~Historical Notes~

Constance of Bourbon was the first woman in English history to be given a seat on the privy council and effectively ruled England during her son's regency until it ended in July of 1491. During this time she was the leading voice in English politics and implemented many reforms to England's laws that not only secured her son upon the throne but made the justice system fairer for the poor.

While his mother ruled a young and vibrant court sprang up around the young king, boasting grand feasts and dances, hunting trips and lavish displays of courtly love - of which he was a great champion. The King soon amassed a group of dashing young noblemen and in time they became affectionately known as 'the young roses' by the older nobility and people for their youthful vigour and merriment which could be heard and seen wherever they went!

The young cohort were the King's closest friends and confidants and was comprised of : George Neville, Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Suffolk's younger sons - William and Richard de la Pole, Henry Scrope, later 6th Baron Scrope of Bolton, Sir Robert Percy (son of Sir Robert Percy of Scotton), George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, William Hastings, and later the King's brother, Prince Richard, Duke of York, and his cousin, Edward of Middleham. The King kept them around him at almost all times.

It was also within these years, and before he began to bed his wife, that the King fathered three bastards - Joan Plantagenet (1486 - c.1542), Katherine Plantagenet (1490 - 1507), and William Plantagenet (1492 - 1563). It is unknown who the mother of the eldest was but many historians have suggested Jane Ashdown and Eleanor Stopher as possible candidates due to their ages and the king's movements about the country.

The mother of the younger two children was Lady Katherine Radford, daughter of Sir John Radford and later wife of Baron Aubin by the King's arrangement. Her affair with King Edward began around the summer of 1488 when the court stayed in Woodstock during the royal progress and was kept meticulously well hidden from the nobility and his queen - although there were rumours of a mistress.

Katherine rarely attended court and when she did, with her family, there was never rumoured to be an attraction between herself and the King. To see her Edward visited her family home near Woodstock or had her brought to him if he was with close companions when away from London.

As evidenced by surviving letters, when she became pregnant in early 1490, Katherine was sent to loyal friends of the King in the north of England before returning to her family after the birth of her daughter (and likely namesake), Katherine, where the child was immediately taken into the care of her father and acknowledged - though her mother's identity was not revealed to the court.

When their second child was born, a son, William, in 1492, Katherine was quickly married to Baron Aubin, becoming Lady Aubin, and her relationship with Edward came to an end. One year later, an annuity of twenty pounds per alum was settled on her by the King for 'certain special causes and considerations'. She went on to bear six children for her husband, four sons and two daughters, all of whom lived to adulthood.

A similar court to the King's (although a little less riotous) grew around his young queen as she too grew, blossoming into a pretty and learned young woman respected by all who conversed with her who were left in awe by her fine wit. She loved dancing and gambling and (once she reached fourteen) often joined her husband's hunting parties when he was near London.

Anne enjoyed a particularly close relationship with her mother in law, queen Constance, having arrived on English shores at only eight and been raised by the dowager queen who was well known to be the most attentive mother.

Anne was known to always call Constance her 'Lady Mother' (addressing her as "My dearest lady mother and most trusted councillor" in their frequent letters to one another) and often looked to her for advice throughout her Queenship. They shared the same enthusiasm for music, learning and Constance taught Anne how to become an English queen from France beloved by the English people.

They often took meals and prayer together, worked on great works of embroidery with one another and took great pleasure in hunting and hawking with the court, often riding side by side. While Anne was Queen, she resided in the old Queen's chambers (which were remodelled for her) while Constance retained the ones built for her by King Edward IV.

Under her tutelage, Anne became well loved by the people for the duration of her lifetime - although it could not be said their love for her surpassed that which they held for Constance.

As for Anne's relationship with her husband the King while she was young, it was described by contemporaries as cordial and similar to the ones Edward shared with his younger sisters. He visited her from time to time, payed great attention to her when they were on progress and during festivities and it was from his own lips that she heard of the death of her father, breaking the news (as one observer wrote) 'with the gentlest of words and gallantest of manners.'

During the early months of 1495, where she turned eighteen, Edward began to court her, sending her tokens of his affection she received with glee, having developed a great love for him. He arranged picnics at her favourite residences, took her hunting and hawking, kissed her before the court and invited her to his bed.

Their first child was conceived not long after and on the fourth of May 1496 (with Constance present as she was for all of Anne's births) the queen was delivered of a healthy baby boy, named for his father and later his successor as Edward VI.

The children of King Edward and Queen Anne are as follows:

Prince Edward (4th of May 1496 - 17th of September 1560)
Prince Richard (19th of January 1498 - 9th of June 1551)
Princess Constance (2nd of August 1499 - 10th of February 1554)
Princess Anne (6th of September 1501 - 17th of November 1501) - cot death
Princess Mary (15th of July 1504 - 8th of October 1530)
Prince Charles (9th of November 1505 - 20th of July 1507) - succumbed to sweating sickness
Princess Eleanor (2nd of January 1508 - 28th of June 1590)
Prince Edmund (14th of April 1510 - 6th of February 1568)
Prince James (11th of December 1513 - 10th of July 1525) - succumbed to the sweating sickness
Princess Cecily (20th of May 1515 - 20th of May 1585)
Princess Isabella (22nd of August 1516 - 5th of October 1464)

The King and Queen were a loving couple, their accounts showing they often sent little gifts to one another throughout their marriage, and became the subject of many ballads and poems, a thing which brought them great pleasure as champions of courtly love and chivalry.

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King Edward's early rule was a peaceful, prosperous one, showing him to be well prepared for kingship with his father's courage and his mother's mind; a talent for politics which was much admired and a love of justice doubtless influenced by his upbringing with his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester.

The marriages of his siblings overseas (arranged mostly by his mother) secured firm trade routs and allies throughout Europe, helping to secure England's shores while its borders were secured by Isabella of York's marriage to Scotland in 1490 - until the Scottish invasion of 1513.

It was the first (and only) trouble on English soil during King Edward's reign and more than aptly handled. The invasion was put down in just one month, with the King at the head of his men winning a great battle that saw the Scottish soundly defeated and their king, James IV, killed. Initially plans arose for Edward to continue his campaign and claim the Scottish throne for himself and he pressed onto Edinburgh.

The Scottish king's widow, Edward's sister, Isabella, fortified the city against him upon learning of his approach and barred him and his army from entering.

When he demanded the gates to be opened, Isabella herself mounted the city walls declaring that he would not take one more step into her son's kingdom nor his throne lest he wished to lose his. The King reminded her she was an English Princess and Isabella promptly retorted that while she may have been an English princess she was a Scottish queen.

What followed was a siege of the Scottish capital and two turbulent months of heated negotiations between the Scottish and English councils which saw Constance herself travel north to try and ease tensions between her warring children. In the end it was agreed that King Edward and his forces would leave Scotland in return for border land that had previously been fought over and was given surety that Scotland would not invade again in Isabella's second son, Alexander, as his ward.

It is clear the boy was a political hostage but the true, acknowledged, prisoner of Edward's reign was Anthony Plantagenet - the King's half-brother by his father and Dame Elizabeth Woodville.

Although imprisoned in the tower at fourteen years old after his elder brother's forces were crushed at the battle of Sutton Bank and Arthur Plantagenet himself killed, Anthony seems to have been privy to a rather surprising relationship with the King. At first, Edward forbade any at court to speak of him, having him named only as 'the Woodville bastard' and exiling those who did not adhere to this from court.

However, in the summer of 1487, almost three years after his victory, Edward took to visiting Anthony and improving his imprisonment as he did so. Where he had once occupied a single cell in the white tower, he was transferred to a comfortable apartment and in 1489 his activity out of doors was extended from a march five times around the white tower once a week to time upon the green whenever he wished where he could shoot and read.

Edward even bestowed gifts upon his half-brother as evidenced by his accounts, some examples being: in 1488 'a clavycord wyth a paynted image depictyng the Batyle of Sluys' (a clavichord depicting the Battle of Sluys), 1489 'wone edyshon of le morte Darther' (one edition of Le Morte d'Arthur), 1489 'a small sylver casket upon wyche lyd be a nob of perle' (a small silver casket upon which lid be a knob of pearl), 1490 'too velvit dublets, wone bying of blue, the other of grene and too payres of full hose bying of the same coloors' (two velvet doublets, one being of blue, the other green and two pairs of hose being of the same colours), Christmas 1492 'a fyne bowe of yewe along wyth thirtey arrows of poplar' (a fine bow of yew along with thirty arrows of poplar), and in 1493 'a goldyn ryng set wyth an oval rubey' (a golden ring set with an oval ruby). Each of these items are noted as being to 'the bastyrd Anthony Wydvylle' (the bastard Anthony Woodville).

His accounts also show that Edward personally payed the cost of Anthony's keeping and often sent him fine wine and sweetmeats - gingerbread being the most common of the latter.

It's not known what the two spoke of during the hours they were together or what their feelings towards one another truly were as the King dismissed most of the guards when he visited and no letters or documents from either containing their thoughts on these subjects survive but many have speculated that Edward's actions towards Anthony (in particular the gifts) point towards an affection for his half-brother that grew over time.

Some historians, have argued that these were instead displays of guilt, material apologies from Edward for Anthony's imprisonment and the cost was a constant personal punishment. It is impossible to know which is true, if either, but it is not difficult to imagine the two young men sharing a bond that, while perhaps affectionate, could be incredibly strained by their past.

All that's certain is that one month after Edward's first legitimate son was born in 1496, Anthony Woodville was accused of treason and executed on the fifth of September aged twenty six, having spent twelve years in captivity. Whether the charges against him are true is unknown but most historians believe that, with the birth of his son, Edward wished to do all he could to secure his succession so that his heir (and England) would never again have to endure the same struggles he did after his father's death.

To this day a legend endures that, as Edward's wife heard the death of her father from his lips, Anthony learned of his fate from them too. Were this true it could certainly indicate that Edward felt an amount of personal responsibility toward's Anthony and perhaps even guilt for his impending death but there is no concrete evidence to confirm it, only a gap in the records of Edward's movements around the time of the verdict that could accommodate this visit to the tower.

It would have been his last for Edward never set foot within the Tower of London again after early March of 1496.

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After her regency ended, Queen Constance spent her days attending the court and seeing to the marriages of her children. Once they were all wed (the last in 1503), she spent much time in the north of England with her husband, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, where they occupied various great residences (many of which they added to and expanded) but chiefly Penrith Castle and Barnard Castle and when in the midlands, Warwick Castle and Fotheringhay Castle.

When in London she lived at Baynard's castle which was granted to her by her son for life upon the passing of Cecily Neville in 1495, truthfully a minor addition to the great lands and castles she held around the country in her own right.

Constance dedicated herself to great works of charity and together with her husband, went upon many pilgrimages, including one to Rome where they was given an audience with the Pope. Her piety, however, did not distill her lavish taste and she thoroughly enjoyed pursuits such as hunting and expanding a seemingly ever growing collection of sumptuous gowns and jewels.

Her life after the regency was a happy one, filled with love and light by her children and husband, enjoying for the first time in her life an unbroken decade of peace - then a cherished second. She aided in the growth of her son's court (as she'd done as Queen) and could have cultivated her own had she chosen to.

She was certainly a great patron of the arts and often threw lavish feasts and hunts where she invited numerous artists, musicians and inventors from across the continent but Constance and her husband chose to live more quietly day to day, seeing to their duties, one another and their numerous building projects.

This tranquil happiness, which she detailed in surviving letters, was only broken close to the end of her life when in December of 1515 news came that her daughter Marie (the Holy Roman Empress) had died after contracting a fever during the Christmas festivities she held with her husband, Maximilian I.

Constance was heartbroken, displaying a grief that observers described 'bordered on madness' and when she first received the news collapsed into her husband's arms, weeping and crying out for her 'little love'. For a week she shut herself away in her chambers then ordered her entire household to gather their things so that they might travel to the then duchy of Austria and visit her child.

She did not ask permission from the King for this expedition but he made no attempts to stop her and even wrote a letter wishing her well and asking she relay his and the Queen's deepest condolences to his sister's widower. It was recorded that the death of Marie deeply affected him too, for while the pair had not seen one another for thirty years, they shared a close bond, regularly sending one another letters and gifts.

Constance arrived in Austria in an unprecedented amount of time which saw her push her entourage almost harder than her first husband, King Edward IV, had pushed his troops to stop Marguerite of Anjou from crossing into Wales before Towton. She immediately met with Maximilian and together, before Marie's grave which her husband had commissioned a great tomb for, they observed a week of prayer and masses, dining on only bread and water and sleeping very little.

She also met with Marie's five surviving children, the only grandchildren of hers, besides those by the King and Queen, that she ever got to meet, and established a firm relationship with her eldest granddaughter and namesake, Princess Konstanze, which they maintained through letters for the remainder of her life.

After spending two months in Austria, Constance returned home and retreated to Penrith Castle where she spent her days in prayer had masses said for Marie's soul daily, only venturing south for the Christmas celebrations of 1516. The following year, she designed and commissioned a chapel to be built at Warwick Castle, dedicated to the Virgin Mary for whom her daughter had been named. Little by little Constance  recovered, although it was said that she was never the same after Marie's death.

Still, she greatly enjoyed her feasts, her jewels, her hunting and, above all, her husband's company. In the years following, she spent more time in London, often travelling from Baynard's to Eltham to see her grandchildren or to where the court resided to see the Queen and her son whom she often took dinner with.

Queen Constance of York died peacefully on the 8th of August 1520 at the age of seventy six after a short fever which pained her little. She was laid to rest at Windsor Castle beside her first husband, King Edward IV, in the great tomb they'd commissioned which portrayed effigies of she and the King atop it lying beneath a royal canopy, hands joined.

The Queen was mourned by the entire country and as her coffin was carried by Lords of the realm from Warwick Castle (where she passed) to London, thousands lined the streets to pay their respects while her funeral saw almost the entirety of London gathering around Windsor Castle and kneeling in reverence and prayer throughout the service.

All six of her living children (King Edward V, Dowager Queen Isabella of Scotland, Queen Cecily of Portugal, Dowager Queen Aliénor of France, King (consort) Richard of Castile and Aragon and Prince Charles, Duke of Cambridge) as well as her stepson, Edward of Middleham, attended.

Her second husband, Richard, Duke of Gloucester followed her in death but five months later, spending the time after his wife's death in, as one contemporary observer wrote "the greatest melancholic misery known to man" until he retreated to his chambers on the 2nd of January 1521 where he died on the 8th at the age of sixty eight.

He too was buried at Windsor Castle, in a tomb across the chapel from his wife and brother's where seventeen years prior he had moved his first wife, Anne Neville, to rest.

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