the Woodvilles are unfit for high office."

"So you see why my father is so upset."

"I understand, and it grieves me. My brother has been kind to your father. He stormed into the king's chambers and actually dared berate him. My brother was so calm ... so reasonable!

"Poor Warwick!" he said.

"I should have told him I was married and not let him go on making plans with the old Spider. Yes, I understand his wrath. He has been of good service to me and I am ready to forget that outburst. I am ready to be his good friend again." There! You see how forgiving he can be. He does not want conflict with his old friend. If only your father would be friends again, my brother would be ready."

"He will, I am sure."

"He must be."

"And in the meantime, does that mean that you will not be staying at Middleham?"

"I am here now only for this celebration."

"I am so glad you came, Richard. Oh, how I wish for a return to the old days before there was this trouble."

"We were always good friends, you and I, Anne," he said.

"Let us always be."

"That is what I want. Very much I want it."

"We will agree then that, whatever happens, you and I will always be friends."

How readily I agreed to that.

We returned to Middleham and Richard said goodbye to me and went to join his brother.

Life settled down to what it had been. There were boys in the tiltyard and in the fields doing their martial exercises, but I was not interested because Richard was not among them.

I was learning more about what was going on. The quarrel between my father and the king had made me more aware. There were times when there was no sign of the rift, but it was there, and occasionally it was brought to our notice.

When there was a visiting embassy from Bohemia, I think -and the king was anxious to entertain the emissaries lavishly, we heard that he had offered them a banquet with fifty different courses of the finest foods. Everyone gasped with wonder until they heard that the Earl of Warwick had invited the visitors to Warwick Court where sixty courses were offered; and that because of the earl's generous gesture in allowing the people to come to the kitchens and take away the surplus food, there was rejoicing in the streets because Warwick was in town. The cries of "A Warwick!"

"Long live the great earl!" were heard far into the night. A reminder to the king that, although he wore the crown -put on his head by Warwick the earl was still to be reckoned with and the quarrel with the king had not diminished his popularity with the people; and they were of paramount importance when it came to keeping a king on the throne.

In spite of his half-hidden rancour, my father stood sponsor when Elizabeth Woodville produced her first child a daughter, named Elizabeth after her mother; and George, Archbishop of York, performed the ceremony.

When it was suggested that Charles, Count of Charolais, heir to Philip, Duke of Burgundy, might marry the king's sister, Margaret, it was the Earl of Warwick who was the natural emissary sent to arrange the match. He was the best of ambassadors, on good terms with the King of France and not on ill ones with Burgundy. The king must be aware that it would not be good for him if there was warfare between him and his old friend.

My mother now talked to us more freely. Isabel was growing up and, as her sister, constantly in her company, I might have appeared older than my years. In any case, I was present at some of these conversations.

"I do wish this trouble between them was over," said my mother. They really cannot do without each other. Sometimes I think your father is on the point of forgiving the king, and beginning to see that the marriage was the impetuous act of a young man in love."

Isabel sighed. She could not forget that the king had seen her and he had looked at her in what she thought was a special way for her alone. I hoped she was now realising that there was nothing special about it; it was his way of looking at all women, young or old. It was the secret of his charm, for what woman could resist such looks which implied that she was desirable above all others -until she realised they were given to all members of her sex.

We were all hoping that my mother was right; and indeed, when my father was away from home on a mission for the king, it seemed that she might be.

Two events took place which brought my father's scheme out into the open and after that even I knew that there was little hope of reconciliation.

My cousin George, son of John Neville, was betrothed to the heiress of the Duke of Exeter a match which had my father's complete approval. However, the queen had other ideas for the Exeter fortune and thought it would do very well for the elder of her two sons at that time Sir Thomas Grey. As the king gave in to the queen in almost everything she demanded, she succeeded in this matter; and my father's wrath was great.

He was at Middleham when he heard the news from his brother, and he did not have to hide his rage from his wife and family.

"What are we coming to?" he demanded.

"It is only a short time ago when the queen's father was appointed Treasurer of England and made Earl Rivers. Whatever that rapacious witch asks for is given her!"

But the real cause of my father's disquiet, and what made him give up trying to hide his real motives, was that the king was planning to find a bride for his brother George, Duke of Clarence, and he had settled on Mary, daughter of Charles of Burgundy.

My father had other plans for Clarence.

George, Duke of Clarence, came to Middleham. His reception was as grand as that given to the king when he had visited us.

"Well," said Isabel, smiling secretly, "is he not the king's brother?" There was feasting and revelry with the usual entertainments, but what struck me most was the show of affection between my father and the duke. They were cloistered together: one saw them walking arm in arm in the gardens and they were always deep in discussion.

This meant something, I was sure: and I was soon to discover what. It was through Isabel, as usual. de his rage from I had retired for the night and my woman had just left me when Isabel came in. She looked very pretty, radiant in fact.

The most wonderful thing has happened," she announced.

"I am going to be married!"

"Well." I said.

"It was certain to come sooner or later. You are no longer very young."

"Why don't you ask who my bridegroom is to be?"

"You know you are longing to tell me."

"It is George."

"So that is what all this is about."

"Yes. He came here to ask me. Our father is delighted. So everything is just as it should be."

"Arid the king is pleased?"

She looked at me blankly.

"The king ...?"

"Wouldn't he have to give his consent? George is his brother."

"Of course the king will be pleased, and if my father wants it, it will be."

"It is all very mysterious. What is going on between our father and the king, I mean. They are not the friends they once were."

"Oh, be silent. You are jealous."

"I'm not. I'm just hoping it is going to be all right."

She sat on my bed.

"I shall go to court. I shall wear wonderful gowns. George is so good-looking, is he not? They say he is remarkably like the king. Just suppose the king did not have any heirs ..."

"He already has a daughter. You are going too fast. Let us get you married first. When is the wedding to be?"

"Hush. It is not to be generally known at first. You forget who George is."

"I certainly do not!"

"There are all sorts of things that have to be arranged. It is a secret so far."

"So you immediately tell me!"

"You don't count."

Thank you."

"I mean you are my little sister, and haven't I always told you things?"

"You have ... now and then."

She flung her arms round me and hugged me.

"I'm so happy, Anne. I always loved George, you know. He is rather wonderful, is he not? He's always so merry and good at things ... just everything." She sighed.

"He would make a very good king."

I could not help feeling a little uneasy not only because of my father's strained relations with the king, but there was something else. I confessed it to myself now. There was something I did not like about George. He was not exactly shifty but watchful. He had too much charm and it was not like the king's which appeared to be so spontaneous. There had always seemed to me to be something calculating about George. I had noticed a rather petulant look when his brother Edward's name was mentioned. I had a feeling that he was furious with a fate which had not made him the first born. But then, perhaps I was comparing him with Richard.

But I had to rejoice with Isabel. She was so pleased with life. She had wanted to be married for some time, but it had to be to the right person. It seemed to her now that George was that person. Brother to the king! She was thinking that a glorious future awaited him ... and her.

When my mother heard that Isabel had told me the news she sent for me.

"Anne," she said.

"I want to talk to you. Isabel has spoken to you, I believe."

"You mean about her betrothal, my lady?"

"I mean that. She is so happy that she must talk of it, but your father does not wish it to be announced just yet. There are one or two little matters which have to be arranged first."

"Yes, my lady."

"Your father did not know that George would ask Isabel yet. He meant there to be certain negotiations ... then we could have been sure that all would be well."

"Is all... not well, my lady?"

"Oh yes ... it will be. George, of course, will have to have the king's consent."

"And you think the king may not give it?"

"Your father thinks it an excellent match and the king will think so, too."

I looked at her disbelievingly. Even I knew that those days had gone when the will of the Earl of Warwick was the king's.

"Isabel is one of the greatest heiresses in the country, as you will be, my child. Your father is, after all, the great Earl of Warwick. Most young men would find that irresistible, but this is particularly agreeable, for it is not as though George and Isabel were strangers. They were drawn to each other from the first, so it is an ideal match. But we have to keep quiet about it."

She paused and sighed. I guessed she was wondering how much it would be necessary to tell me. I know I appeared older than my years and, being my father's daughter, although leading a sheltered life at Middleham, I had been aware of events.

She went on: "You will have heard that the Woodvilles have taken over the court... more or less. There are so many of them. Your father might have been reconciled even to the queen if she had not brought in her numerous relations to take charge of everything. As I said, Isabel is an heiress. It may well be that one of the Woodvilles would seek to marry her and the queen would wheedle the king into allowing this."

"Against his own brother's wishes?"

The queen has her methods of getting her own way. But enough of that. Suffice it that your father and I do not wish this proposed marriage to be discussed until it is ripe to do so. There is another matter which could mean delay. There is a blood relationship, between Isabel and George, so there will have to be a dispensation from the Pope."

"I had not thought of that."

She smiled at me.

"Well, I have made the point. Do not mention this to anyone. It is a secret just as yet. Isabel was very indiscreet to tell you but, dear child, she was so happy. So ... let us rejoice with her and pray all goes well and that soon she will be George's happy wife. You understand?"

"Yes, my lady," I said meekly.

My uncle George Neville, Archbishop of York, arrived at Middleham. He was the most important of my father's brothers and completely dedicated to the advancement of the Nevilles; thus he worked in close contact with my father.

Uncle John, who had recently been so uneasy about the relationship between the king and my father, was torn between his loyalty to the crown and to his family. Not so with Uncle George. He was wholeheartedly for the restoration of power to the Nevilles.

As Chancellor and Archbishop, Uncle George was a very powerful man and he had been asked to Middleham for a purpose.

At the time I was not sure what that purpose was but later I learned that he had come to discuss the dispensation which would be required from Rome before the marriage of George and Isabel could take place.

My uncle was involved in two missions in Rome: one the dispensation and the other his hope of receiving a cardinal's hat. Both must be kept secret from the king, of course, because it seemed likely he would approve of neither.

So during my uncle's stay at Middleham, there were many secret meetings between him, my father and the Duke of Clarence.

I was rather disturbed. I could not help wondering what Richard would think of all this. That he would deplore it, I was sure, but it would mean that these three were not working in unison with his brother Edward.

Isabel, however, thought it was immensely exciting. Whether she was in love with George or the prospect of making a brilliant marriage, I was not sure. Certainly she and George seemed very happy together; and there was no doubt of his charm, but for some reason I could not entirely trust him and I wondered how deep his feelings went.

During that visit there was a great deal of talk about the Woodvilles and their influence at court. George was less discreet than my father and uncle. He told Isabel and Isabel told me that the main trouble with the queen's family was that they flattered the king and fell in with everything he said. He liked that. It made life easy. And then that woman would come along with her request for this and that... and it was the simplest way to give it to her.

"George says that the king is not faithful to the queen." said Isabel.

"She knows it but she never reproaches him. She just treats it as though it is natural. I told George I would never be like that so he will have to be a good husband when he marries me. He says Elizabeth is very clever. All she cares about is having children and getting her family into high places and rich marriages. He says she will think of one for him and one for me ... and it won't be for us to be married to each other but to a Woodville for each of us. That makes us laugh, because we are going to marry each other, says George, and nothing is going to prevent us."

"Oh, Isabel," I cried.

"I hope it all comes right for you."

"Of course it will come right. Our father will see to that." When I look back over that time, I can follow step by step how everything fell into place and how gradually we approached disaster.

Now that I see it all so much more clearly and with the advantage of hindsight, I cannot blame my father. He had worked hard to attain his power but he had simply misjudged his puppet. He had found it difficult to understand the nature of Edward and it was imperative for him to do so if he were to succeed in his schemes. He had dismissed Edward as a light-living luxury-loving young man which he was but there was another side to his nature.

From the beginning Edward had the making of a king who was determined to become one and remain one. This my father failed to see. Edward was a great soldier and so far had never been beaten on the battlefield. He had avoided conflict, was not in the least vindictive, and was inclined to forgive his enemies and bear few grudges, and this, in some ways, added to his strength. He knew what he owed to my father; he realised he could be a powerful enemy; but Edward was determined to rule in his way and no other man's. When he had sought the crown and Warwick had helped him attain it, he had listened and obeyed his mentor the earl because he recognised his power at the time to make or break him; but he was now made; he was the king and all must be made aware of it.

I think that was the true state of affairs and who could blame Edward? My father had agreed to accept him as king, to work for him and serve him. The quarrel over Edward's marriage could have been forgotten and the king would have borne no rancour. They could have resumed their normal relationship and have been of inestimable help to each other. It was my father's pride -and that only which stood in the way of a reconciliation.

There was a difference of opinion between them on foreign policy. My father had been wooed by the King of France who had seen in him the real ruler of England, which had been true in the first period of Edward's reign. My father greatly valued the friendship of France. For many years there had been conflict between the royal house of France and that of Burgundy; and both the French and the Burgundians would be watching what was happening in England and would be aware of the coolness between the king and the Earl of Warwick. Therefore Burgundy decided to woo Edward.

Since he had come to the throne, Edward had matured considerably and he would have realised that my father's power was increased by the support of the King of France. He had given my father the chance to patch up their quarrel, but Edward would know that the resentment still smouldered and would grow when Warwick fully understood that Edward was no longer prepared to be led.

He may well, at this time, have come to think of my father as an enemy. My father was a little careless and so was the archbishop, for when the Pope's emissary came to England, he did not present himself to the court in the customary manner, but went straight to The Moor in Hertfordshire which was the archbishop's residence in the South of England.

It was natural that the king should want to know what business was taking place between Rome and the archbishop and he must have discovered that he was seeking not only to become a cardinal but also a dispensation for the marriage of George and Isabel.

This would have made Edward highly suspicious, for neither of these projects had his approval.

Poor Isabel! I was glad she did not know at that time of all the difficulties which were being put in her way. She was too blissfully happy to accept the fact that she was just a pawn in the game to be moved whichever way was most advantageous to the players.

My father managed to persuade the king that it was necessary for him to accept an invitation to the court of France.

I remember his departure at the head of a cavalcade, and heard the shouts of "A Warwick!" and "Long live the earl." It was very heartening. When we saw him thus we could believe he really was mightier than the king and that Edward must soon realise this and it would all be as it had been before.

It was unfortunate that no sooner had my father left for France than emissaries from the Duke of Burgundy arrived. We heard about the magnificent reception they had received at court and The Rift how feasting and jousting had been arranged to make the visitors understand how welcome they were. It was a situation which needed my father's attention and he should not have been out of England at such a time.

But how were we, at Middleham, to know that momentous events were building up to a climax which would change our' lives?

We heard vague rumours and we did know that the; Burgundians were in England and being well received by the king while my father was being feted by the enemy of Burgundy in France which was a strange situation.

Visitors to Middleham told us how the Woodvilles were very much to the fore, making sure that the visitors from Burgundy noticed them; and they made it clear that they had the friendship of this powerful family which had so recently come into evidence. Meanwhile the king showed his regard for the Burgundians by inviting them to the opening of Parliament. My mother was worried, I knew, though she said nothing.

"Who cares about the Burgundians!" said Isabel.

"As soon as we get the dispensation, George and I will be married. And once we are, nobody can stop us."

"Do you think it will be easy to get the dispensation?" I asked.

"Of course."

"I think what our mother is worried about is that the king has all these people at court while our father is a guest of the King of France and he is not friendly with Burgundy."

"What do you know about it?"

"Very little. But then, what do you know?"

"I know I am going to marry George and that is all that matters to me."

I knew Isabel well, so I was fully aware that she did not want to think of all these conflicts because in her heart she knew that her fate was not in her own hands or even those of George; but in those of my father and the King of England.

Then something rather alarming did happen. If my father had been in England, it might not have come to pass, but he was away and, although Uncle George was determined to fight for the family of Neville, he was not sure how to do it. We learned of this through a visitor to the castle. It was some distant cousin who had called to tell my mother the was and I suppose to assure us that our most humble connections "ever forgot that they belonged to the House of Neville. My mother sent for refreshments for him, but before they were brought, he blurted out: "The Archbishop of York is no longer Chancellor, my lady."

"What?" cried my mother. She had turned so pale I thought she was going to faint.

"My lady, when the archbishop knew that the Burgundians were going to attend the opening of Parliament, he sent a message to say he was too ill to deliver the Chancellor's address."

"But it is the custom." stammered my mother.

"Yet... if he were ill..."

"My lady, they say that the king did not believe he was ill and looked upon it as an insult to Burgundy."

My mother put her hand to her head.

"And ... so the king has taken the Great Seal?"

"Yes, my lady. My Lord Herbert rode with the king to the archbishop's palace and asked him to give it up."

The earl will be ... angry."

"Yes, my lady."

"And what of the Great Seal?"

"It has been given to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, my lady."

"Is that all?"

"My lady, it is enough."

"What does this mean!" I asked my mother later.

"It is a slight on the family."

"If my father were here ..."

"I don't know of anything that he could have done. It is another instance of the king's declaring that he will go his own way."

"But to take the Chancellorship from Uncle George ..." I said.

"Your father will regret leaving England."

Isabel had not spoken. I knew she was wondering what effect this would have on the dispensation.

I think that incident, more than any other, brought home to us the fact that our father was no longer the most powerful man in England.

The entertaining of the Burgundians came to an abrupt end when news reached England of the death of Duke Philip of Burgundy and the emissaries prepared to leave. Duke Philip was succeeded by his son, Charles, which made the proposed match with Margaret of York, the king's sister, even more desirable, for now she would be marrying the duke himself instead of his heir. My father returned from France.

At Middleham we waited in some trepidation to see what would happen next. I know my mother wished we were at Warwick Court in London rather than Middleham, so that she would have been closer to events. As it was, we had to wait until news was brought to us, which was very frustrating.

It seemed a long time before my father arrived at Middleham and when he did, none could help but be aware of his smouldering rage: and in the heart of his family he let it burst forth.

"The King has chosen Burgundy!" he said.

"He will now be the enemy of France. Everything I have worked for has been thrown away at the instigation of these traitors."

We all knew that the traitors were the Woodvilles, for all the troubles dated back to the king's marriage. If only it had ended there. But the woman whom the king had married was surrounded by scheming relations and they had determined to set themselves up and rule England in place of the Nevilles. The great disaster was that they were succeeding. I learned what had happened later. It seemed certain that the king's sister was destined to become the Duchess of Burgundy. Moreover, when an embassy from the King of France arrived in England its members were coldly received.

"There was no one to meet them," said my father, "except myself and Clarence! Clarence has been my friend in this." That pleased Isabel.

"Of course, he would be father's friend," she said.

"He is going to be his son-in-law."

I looked at her sadly and prayed she would not be disappointed. She would be miserable if anything stopped the marriage she had set her heart on.

"I asked the king to see them and he agreed," I heard my father tell my mother.

"He was reluctant, but it was less trouble to see them than make an issue of it by refusing. But all the time he was listening to them he appeared bored and inattentive. Clarence was a great help with them. They thought him charming but, of course, it could not make up for the king's manner. I apologised to them. I told them I was ashamed. Do you know what they said to me?

"Do not distress yourself, my lord earl. You will be avenged." My mother tried to soothe him, but there was little she could do.

"Our enemies have taken the Great Seal from my brother," went on my father.

"Do you realise what this means? The king has declared for Burgundy and most blatantly has he done this while I was on a mission to France."

"It is very upsetting." replied my mother.

"If you had been here it could not have happened."

"It is war." cried my father.

"Yes, this is war between the Nevilles and the Woodvilles and that means war between Warwick and the king."

It was rarely that my father spent so much time at home, but these were days of activity. There was much coming and going at the castle. One of the first to arrive was Uncle George one-time Chancellor and now only Archbishop of York.

His anger was as fierce as that of my father but perhaps, I thought, that was because he was less able to control it. For my father there had been only hints and signs; for the archbishop there had been an unmistakable blow. He would never forget the insult of the king's arrival at his London palace to demand the return of the Seal; and at this time he was obsessed by the thought of revenge.

His rage had been exacerbated by a definite insult from the king. When Edward had discovered that Uncle George was in secret negotiations not only for the dispensation needed by Clarence and Isabel, but for the support of his election to the College of Cardinals, the king himself had put forward a candidate Thomas Bourchier, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury. What made this so intolerable was that Bourchier was elected and Edward sent a personal message to Uncle George telling him so.

Uncle George said: "It is time the king was taught a lesson."

"That is so." agreed my father.

"But we should have to be very sure of success before we undertook the task of doing it."

Members of the family were gathering at Middleham. Even the most obscure were making their way to us to assure my father of their loyalty to the family.

Clarence came and, to my great delight, Richard was with him.

Richard was bewildered. I was sure he did not know what this was all about. His brother had brought him with him and Richard at first had clearly expected this to be a friendly call on the man whom, next to his brother, he admired more than any other in the kingdom.

Isabel said to me when we were alone: "It is because of our marriage that they have come. I think the king may try to stop it now that he is not on friendly terms with our father."

"Oh, Isabel, I do hope it does not go as far as that."

"Think of the way the king has treated Uncle George! My George is very angry with his brother. He says the Woodvilles have ruined him and he is too weak to resist them. What sort of a king is that?"

"Be careful what you say."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"George says that Edward is showing himself unworthy to be king. George says ..."

I turned away. George was a very indiscreet young man. I had always suspected that, and now I knew it was true.

When Isabel and I were alone with our mother, she said: "I want to talk to you girls very seriously. You know there is trouble between the king and our family. You must not listen to gossip and you must guard your tongues. You must not be tempted to say anything that could be construed as treason."

"Is my father going to war with the king?" asked Isabel.

"Hush, hush! I never heard such nonsense. Of course not. It is just a difference of opinion. Your father is the king's most loyal subject, as he always was."

Isabel pursed her lips and smiled. She had her own views and I could see that my mother was very disturbed.

Isabel talked indiscreetly but I hoped only to me, which did not count. George was evidently equally indiscreet if what she told me was true.

"George says his brother is ruining the realm," she said.

"He spends most of his time with women ... not the queen ... though she knows about it and says nothing. She never protests as long as he lets her family have all the best positions in the country. That's no way to rule a kingdom. So ... well... what if he were no longer king ...?"

"What do you mean?" I cried. There are others who could take the crown,"

"You mean ...?"

She smiled and I followed her reasoning. She was seeing herself in a crown, receiving the homage of her husband's subjects. Isabel, Queen of England.

"And you ... well, after all, you are my sister. George has a brother and I think you do not exactly dislike him."

"Richard!"

"Why not? With our father and all the Nevilles ... and the brothers of the ex-king... his sons-in-law. Well, you see ..."

"It is not possible."

"I tell you, it is ... and we are going to see that it is."

"Who?"

"George ... my father ..." she answered.

That was wild talk, but I was not entirely dismayed to hear it. I was of an age when many girls in my position would find themselves betrothed to men whom they had never seen before -yet so far nothing had been said about a husband for me. If Isabel was suitable for the Duke of Clarence then I could be for the Duke of Gloucester. In the old days it might have been a possibility but that was before this unhappy state had arisen bringing strife between my father and the king. Richard would have to marry where his brother, the king, wished him to, and so would Clarence.

I did have an opportunity of talking to Richard, and I felt a little embarrassed when I did so.

"What is going on?" he asked.

"Everything seems different."

There has been trouble. You know my Uncle George is no longer Chancellor."

"Yes, but it is the earl, your father, who has changed."

"He has much on his mind."

"He is constantly in the company of my brother George."

"Well, they were always good friends."

"But I was brought up here. I feel sure that the earl wants to tell me something. I am not sure what."

"I think he probably wants to explain his side of the question."

"Side of what question?"

"You must have seen that the king and my father have not been quite on the old terms for some time."

"Not since Edward's marriage, you mean. Your father did not like that, I know. But it is for a man and in particular a king to say whom he will and will not marry." "Kings are in very important positions."

"Certainly, but it is not the duty of subjects to show displeasure at their choice."

Richard would always support his brother. He might imply that he would have preferred his brother to have married more suitably, and that he deplored the manner in which the Woodvilles were seizing power, but his brother had given them what they had and that was an end of the matter.

I realised that I could not tell Richard of my fears and I tried to assure myself that they were unfounded.

I said no more on the subject and tried to behave exactly as I had in the days of that deep friendship between the king and my father. It was soon after that talk when guards riding at the head of a company of men-at-arms arrived at the castle.

They had come, they announced, to conduct the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester to the king who had need of their company. Clarence hesitated and was about to refuse to go, but on my father's advice he left with his brother.

Isabel was very upset at their departure. She shut herself in her room and when I went to her I found her weeping bitterly.

"You know what this means," she said.

"The king has heard that we are arranging to get married. Oh, Anne, he is going to try to stop us."

"Perhaps he will agree when the dispensation comes." She could not be comforted. She was sure this sudden and peremptory call meant that the king had heard of the arrangements and was determined to put a stop to them. It was more than a month later when Clarence came to see my , father. He looked very serious and determined. My father greeted him as though he were indeed his son and then took him away to his apartments where they were in conference for a long time. Isabel eventually learned what had happened and told me about it.

She was more cheerful now. She had been right, she said. The king did want to stop the marriage, but her gallant and faithful lover was determined to snap his fingers at his brother if need be "George is wonderful," she said.

"He is so much in love with me He said twenty kings could not keep us apart. All we want is that wretched dispensation. Otherwise, of course, they would say it was no true marriage. Let me tell you what happened."

She proceeded to do so.

"Your poor little Richard was in a fine state, because he thought his brother Edward was angry with him. George did not care if he were. But Richard was right. Edward was angry. He had them both brought before him and he wanted to know why they had arranged to leave court without his permission. Who had suggested they do it and so on. They said no one had. They had decided they would go and visit their old friend, the Earl of Warwick. Then Edward said: "Have either of you been contemplating marriage with one of Warwick's daughters?" And he reminded them that they could not marry without his consent. Richard was silent but George would not be bullied. He said why should he not marry the daughter of the Earl of Warwick? I was the best match in the kingdom! Edward lost his temper with George, which was rare for him, so he must feel strongly about this. He's usually all smiles and waving awkward things aside. He put both George and Richard in a room with guards at the door. Not for long, of course. He soon let them out and was jolly with them. But George said he was quite serious when he impressed on them that they could not marry without his consent."

"What does this mean, Isabel?"

"George says it means that as soon as the dispensation arrives we shall be married, whatever the king says."

"It could cause terrible trouble."

"It is what our father wants."

"Has it occurred to you that our father no longer has the power he once had?"

"Don't talk so about our father. It's disloyal."

"It's the truth."

She laughed at me.

"I should not be afraid to marry without the king's consent, even if you would."

"Oh, Isabel," I said.

"I hope it will not come to that."

"I can tell you this." she said.

"We have seen the last of Richard. George says he will stand by Edward. He will do nothing of which the king does not approve. So he will not be coming to Middleham again."

"I know.""How different George is! George is bold and adventurous. When George makes up his mind, no one is going to stop him, and he is determined to marry me."

I had seen the look in George's eyes, and I feared he was determined to do many things besides marry Isabel.