The Betrayal Of The Kingmaker | Britain's Bloody Crown | Timeline

nearly 600 years ago England was torn apart by a series of bloody battles for the throne in just 30 years the crown changed hands seven times tens of thousands were slaughtered it was one of the most turbulent and violent periods in British history it's known as the Wars of the Roses in 1461 six years after the Wars of the Roses erupted the imbecilic Henry the 6th pretty much the weakest King England had ever known had his throne snatched away by the young and charismatic Edward the 4th the man who put him there was one of England's most powerful barons Richard Neville Earl of Warwick the story goes that Warwick the kingmaker turned bad plunging the country into panicking and Edward had to destroy his mentor I'm going to show you that the truth is the seeds of Warwick's destruction was sown from the day Edward became King for the same it took Edward seven long years to learn the hardest lessons kingship but to save his country a good King must do bad things and to be a great king the kingmaker must die [Music] in the frozen fog of a Yorkshire field the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil is finally ended Edward Earl of March has gambled that he can snatch the crown from the useless Henry the sixth and his scheming wife Margaret of Anjou and in this battle he has succeeded big time the king in Queens forces have been wiped out the incompetent King Henry the sixth is forced to flee to Scotland with his wife and son this is total victory for Edward this is the battlefield where Edward triumphs just outside the village of tauten south of York perhaps 60,000 men lined up in this field and contemporaries estimated that 28 thousand of them was slaughtered in just 10 hours that's pretty much half the troops who took to the field that morning the soil is saturated with their blood Henry the sixth may still be alive but the throne of England is now Edwards standing alongside him is the man who more than anyone else made it all happen Richard Neville Earl of Warwick the kingmaker vigorous ambitious and just 18 years old let's give thanks to God Edward Earl of March is now Edward the fourth the twelfth Plantagenet King of England but Edwards inherited a country that's been torn apart by blood feuds it's just three months since the same soldiers Edwards just defeated killed his father the Duke of York to secure his position as king edward needs to end the cycle of violence it's a mighty challenge for any leader the man who's going to help him pull it off this is closest ally Warwick England is a hotbed of unrest to stabilize it one of Edwards first jobs is to snuff out trouble in the violent north and of course war it goes willingly to do it this is bamburgh castle in Northumberland the freezing rain swept northern power base of Sir Ralph Percy leading troublemaker and a staunch supporter of Henry the sixth and Queen Margaret the dangerous Queen is in exile just across the Scottish border barely 20 miles from Percy Edward needs to make sure she won't be welcomed back if she tries to take revenge on him so on Christmas Eve 1462 after a siege lasting less than a month Warwick burst into this castle and takes Percy prisoner while Edward was fighting for the throne Percy sided decisively with Margaret and Henry the sixth that's now treason and Percy should die instead edward offers him an extraordinary choice he could have his head chopped off or alternatively he could come on site to Edwards cause and keep his castles his land and of course his life decapitation or a life of luxury it's not the toughest decision he's ever made and this is Edward's big plan to secure his rule turn his enemies into allies build a broad alliance to bridge the fractured politics of England and it seems to work for the first time in more than six years the country calms down and Edward settles into the role of King one man more than any other is responsible for Edwards success Warwick's been the young Kings mentor since long before Edwards father died he's the go-to guy the man who gets things done for the king and the noses war it truly is the kingmaker Edwards right-hand man and he wants it to stay that way three years into his reign things are looking up for Edward he's getting the country's nobility onside and money started trickling into a Treasury that was bankrupt under Henry there's just one more thing on his to-do list to find himself a wife and it's not just about producing an heir to the throne a well-chosen royal marriage could cement foreign alliances boost trade even increased military strength your grace all with a bit of luck all three at once as the King's right-hand man Warwick believes there's only one man capable of picking a winning bride for Edward him my pardon your grace may I take my leave your grace for the affairs of state of which we spoke I'm most pleased to find you Elsa please in March 14 64 with Edwards blessing Warwick meets envoy's from King Louie V 11th of France to arrange the Kings marriage to the French princess Bona of Savoy this union could stamp out the neverending conflicts with England's deadliest enemy France as much duty but I pray a border over the course of several weeks he successfully broke as a deal for the King to marry the French princess Warwick is clearly a man in charge to the extent that one French dignitary later jokes that the English have two rulers Warwick and another whose name I have forgotten that sort of thing can go to a man's head [Music] borac is the power behind the throne he's made Edward King now he's organized the future of the royal dynasty to in September 14 64 warwick arrives at reading Abbey with England's other senior Nobles to confirm marriage arrangements for Edward and it gets to announcer to the adulation of the realms great and good what could possibly go wrong before Warwick were indeed any of the other Nobles has a chance to speak Edward stands up to make an announcement of his own my Lords I have glad tidings for you he's already married in fact he got married almost five months ago while Warwick was still negotiating with the French my consort is a lady of great virtue wit and beauty the Lady Elizabeth Woodville worse instead of a valuable foreign princess he's chosen one of his own subjects and she's been married before it's unheard of the king has made a total fool of Warwick and everybody knows it after the coronation ceremony Edward celebrates the leis on a spectacular feast for his new queen Edouard may be pleased with his new bride but in the eyes of Warwick and many of the other nobles Queen Elizabeth's family is basically the enemy because her father Sir Richard Woodville fought against Edward at tauten war it feels so betrayed he doesn't even make an appearance but even if the Woodville's were whiter than white most of the nobility would find their elevation to the top of society pretty hard to swallow Elizabeth may be extraordinarily beautiful but she's a widow she already has two children and she comes from a large family of extremely ambitious that very minor nobles Edward the fourth King of England has basically married a chav Elizabeth brings along her whole family to celebrate as two sons three brothers six sisters her mum and dad and her extended family this looks less like a celebration for Edward in his new queen more like a pitch invasion by the Woodville's most of the senior nobility are pretty unhappy about what they see is a huge bunch of low ranking opportunists muscled in on the well established order and they're right to be concerned Edwards already planning to start forcibly marrying the Woodville's into the old aristocracy Elizabeth's 20 year old brother John will end up married to the 65 year old Countess of Oxford it's all very unsavoury so what was Edward thinking by marrying Elizabeth he knew it would enrage Warwick which is why he kept it secret for so long rumors spread that Edwards fallen for the oldest trick in the book that the beautiful Elizabeth simply played hard-to-get apparently marriage was the only way he could better Elizabeth certainly the kind of person who'd have played that card she's smart beautiful ruthlessly loyal to her own family and extremely ambitious incredibly it looks as though the strong-willed Edward the fourth has married for love or at least for lust and that's pretty easy for people to believe Edward has a fabulously well deserved reputation for being led by his loins but I think there's more to it than that the marriage fits perfectly with Edwards plan of reaching out to his former enemies starting with the Woodville's he's prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt as far as Edwards concerned they just backed the wrong horse of tauten [Music] and in July 14 65 three months after Elizabeth's coronation Edward receives a late wedding present Henry the sixth he's left exile in Scotland and being caught skulking around in the north of England edward has in locked up here at the Tower of London but instead of having him executed edward maintains his policy of reaching out his former enemies so he orders that Henry's well-treated he's put up in the Royal Apartments he's given good food and wine he's even allowed visitors things seem to be going incredibly well for Edward but he knows he's snubbed Warwick and the King goes all out to make it up to him he gives him the castle of Cockermouth the hereditary office of sheriff of Westmoreland custody of all the Royal forests north of the Trent profits of all the royal gold and silver mines in the same region wardship of the lands of the wealthy peer Lord Louisville and control of England's most imposing castle Dover but Warrick already has money in land what he wants what he needs is to be Edwards indispensable right-hand man just as he's always been that's the one thing Edward can't give him or it was the perfect ally for snatching the crown ruthless and bold but that's in the past what England needs now is stability not war and that's why from Edwards point of view the Woodville's of the future they're an essential part of his plan for spreading royal influence into the rest of the nobility but from Warwick's point of view well he's the only one I should be able to exert that kind of influence over the reign Edward can have Warwick or he can have the wood fills he can't have both and squaring that circle will dog the next five years of Edwards reign in 1467 edward sends warwick to see his French allies both Warwick and the French King Louis VIII xi believe they are negotiating a lucrative new trade deal between the two countries they're not aid would just once Warwick out of the way I pray you were well my lord thank because he's about to humiliate him utterly [Music] [Applause] with Warrick out of the way Edward organizes a massive tournament at Smithfield just outside London city walls it has one purpose to ally England with the begun diems the wood fills favourites unfortunately they just happen to be the mortal enemies of Warwick's powers for French pride of place goes to the Queen's brother Antony Woodville he's been fighting the guest of honor the son of the Duke of Burgundy in the tournament show fight putting a bug and ian's in the show fight is the most public possible advertisement that Edward doesn't give a damn about the French when the French discover that the English King is in bed with the hated burgundians they will know that Warwick has become utterly irrelevant my king would most solemnly accept these terms edward has clearly made his choice he's chosen the Woodville's over Warwick Warwick's supposed to be the King's right-hand man Edward has made him look a fool again it's no surprise that Warwick is becoming paranoid that his influence over Edward is slipping away it is Oryx not the sort of man to disappear quietly into retirement so he comes up with a plan to win back his influence with the king he's going to marry his daughter Isabel to the Kings shallow self-serving younger brother the Duke of Clarence until Elizabeth produces a son Clarence is heir to the crown so Warwick clearly sees this as a way to leapfrog the wood fills your grace the union of my daughter with Lord Clarence would clear us shall not be édouard flat out refuses Warwick's proposition prayer we shall discuss it no more he argues that Clarence has to marry for political gain your move cousin which is pretty rich considering Edward's own track record come on Warwick's power and influence over the King has gone it's an intolerable position for the kingmaker as it by design you have made my victory so easy if there's any doubt about who he blames to the rift or expels it out by refusing to attend a meeting of the Kings Council in Coventry if the Queen's father Lord Rivers is present warrick hates the Queen's Woodville family with such a passion can't even stand to be in the same room as them so what's he going to do about it Warrick doesn't have to wait long to take his revenge just two years after the tournament tax riots break out across the north fuelled by rumors that the wood fills are skimming off tax money for themselves the riots threatened to tear apart the fragile peace that Edward has built up and one man is poised to fan the flames and set the Kingdom ablaze Richard Neville Earl of Warwick [Applause] [Music] by June 14 69 rumors circulated there are 60,000 men being mustered in Yorkshire under the banner of the mysterious rebel Robin of Redesdale chroniclers described it as the great insurrection Robin of Redesdale has to be stopped suddenly the King needs Warwick back in the game on July the 9th Edward writes to Warwick asking for his help what he gets in return is a deafening silence hurt and embittered at being discarded by the king Warwick's turned to Edwards weak and venal younger brother Clarence there in Calais where Warwick's married Clarence to his daughter this is some piece of scheming from Warwick it's a direct violation of royal orders and a very explicit challenge to royal authority Edward writes to Warwick again almost immediately he says he's heard he's up to no good and demands that he meet the king in Nottingham to explain himself Warwick and Clarence don't come instead they publish an open letter there's a 500 year old copy of it here at the bodily in library in Oxford and this is it and it begins right trusty and well-beloved we greet you well that's medieval English for hello but then it gets straight down to business and it says that certain seditious persons have been practicing a de siiva beloved to rule about the king who are those persons well here they are named Lord rivers and the Duchess of Bedford that's the Queen Elizabeth Woodville's mother and father mentions Lord scales as her brother Anthony sir John Woodville and his brethren and others of their mischievous rule opinion and sent in other words any one of the Woodville clan we might have forgotten to mention and it accuses them of enriching themselves of the country's expense but what's really amazing is the last line of this letter which says that anyone who shares this opinion should be at Canterbury upon Sunday next that's an open invitation to rebellion so far from siding with the King Warwick and Clarence are supporting the rebels or if you want to put it another way they've gone rogue [Music] on July the 16th 1469 Warrick lands in Kent with his new son-in-law Edwards younger brother Clarence two days later they head north from London at the vanguard of an army publicly Warwick tells anyone who listened that he's on Edwards side and is only trying to save his friend from the Woodford how very selfless of him in reality with the king in Nottingham with a small army warrix craftily creating a pincer movement the king is caught between Warwick approaching from the south and robbing of reeds Dale's men in the north Warwick is going to war with the king the confrontation on July the 26th is less of a battle and more of a rout Warwick's forces annihilate the Royalists and Warwick brings Edward as a prisoner here to Midland castle Horrocks success may look like an opportunistic punt that takes advantage of robbing of reeds Dale's rebellion and that certainly what Warwick wants everyone to believe but we now know that the shadowy figure of Reid's Dale is almost certainly Sir John Conyers a loyal servant of the kingmaker the entire rebellion was staged managed by Warwick so Warwick's got the King banged up question is what's his endgame because if you're going to imprison a king you'd better be prepared to replace and to kill him to some Oryx best bet might be to have edward declared a bastard and replaced with the vain and malleable clarence but that'll never work so long as edward still alive and Warwick's not prepared to take the final step so maybe he's trying to keep his options open but he's got the king locked up I don't think he's really thought this through Warwick has balked at killing the king instead he takes out his frustration and hatred in a killing spree designed to wipe out as many of the wood fills as possible the highest-profile victim is Edward's father-in-law Lord rivers on August the 12th 1469 he's executed at Kenilworth Castle without a trial without a king at large the fragile peace that Edward built up between his warring Nobles now collapses into violence with astonishment and the unrest that Warwick engineered during the Reed's Dale rice backfires on him setting off the rest of the country desperate to put a lid on the violence Warwick appeals to other Nobles for help stabilizing the country but there's nothing in it for them in helping Warwick so they just laugh at him after all he's the one who arrested the King and triggered all the trouble in the first place this is exactly why Warwick is such a poor peacetime ally and exactly why Edward was sidelining him Warwick's great at the rapid action the pincer movement he used to capture Edward well that's right up his street what he can't grasp are the politics and the compromises necessary to actually run a country Warwick's decision to grab Edward without a coherent plan to replace or to kill him has blown up in his face and England is descending into anarchy little more than a month after locking Edward up borac is forced into a catastrophic climb down the word awkward probably doesn't do justice to the first meeting between Warwick and the King so all that was done was done for the good of the realm Edwards back in control of England astonishingly he sticks to his policy of appeasing his enemies he forgives Warwick and Clarence it's recorded that Edward even calls them his best friends but Warwick clearly remains a dangerous man an England remains perilously unstable in March 1470 rebellion breaks out in Lincolnshire and Edward sends in the troops they meet the rebels at the village of MPM near Peterborough Edwards men scatter the rebels and as they run they tear off any clothing that could identify them which is why the battle site is known as loose coat field but when Edwards men run through the rebel leader Sir Robert Wells they 5 hidden inside his helmet letters implicating Warwick and Clarence in the rebellion at a damning piece of evidence Edouard can never trust them again this is Warwick's second act of treason he's bullheaded but he's not a fool he knows the king will be coming for him and this time there'll be no hugs and best buddies Warwick the mighty kingmaker utterly disgraced is reduced to running for the safety of France taking Clarence with him Warwick now has just two choices he can live out his life in exile or he can go large and try to wipeout Edward permanently but to pull that off he needs a powerful ally someone who if it were possible hates Edward even more than he does Margaret of Anjou wife of the previous King Henry the sixth my lord the Duke of Clarence since her husband's capture nearly 10 years ago she's been living in frustrated and powerless exile in her native France by Queen [Music] out of this meeting between the incensed Warwick and the furious X Queen comes a breathtaking outrageous plan kick Edward off the throne and replace him with Henry the sixth the old King currently locked up in the tower after all more extinct oh isn't he he did it for Edward surely he can do it for Henry Warwick lands on the Devonshire coast with a small fast-moving army and heads north Edwards near Doncaster when he's woken in the middle of the night and warned that enemy troops are just a mile away Edwards troops are completely outnumbered he can stand and fight but the odds don't look good or he can run for it Edward flees to Flanders and as if that wasn't enough Edward has been forced to abandon the woman who precipitated all his problems Elizabeth Woodville now pregnant again has sought sanctuary here at Westminster Abbey in October after ten years in captivity Warwick releases Henry the sixth from the Tower of live the king [Music] this is the man the Warwick's depending on to save England from itself he must be mad Henry was always a disaster as king and nothing's changed but he's the only card that Warwick has left so for the second time in his life Henry the sixth is king of England [Music] [Music] with thousands of men behind him Abe would head south to London [Music] to avoid confronting Edward Warwick's holed up in Coventry he sends a desperate message to London to try and rally support behind Henry the sixth the result is indeed desperate on Maundy Thursday 14 71 in a shambolic piece of political theater Henry's paraded through the streets of London but all the thin crowd that turns out sees is a feeble half senile man to all that Warwick is doing is pointing out in the bluntest possible way all the Kings failings on the same day that Henry's paraded through the streets Edward enters London at the head of an army the contrast with a weak and feeble old king couldn't be more extreme Edwards a strapping energetic young man the picture perfect example of kingship and whereas Henry's parade was greeted with derision Edwards welcomed with universal acclaim and the first thing he does have come here doesn't Paul's to give thanks for his safe arrival then it's down to business Edward heads across the river to Lambeth Palace where Henry the sixth is waiting all will be well Edward may sound reassuring but ominously he immediately has Henry taken back to the tower then Edward heads back across the Thames as fast as possible he comes here to Westminster Abbey to be reunited with his wife Elizabeth who's been sheltering from Henry's men under the laws of sanctuary while he's been away Elizabeth has given birth to a fine baby boy edward has got his throne back his wife back and he's got a son and heir he is king of England again but he's learned the lessons of kingship the hard way however much Edward wants to avoid bloodshed and recrimination forgiveness has its limits and sometimes the only way to keep your throne is to deploy the ultimate sanction death so Edward heads north with his homage to hunt Warwick down on April the 40/40 71 Warrick and Edward go into battle one last time at Barneys just like a tauten Edward and Warwick are in the thick of it they must both know that only one of them can leave the field Warwick throws 15,000 men into the fight Edward 12,000 the odds favor Warwick but confused by heavy fog his army accidentally attacks itself in the chaos Edward's army overwhelms Warwick's men Warwick flees the battlefield but he's hunted down like a dog by Edwards troops [Music] [Music] [Music] the kingmaker is dead edward has Warwick's body brought to London its strip naked except for a cloth covering the genitals and it's put on display for everyone to see at the old medieval cathedral here innocent pause edward sending her very simple very plain message to the entire country the new king has learned the old lessons [Music] there will be no more forgiveness make sure it's done [Music] on May the 21st 1471 barely a month after Edwards victory over Warwick Henry dies the official cause of death is pure displeasure and melancholy but few people believe that it's reported that his corpse is found with congealed blood in his hair whether he was cuddled to death or not there's no doubt at all that Edward has had him killed Edward came to the throne determined to break the cycle of violence that have been consuming England but it just couldn't be done I mean look at the last 11 weeks he's invaded England raised an army fought a brutal battle killed his friend and murdered a rival King and that is the reality of medieval kingship in the end there was only ever one way that Edward was going to earn his crown in blood next time the most infamous story in the entire blood-soaked era which of the third snatches the throne the only obstacles are his own nephews the princes in the tower [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

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Keywords: Full length Documentaries, real, bloody crown documentary, bloody crown of england, middle ages documentary, bloody crown dan jones, bloody crown, documentary history, TV Shows - Topic, BBC documentary, Full Documentary, Channel 4 documentary, stories, History, civil war, Documentary, ep 2, middle ages documentary for kids, Documentaries, history documentary, Documentary Movies - Topic, dan jones, middle ages documentary bbc, history middle ages documentary, 2017 documentary

Id: fG1NpCE1B5k

Length: 44min 59sec (2699 seconds)

Published: Fri May 25 2018