To assist her in the early education of her children, Richard's mother appointed one of the ladies of the court their governess. This governess was a personage of very high rank, being descended from the royal line. With the ideas which Lady Cecily entertained of the exalted position of her family, and of the future destiny of her children, none but a lady of high rank would be thought worthy of being intrusted with such a charge. The name of the governess was Lady Mortimer.
The boys, as they grew older, were placed under the charge of a governor. His name was Sir Richard Croft. It is this Sir Richard that they allude to in their letter. He, too, was a person of high rank and of great military distinction. The boys, however, thought him too strict and severe with them; at least so it would seem, from the manner in which they speak of him in the letter.
The governor and the governess appear to have liked each other very well, for after a time Sir Richard offered himself to Lady Mortimer, and they were married.
* * * * *
Besides Ludlow Castle, Prince Richard had several other strongholds, where his wife from time to time resided. Richard, who was one of the youngest of the children, was born at one of these, called Fotheringay Castle; but, before coming to the event of his birth, I must give some account of the history and fortunes of his father.
CHAPTER II. RICHARD'S FATHER.
A.D. 1415-1461
Genealogy of Richard Plantagenet.-Family of Edward III.-Succession of heirs in the family of Edward III.-Genealogical table of the houses of York and Lancaster.-Union of the houses of Clarence and York.-Richard Plantagenet a prisoner.-King Henry VI.-His gentle and quiet character.-Portrait.-Discontent of the people.-Arrangements made for the succession.-Character of Margaret of Anjou.-No children.-Feeble and failing capacity of the king.-Richard Plantagenet formally declared the heir.-Unexpected birth of a prince.-Suspicions.-Various plans and speculations.-Richard's hopes.-Progress of the formation of parties.-Queen Margaret's resolution and energy.-Wars.-Richard's two brothers, Edward and Edmund.-The walls of York.-Prince Richard at York.-Boldness of the queen.-The advice of Richard's counselors.-Richard's reply.-The battle.-Richard defeated.-Death of Edmund.-Death of Richard.-The head set upon a pole at York.
Richard's father was a prince of the house of York. In the course of his life he was declared heir to the crown, but he died before he attained possession of it, thus leaving it for his children. The nature of his claim to the crown, and, indeed, the general relation of the various branches of the family to each other, will be seen by the genealogical table on the next page but one.
Edward the Third, who reigned more than one hundred years before Richard the Third, and his queen Philippa, left at their decease four sons, as appears by the table.[C] They had other children besides these, but it was only these four, namely, Edward, Lionel, John, and Edmund, whose descendants were involved in the quarrels for the succession. The others either died young, or else, if they arrived at maturity, the lines descending from them soon became extinct.
[Footnote C: See page 35.]
Of the four that survived, the oldest was Edward, called in history the Black Prince. A full account of his life and adventures is given in our history of Richard the Second. He died before his father, and so did not attain to the crown. He, however, left his son Richard his heir, and at Edward's death Richard became king. Richard reigned twenty years, and then, in consequence of his numerous vices and crimes, and of his general mismanagement, he was deposed, and Henry, the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, Edward's third son, ascended the throne in his stead.
Now, as appears by the table, John of Gaunt was the third of the four sons, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, being the second. The descendants of Lionel would properly have come before those of John in the succession, but it happened that the only descendants of Lionel were Philippa, a daughter, and Roger, a grandchild, who was at this time an infant. Neither of these were able to assert their claims, although in theory their claims were acknowledged to be prior to those of the descendants of John. The people of England, however, were so desirous to be rid of Richard, that they were willing to submit to the reign of any member of the royal family who should prove strong enough to dispossess him. So they accepted
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE FAMILY OF EDWARD III., SHOWING THE CONNECTION
OF THE HOUSES OF YORK AND LANCASTER.
EDWARD III. = Phillippa.
|
---------------------------------
| | | |
EDWARD LIONEL JOHN EDMUND
(The Black Prince). (Duke of Clarence). (Of Gaunt, (Duke of York).
| | Duke of Lancaster). |
| | | |
RICHARD II. PHILLIPPA = Edward HENRY IV. RICHARD = Anne.
| Mortimer. | (See second column.)
ROGER MORTIMER HENRY V. |
Earl of Marche). | |
| HENRY VI. RICHARD PLANTAGENET
| | (Duke of York).
| | |
| | --------
| | | | |
ANNE = Richard EDWARD EDWARD GEORGE RICHARD
of York. (Prince IV. (Duke III.
(See fourth column.) of Wales). of
Clarence).
The character = denotes marriage; the short perpendicular
line | a descent. There were many other children and
descendants in the different branches of the family besides
those whose names are inserted in the table. The table
includes only those essential to an understanding of the
history.
Henry of Lancaster, who ascended the throne as Henry the Fourth, and he and his successors in the Lancastrian line, Henry the Fifth and Henry the Sixth, held the throne for many years.
Still, though the people of England generally acquiesced in this, the families of the other brothers, namely, of Lionel and Edmund, called generally the houses of Clarence and of York, were not satisfied. They combined together, and formed a great many plots and conspiracies against the house of Lancaster, and many insurrections and wars, and many cruel deeds of violence and murder grew out of the quarrel. At length, to strengthen their alliance more fully, Richard, the second son of Edmund of York, married Anne, a descendant of the Clarence line. The other children, who came before these, in the two lines, soon afterward died, leaving the inheritance of both to this pair. Their son was Richard, the father of Richard the Third. He is called Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. On the death of his father and mother, he, of course, became the heir not only of the immense estates and baronial rights of both the lines from which he had descended, but also of the claims of the older line to the crown of England.