0:00:02 > 0:00:04WIND AND RIPPLING WAVES
0:00:10 > 0:00:12In October 1399
0:00:12 > 0:00:17a prisoner was secretly taken from his cell in The Tower of London.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28He was the eighth Plantagenet King to rule England,
0:00:30 > 0:00:31Richard II.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40It was said that as he was taken along the Thames,
0:00:40 > 0:00:45he was wailing and loudly lamenting that he had ever been born.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Three months later, he was found starved to death.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59The man responsible for Richard's downfall
0:00:59 > 0:01:04was another Plantagenet, his cousin Henry of Lancaster.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Henry had deposed Richard and installed himself as King.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It was a kind of original sin
0:01:10 > 0:01:13from which the Plantagenets would never recover.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16A French chronicler commented,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19"Something acquired wickedly cannot last long."
0:01:19 > 0:01:24The House of Plantagenet was now fatally divided along lines
0:01:24 > 0:01:25that would never be reconciled.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29MUSIC
0:01:29 > 0:01:35The usurpation and murder of an anointed King violated sacred taboos
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and undermined the foundations of Plantagenet power.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The right to rule of future Plantagenet Kings
0:01:44 > 0:01:46would now be in doubt
0:01:46 > 0:01:50and they would have to fight to keep their grip on the throne.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Plantagenet turned against Plantagenet
0:01:55 > 0:01:57in the battle for the crown
0:01:57 > 0:02:02and they dragged England into decades of brutal civil war.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Within less than a century, four Plantagenet Kings
0:02:08 > 0:02:11met violent deaths at the hands of their own relatives.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14This was the bloodiest episode in the whole history of
0:02:14 > 0:02:20the English monarchy, and this death of Kings, this royal blood-letting,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24ended in the complete destruction of the Plantagenet dynasty.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27MUSIC
0:02:36 > 0:02:37MUSIC
0:02:47 > 0:02:49In the summer of 1381,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53thousands of armed peasants stormed the city of London.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55SHOUTING
0:02:55 > 0:02:57They set fire to palaces and property.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Nobles, lawyers and foreigners were hunted down and killed.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09This became known as The Peasants' Revolt,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13the greatest uprising in the history of medieval England.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18The Plantagenets were confronted by the most serious threat
0:03:18 > 0:03:22the lower classes had ever posed to royal power.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27MUSIC
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And sitting on the throne was a boy King.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Richard II had been crowned four years earlier at the age of ten.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43He was forced to flee from his own subjects.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Richard was just 14 years old.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50He sought refuge here in the Tower of London.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54It must have been terrifying as he looked out from the top of a turret
0:03:54 > 0:03:58to see his capital engulfed in flames,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and everyone looked to him to bring an end to the violence.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04This was the first real test of his kingship.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08A new tax had triggered the riots.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11It was levied in the name of the King
0:04:11 > 0:04:15to pay for the Plantagenets' war against the French monarchy.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21It was a poll tax imposed on every man and woman
0:04:21 > 0:04:24over the age of 14, regardless of income.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It inflamed resentment against the great inequalities
0:04:31 > 0:04:33in medieval society.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37According to the chronicler Henry Knighton,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39the rebels outside were demanding
0:04:39 > 0:04:42that every man in the Kingdom of England should be free
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and remain free of the yoke of servitude forever.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48A particular target of their hostility was the boy King's
0:04:48 > 0:04:52inner circle, the councillors who had been ruling on his behalf.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56These powerful officials were responsible for levying
0:04:56 > 0:05:00the reviled poll tax, and they would face the wrath of the rebels.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03MUSIC
0:05:03 > 0:05:06One of the King's closest advisors and his Chancellor
0:05:06 > 0:05:09was Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13In terror, he'd also taken refuge in the Tower.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20On the third day of rioting he was here in St John's Chapel
0:05:20 > 0:05:21praying for his life.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25The insurgents broke in
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and seized him along with the King's treasurer.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30SHOUTING AND FIGHTING
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Their heads were hacked off and paraded through the city on pikes.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39SINISTER MUSIC
0:05:42 > 0:05:45On the fourth day, in a bid to end the riots,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Richard rode out to negotiate with the rebels.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Some open ground here, just outside the city walls,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58was chosen for the meeting,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01a place called Smoothfield or Smithfield,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04used for tournaments, fairs and festivals.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The King was meeting the people on their own territory -
0:06:07 > 0:06:09this was a promising start.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12But with the royal forces vastly outnumbered by the rebels,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Richard was placing himself in a perilous position.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17MUSIC
0:06:19 > 0:06:23The peasants' leader was called Wat Tyler.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25He approached the King
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and repeated the demands for freedom and equality.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34The King agreed, but then a scuffle broke out.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Tyler lashed out with his dagger
0:06:37 > 0:06:42and the Mayor of London plunged his sword into Tyler's neck.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44SHARP THUDS
0:06:48 > 0:06:49These are the gates of the Priory
0:06:49 > 0:06:51that stands on the edge of Smithfield.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Just behind me was where Wat Tyler was stabbed
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and was seen to fall from his horse.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02The rebels drew their weapons to avenge him. At that moment,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05the future of the Plantagenet dynasty hung in the balance.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07But Richard took the initiative.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11He spurred his horse forward into the crowd and pledged,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14"I will be your King, your captain and your leader."
0:07:18 > 0:07:20The mood changed.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23With the added assurance of a charter granting them pardons
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and freedom, the rebels began to disperse.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Richard had single-handedly turned the tide of rebellion
0:07:34 > 0:07:40and he'd seen for himself the impact of his royal power.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Richard's encounter with his subjects at Smithfield
0:07:45 > 0:07:48was a defining moment in the young King's reign.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Four years earlier at his coronation he'd been anointed with holy oil,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55which was believed to set him apart from his subjects,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57making him God's anointed.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Triumph here at Smithfield confirmed Richard's self-belief
0:08:02 > 0:08:03in his God-given right to rule,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06a conviction that dominated the rest of his reign.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11MUSIC
0:08:11 > 0:08:16In the Middle Ages it was believed that kingship was ordained by God,
0:08:16 > 0:08:21and Richard had complete faith in his divine right to rule.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27He tried to demonstrate his elevated status,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31not through war like many of his Plantagenet predecessors,
0:08:33 > 0:08:39but through royal displays of ritual and ceremony, architecture and art.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48This altarpiece reveals how he saw his place in the world
0:08:48 > 0:08:50and his relationship with God.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55This is the Wilton Diptych,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58one of the most beautiful paintings ever produced in medieval England.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03It was commissioned by Richard II in the 1390s,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06although it shows him as a much more youthful figure,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09perhaps at the time of the meeting with the rebels in Smithfield.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Behind him stand his patron saints, John the Baptist,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Edward the Confessor and Edmund King and Martyr -
0:09:17 > 0:09:20the last two, like Richard himself, English Kings.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Opposite them stands the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child
0:09:25 > 0:09:28surrounded by angels.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Every angel wears a badge of the white hart, Richard's own symbol.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Christ is blessing this banner,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42which has at the top a red cross flag and a tiny orb.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Analysis under a microscope has revealed that within that orb
0:09:47 > 0:09:53is a painting of a green island with a white tower set in a silver sea -
0:09:53 > 0:09:55England.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Richard is receiving his kingdom from Christ himself.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04MUSIC
0:10:08 > 0:10:12This perfectly expresses Richard's exalted sense of kingship,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but his high conception of royal status
0:10:15 > 0:10:18led to a political earthquake that destroyed him
0:10:18 > 0:10:19and would ultimately result in
0:10:19 > 0:10:23the extinction of the Plantagenet dynasty itself.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Richard's sense of superiority as God's anointed ruler
0:10:32 > 0:10:33continued to grow.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40He demanded to be treated with ever-greater reverence
0:10:40 > 0:10:43and devised elaborate new court rituals
0:10:43 > 0:10:46to set himself above his nobles.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Richard was the first English King who insisted
0:10:50 > 0:10:53on being addressed as "Your Highness".
0:10:53 > 0:10:56One chronicler describes how he had a throne set up in the chamber
0:10:56 > 0:10:57where he sat after supper,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00watching everyone, but addressing no-one.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Whenever he looked at anybody, however grand they were,
0:11:03 > 0:11:04they had to bend the knee.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09But the men he was abasing included
0:11:09 > 0:11:12some of the greatest nobles in the land.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14They were outraged by his arrogance.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Like all Plantagenet kings,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Richard's power was dependent on the support of his nobles.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27He relied on them to supply him with money and troops.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33But Richard made no effort to win their favour or respect.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39He alienated them still further by surrounding himself with a clique
0:11:39 > 0:11:44of favourites, many of low birth, on whom he lavished land and titles.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49In 1387, the established nobility,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53as well as members of Richard's own family, took up arms against him.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57When Richard was 20, a group of his nobles,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59including his cousin Henry of Lancaster,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02seized control of the government by force
0:12:02 > 0:12:04and executed his favourite knights.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11But Richard had his revenge.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Within 11 years all his chief enemies were either killed
0:12:15 > 0:12:19or exiled, including Henry, who was banished for ten years.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22MUSIC
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Henry was the son of England's wealthiest
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and most powerful landowner, The Duke of Lancaster.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31He was Richard's first cousin
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and they had played together as children,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37but they grew up to be very different.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Henry was a great knight, a champion jouster
0:12:43 > 0:12:45and popular with the nobility.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48GALLOPING HOOVES
0:12:50 > 0:12:53He had four sons, while Richard was childless.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Seeing Henry as a threat, Richard resolved to remove him.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Henry's ten-year banishment was a terrible punishment,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06but he still expected to inherit his father's lands,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09the Great Duchy of Lancaster.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11But Richard took yet further revenge.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12When Henry's father died,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16the King confiscated all the lands that should have come to him.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20With nothing left to lose, Henry determined to return to England
0:13:20 > 0:13:21and reclaim his inheritance.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24MUSIC
0:13:26 > 0:13:30When Henry arrived in Yorkshire in July 1399,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33barons from across the country flocked to his banner.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39They feared that if Richard could confiscate his own cousin's lands,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41then no-one's property was safe.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47They began to back Henry as a replacement for the King.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Henry's timing was perfect.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Richard was away in Ireland, fighting to maintain English rule.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00In his absence, Henry could muster support unopposed.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02When Richard finally got back to England,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05he found that even his closest friends
0:14:05 > 0:14:07and household retainers were beginning to desert him.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Richard realised his support was collapsing.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18According to the chronicle of Dieulacres Abbey,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21he set off secretly in the middle of the night
0:14:21 > 0:14:23accompanied by only 15 companions.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33He fled from castle to castle looking for refuge and support.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36He found none.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Eventually Richard met with Henry's envoys, who escorted him here,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47to the great castle at Flint.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Their ancestor Edward I had built it during his conquest of the Welsh
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and now it was to be the site of a momentous meeting
0:14:55 > 0:14:57between the two Plantagenet cousins.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Henry approached the castle accompanied by a force
0:15:08 > 0:15:13thousands strong, among them the nobles who had deserted Richard.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20This display of military might against the anointed monarch
0:15:20 > 0:15:23set a dangerous precedent for future Plantagenet kings.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Richard was here inside the keep,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32and Henry entered to meet his cousin.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Later, Henry's supporters claimed that Richard then promised
0:15:35 > 0:15:37to renounce the throne,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42but given his views of Kingship that's likely to be pure propaganda.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46What is not in doubt is that Richard was now Henry's captive.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49The King who had set himself above all others
0:15:49 > 0:15:51was nothing more than a powerless prisoner.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Just six weeks later, on 30th September 1399, Henry's seizure of
0:16:03 > 0:16:08the throne was publicly confirmed at a ceremony here at Westminster Hall.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Parliament assembled beneath the magnificent hammer beam ceiling
0:16:17 > 0:16:19that Richard II had had constructed.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21It was announced that on the previous day,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Richard, a captive in the Tower, had abdicated,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and 39 charges against him were read out.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Then Henry stood up.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34"I, Henry of Lancaster claim this kingdom of England and the crown."
0:16:34 > 0:16:38The assembled lords gave their consent and led him to the throne.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Henry had won the crown, but he would have to fight to keep it.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Richard's misrule had turned many against him, but in an age
0:16:51 > 0:16:56of deeply held religious belief, he was still God's anointed ruler.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02In deposing him, Henry had committed a grave sin.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Four months later, he was guilty of an even greater crime.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16In February 1400, it was announced that the former king had died.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20In all probability, Richard had been starved to death on Henry's orders.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Henry had broken the sacred rules of kingship
0:17:25 > 0:17:28that underpinned Plantagenet power.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33His struggle for legitimacy didn't end with Richard's murder.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38HOLLOW THUD
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Henry had not inherited his throne but usurped it,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47deposing and killing an anointed King to do so.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51And so his right to his throne was questioned, both at home and abroad.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Plots, uprisings and conspiracies marked his reign.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58And although he managed to hold on to his throne, he had broken
0:17:58 > 0:18:03a great taboo, and others would find it easier to do the same.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05MUSIC
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Henry's usurpation created a fatal schism
0:18:07 > 0:18:09within the Plantagenet family.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Henry's House of Lancaster was descended
0:18:14 > 0:18:16from the third son of Edward III,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21but another Plantagenet line descended from the second son.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25In the future, these descendants could claim
0:18:25 > 0:18:30a greater right to the throne than King Henry IV and his offspring.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Doubt over Henry's right to rule
0:18:44 > 0:18:47cast a shadow over his own heir, Henry V.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52When he came to the throne at the age of 26,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56he was already a famous warrior and a strong, forceful leader.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01He was determined to prove his right to the throne
0:19:01 > 0:19:03through victory in battle.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09He decided to go to war to win a prize
0:19:09 > 0:19:12that had obsessed the Plantagenets for generations.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19The Plantagenets had their origins in the French county of Anjou
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and at its height their empire included not only England,
0:19:23 > 0:19:24but most of France.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Since 1340, they'd even claimed to be Kings of France.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Henry V determined to cross the Channel and claim his birthright.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41He began in Normandy, laying siege to the port of Harfleur.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47After five weeks, the town was forced to surrender.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Henry marched at the head of his army towards Calais,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56nearly 200 miles away.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01By then, the French had amassed a huge army
0:20:01 > 0:20:03and tried to prevent him crossing the River Somme.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Henry's forces found a place to ford the river,
0:20:08 > 0:20:13but their path was barred by the enemy at the village of Agincourt.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19What happened here at Agincourt on 25th October 1415
0:20:19 > 0:20:20has been immortalised by Shakespeare.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24It's the most famous battle of the entire Plantagenet era
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and Henry V displayed qualities
0:20:27 > 0:20:30that made him the most celebrated of all the Plantagenet warrior kings.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35At the outset, defeat looked certain.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42The English soldiers were exhausted, starving and battle-weary.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46They were also vastly outnumbered.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50MUSIC
0:20:50 > 0:20:53The odds were overwhelmingly against the English,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56but Henry believed he had God on his side.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59When one of his knights said that he wished
0:20:59 > 0:21:02they had 1,000 more soldiers, Henry replied,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05"I would not have one man more even if I could,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08"for those that I have here are God's people.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12"These humble few will conquer the pride of the French."
0:21:17 > 0:21:19But Henry didn't rely on God alone.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Henry was a gifted tactician.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27He drew his army up between two woods that
0:21:27 > 0:21:31stood here on the field of battle on either side at that time, so
0:21:31 > 0:21:35the French couldn't outflank him and had to advance on a narrow front.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38MUSIC
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The French were forced to attack across a muddy field.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Their elite cavalry charged,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12only to be cut down by the English longbowmen.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Those who survived the arrows were caught in a quagmire
0:22:19 > 0:22:21between the two armies.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28The battle turned in favour of Henry's humble few.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34With victory in their sights,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38the English began rounding up French prisoners.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41According to the chivalric code of honour
0:22:41 > 0:22:43their lives would be spared...
0:22:45 > 0:22:47..but a cry suddenly went up
0:22:47 > 0:22:50that French reinforcements were about to launch a fresh attack.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Henry knew that his forces couldn't withstand another assault
0:22:56 > 0:22:58and secure the prisoners.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01He was afraid they would escape and rejoin the battle.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06With deliberate ruthlessness, he ordered the prisoners to be killed.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11But the second assault never came.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Seeing so many of their men killed, the French fled the battlefield.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25The prisoners had been needlessly slaughtered.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Henry's desire to win had led him
0:23:31 > 0:23:34to break the revered conventions of chivalry.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Victory had come before honour.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Henry's qualities as a brave soldier and a calculating general
0:23:45 > 0:23:48had helped the English win a great victory.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51It became a founding symbol of the English underdog
0:23:51 > 0:23:53triumphing against the odds.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And in the medieval period it was believed
0:23:55 > 0:23:59that the outcome of battles was determined by God's will.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Henry's victory showed that he had God's favour.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The question mark over the Lancastrians' right to rule
0:24:06 > 0:24:08was removed for the time being.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Agincourt was just the beginning of Henry's plan of conquest.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Over the next five years he took France castle by castle,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26town by town.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31By 1420 he'd reclaimed many of the lands lost
0:24:31 > 0:24:34by his Plantagenet predecessor, King John.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38He now controlled more than a third of France.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42This was a spectacular triumph
0:24:42 > 0:24:44against the Plantagenet's age-old enemy.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Henry owed his success as much to French weakness
0:24:54 > 0:24:56as to English strength.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00The King of France, Charles VI, suffered from mental illness
0:25:00 > 0:25:03and the country was being torn apart by civil war.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08All this enabled Henry to win his resounding victories,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and next he negotiated this extraordinary treaty
0:25:11 > 0:25:13with the French king,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17signed here in the heart of Champagne in the city of Troyes.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Here Charles promises that after his death
0:25:19 > 0:25:21the crown and the kingdom of France,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23with all its rights and appurtenances,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27will remain with King Henry and his heirs forever.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31And here he commands his nobles that when he is dead
0:25:31 > 0:25:34they shall recognise Henry as their liege lord,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36sovereign and true King of France.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Henry was now recognised as the heir to the French throne
0:25:41 > 0:25:45and in the meantime he would serve as Regent of France.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54The French King's son, the Dauphin, was disinherited.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57And on 2nd June 1420,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00the Plantagenet seizure of the French throne
0:26:00 > 0:26:04was secured through a magnificent diplomatic marriage.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Henry married the daughter of the French King,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Catherine of Valois, at a dazzling ceremony here in Troyes.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Henry had realised a Plantagenet dream -
0:26:18 > 0:26:22he was in effect now King of England and of France.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26At the wedding, Henry and his English followers revelled wildly.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28According to one French chronicler,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32it was as if at that moment he was king of the whole world.
0:26:35 > 0:26:3918 months later, Henry V's new queen gave birth to a son.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The Plantagenet ambition to rule a French and English empire
0:26:45 > 0:26:47had finally been achieved.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52But Henry's joy was short-lived.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56In the medieval period it was births and deaths in the ruling dynasties
0:26:56 > 0:26:59that determined the destinies of kingdoms.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01And now the history of Western Europe was transformed
0:27:01 > 0:27:03suddenly by two deaths.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07While campaigning in France, Henry died of dysentery,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09that common disease of soldiers' camps,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and Charles of France soon followed him to the grave.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Henry V's son, a baby of ten months old,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19was now King of England and of France.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27The English coronation of the young Plantagenet prince, another Henry,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31took place in Westminster Abbey in November 1429.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37His French coronation in Notre Dame in Paris came two years later.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Henry VI is the only monarch ever to be crowned
0:27:45 > 0:27:47both King of England and King of France.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It was a Plantagenet triumph.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56But it wasn't to last.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59By the time of Henry VI's coronation in Paris,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02the tide was already beginning to turn against the English.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06The French nobles rallied to the dispossessed Dauphin,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09a unified French force was beginning to emerge
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and the English were overstretched.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Only another great warrior king could save the Plantagenet empire.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Henry VI was the House of Lancaster's third Plantagenet King.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35As he grew up, the shadow of his grandfather's usurpation
0:28:35 > 0:28:39of Richard II's throne seemed to have passed.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42But Henry turned out to be no warrior,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44nor was he a gifted leader.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46He was a simple, pious man
0:28:46 > 0:28:50who devoted himself to good works and charitable causes.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Unlike his father, Henry didn't lead armies in France.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Instead he lavished time, money and energy on this,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04his personal project, Eton College.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06He laid the foundation stone himself
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and supervised its development down to the smallest detail.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Henry founded the school in 1440 to educate children
0:29:15 > 0:29:18selected from the lower ranks of society.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24There were plans to build the largest chapel in England,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28where people would gather to pray for the soul of the king.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Here in the college library are the original charters for the school.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41These documents describe everything from the services
0:29:41 > 0:29:44that were held in the chapel to the dimensions of the building.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48And in this magnificent charter
0:29:48 > 0:29:52we see Henry kneeling beneath the royal arms and his crown,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56presenting the college to the Virgin Mary.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59This was clearly something very close to his heart.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05And this page records instructions made by the king
0:30:05 > 0:30:07about the dimensions of the church
0:30:07 > 0:30:11and sometimes there are crossings-out and corrections -
0:30:11 > 0:30:14the church was getting bigger.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17And Henry's approval of all this
0:30:17 > 0:30:20is recorded by his signature at the top of the page.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26This was a worthy project,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29but many saw it as a dangerous distraction
0:30:29 > 0:30:32from more important royal duties.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34While Henry was worrying about the exact dimensions
0:30:34 > 0:30:36of the buildings here at Eton,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39the French territories conquered by his father
0:30:39 > 0:30:41were slipping from his grasp.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47By now the French had crowned the Dauphin as Charles VII of France.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51He created France's first standing army,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56his soldiers equipped with the latest artillery.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Meanwhile Henry was caught up with his school for the poor.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05His own parliament became exasperated.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10They said the cost of Eton was extravagant and vexatious.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14They wanted him to continue hostilities, but Henry,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17driven by his own piety, sought peace.
0:31:19 > 0:31:24In 1444, in an attempt to secure a truce,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Henry made an extraordinary secret deal with the French.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33He agreed to marry Charles VII's niece, Margaret of Anjou.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38And here in the college library is a rare picture of Margaret.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41She's shown kneeling next to her husband,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43the King, in the college chapel.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Usually when the terms of a dynastic marriage were hammered out,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51the bride came with a handsome dowry.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53Not this time.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Instead, in a startling move, Henry promised to hand over
0:31:57 > 0:32:01the strategic French county of Maine to his bride's family.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04This was where the first Plantagenet king had been born.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08No Plantagenet had ever surrendered land in France so easily -
0:32:08 > 0:32:10and it didn't bring peace.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16The French were rapidly reclaiming Plantagenet territory.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20In 1448, Maine was formally ceded to France.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Two years later Normandy fell,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31then in 1453, the Plantagenets' oldest and most prized
0:32:31 > 0:32:34French possession was taken.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39Gascony had been in their hands since the formation of the dynasty.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43Now it, too, was lost at the Battle of Castillon.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49All that remained under English rule was a tiny enclave around Calais.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56In just one generation, Henry V's spectacular legacy had vanished.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02The Plantagenet lands in France were lost
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and they would never be recovered.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07But future English Kings were slow to abandon their claim.
0:33:07 > 0:33:13It wasn't until 1800 that George III finally acknowledged reality
0:33:13 > 0:33:16and gave up his official title, King of France.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22For Henry VI, news of the fall of Gascony was devastating.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Within a week of the terrible defeat
0:33:24 > 0:33:26he collapsed into a catatonic stupor.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32His condition may have been inherited
0:33:32 > 0:33:36from his maternal grandfather, King Charles VI of France.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45He wasn't even aware when his wife gave birth to a son,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49a new Lancastrian heir to the throne of England.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54France was lost and the King was mad.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57The absence of royal leadership showed once again
0:33:57 > 0:33:59the fragility of dynastic rule,
0:33:59 > 0:34:01a system that was only as strong
0:34:01 > 0:34:03as the King or Queen who sat on the throne.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05And with Henry VI mentally ill,
0:34:05 > 0:34:10doubts about the Lancastrian regime came back to haunt the Plantagenets.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Waiting in the wings was a cousin who thought
0:34:13 > 0:34:17he had a claim to the throne just as good as Henry VI and his young son.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Richard, Duke of York
0:34:23 > 0:34:27was a descendant of Edward III's second son
0:34:27 > 0:34:31and he believed his right to the throne was greater than Henry's.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39Henry of Lancaster had taken the throne through military might -
0:34:39 > 0:34:42now Richard of York felt empowered to do the same.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47He signalled his intent to take power
0:34:47 > 0:34:50by calling himself Richard Plantagenet.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55He was the first to use the Plantagenet family name
0:34:55 > 0:34:57since the foundation of the dynasty.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Ludlow was one of his most important power bases.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05As Henry VI lapsed into mental illness,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Duke Richard began to advance the claims
0:35:08 > 0:35:10of his branch of the Plantagenets.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14St Laurence's Ludlow contains hidden evidence of his family pride
0:35:14 > 0:35:16and his dynastic ambition.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Richard of York's ancestors had worshipped in the church
0:35:27 > 0:35:29in Ludlow for generations.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40These small, decorative ledges are known as misery cords
0:35:40 > 0:35:45and they were carved onto the back of choir stalls for weary choristers
0:35:45 > 0:35:48and clergy to lean on during long services.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53All kinds of scenes are represented.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Here is the medieval idea of womanhood.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01A little bit further down a countryman is warming himself
0:36:01 > 0:36:05by the fire while his winter stocks and stores hang around him.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11And here is a wrestling match, a popular sport in the Middle Ages.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17But some of the carvings have a much more political edge.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24There's a white hart, emblem of Richard II,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27the king whom the Lancastrians had deposed and killed.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And here is a superbly carved falcon and fetterlock,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35the personal badge of Richard Duke of York.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And here is the white rose,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43the famous symbol of The House of York
0:36:43 > 0:36:46under which they fought as they made their bid for the throne.
0:36:51 > 0:36:57In his catatonic state Henry VI was incapable of ruling on behalf of
0:36:57 > 0:37:02the Lancastrians, but this would be no easy takeover for the Yorkists.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09The King's wife Margaret struggled ferociously
0:37:09 > 0:37:12to secure her son's right to the throne.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17Shakespeare would later call her "the she-wolf of France".
0:37:18 > 0:37:23In their dynastic wars with France the Plantagenets had united England
0:37:23 > 0:37:26by harnessing a growing sense of nationhood.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33But now, as the dynasty split into warring factions,
0:37:33 > 0:37:37the country was divided by The Houses of Lancaster and York.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44Once again the Plantagenets dragged England into civil war.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49The nobility was forced to take sides.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Many members of the leading families were killed
0:37:52 > 0:37:56and the power struggle became ever more bitter, bloody and vengeful.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00The war raged across England,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03no side able to gain a decisive victory.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07After five years of conflict,
0:38:07 > 0:38:10the Yorkists were gaining the upper hand,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13but then they suffered a devastating defeat.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17In 1460, Richard, Duke of York himself
0:38:17 > 0:38:19was killed in battle at Wakefield,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22his head cut off and displayed on the walls of York,
0:38:22 > 0:38:27wearing a paper crown - the only crown he ever wore.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30But the Yorkist torch was taken up by his son, Edward.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Aged just 18, tall and handsome,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36he would prove to be a formidable warrior.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39After The Battle of Wakefield he seized control of London
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and had himself proclaimed king.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44There were now two Plantagenet kings in England,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47but only one crown.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57The battle to determine which Plantagenet was the rightful king
0:38:57 > 0:39:04took place here at Towton in Yorkshire on Palm Sunday, 1461.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10In the midst of a snowstorm, almost every man of noble birth
0:39:10 > 0:39:15in England turned up with his army, tens of thousands of men.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23This would be the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33The Yorkists were drawn up on the ridge behind me,
0:39:33 > 0:39:34they were led from the front by Edward,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38an imposing sight at 6'3" and a brave fighter.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42But Henry, the Lancastrian king, was far from the battlefield.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47Un-warlike and mentally unstable, he had sought safety in York
0:39:47 > 0:39:49along with his wife and son.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52It was up to his loyal nobles to defend his cause.
0:39:57 > 0:40:03The Lancastrian king was supported by the majority of the nobility
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and commanded the greater army.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09But Edward's men had the advantage.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18The wind was behind them
0:40:18 > 0:40:22and carried their arrows into the midst of the Lancastrian lines.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Lancastrian arrows, firing into the wind...
0:40:32 > 0:40:34..fell short.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39They were forced to charge.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50The Plantagenets had created a rift through the nation...
0:40:53 > 0:40:55..that even tore families apart.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06"There was great killing on both sides," wrote one contemporary,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09"and for a long time it was unclear who would have the victory.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14"So furious was the battle and the slaughter so great and pitiable,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18"for father did not spare son, nor son father."
0:41:21 > 0:41:24The turning point came as dusk fell.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31Yorkist reinforcements arrived and attacked the Lancastrian flank.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Henry's men fell into confusion and fled.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42The Lancastrians were pushed back by the Yorkists
0:41:42 > 0:41:43and began to fall down the hill.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47Thousands of panic-stricken men were now seeking an escape.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50As they tumbled down the slope they found they had to cross the river
0:41:50 > 0:41:53that runs at the foot of the hill through the woods.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58In the mayhem, many were crushed or drowned,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01many more killed by their enemies.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08The dead began to pile up in the river.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11The retreating Lancastrians were forced to clamber over
0:42:11 > 0:42:14what one chronicler called "bridges of bodies".
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Another contemporary wrote,
0:42:22 > 0:42:26"Many a lady lost her best beloved in that battle."
0:42:27 > 0:42:3128,000 men were reported dead.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Even 300 years later it was noted that,
0:42:37 > 0:42:42"Farmers oft discover the miserable remains of soldiers."
0:42:47 > 0:42:53In 1996 workmen digging foundations came across a medieval mass grave.
0:42:55 > 0:42:5840 skeletons were identified.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Men and boys between the ages of 15 and 50.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11The butchered victims of Towton.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16The evidence of these skulls shows that these men died
0:43:16 > 0:43:18from savage blows to the head.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Here a sweeping cut across the forehead.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27And here a crashing blow on the side of the head.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33This one has the characteristic square wound
0:43:33 > 0:43:35inflicted by a war hammer.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43On occasion there are cuts on the side of the skull,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47which might suggest perhaps that an ear was cut off as a trophy.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51The way these men were slaughtered indicates
0:43:51 > 0:43:54the brutal vindictiveness of The Battle of Towton.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57There was no magnanimous chivalry here.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Many of the men fighting in the battle were out to avenge
0:44:01 > 0:44:04their fathers or their brothers or their sons or their friends.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07This was family politics on a national scale.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11The Plantagenets had torn the country apart.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18The Yorkists were victorious.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23Henry VI, Queen Margaret and their son fled into exile.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29For the second time in less than a century
0:44:29 > 0:44:33the anointed King of England had been usurped.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Edward had all the qualities to be a great king.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49He was magnanimous, diplomatic and purposeful.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52He won the support of most of his barons.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56His accession was seen by many
0:44:56 > 0:45:00as the dawning of another golden era for the Plantagenets.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05But Edward had a weakness -
0:45:05 > 0:45:08the perceptive French diplomat Commines says that
0:45:08 > 0:45:11he loved his pleasure and his ease more than any other ruler,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15for he thought about nothing except the ladies.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18He describes Edward as young
0:45:18 > 0:45:20and more handsome than any man of his time,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23and reports that when the King went hunting,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27he had extra tents brought along for all his ladies.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35In 1464, while Edward was hunting near the village of Grafton Regis,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38he met a young widow named Elizabeth Woodville.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46Chroniclers described her as the most beautiful woman in England.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Edward became infatuated with her.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56According to legend, this is where Edward and Elizabeth met.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59It's said that she resisted his advances,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03and according to some that she even drew a dagger to protect her honour.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07The only way the young king could have her was to marry her,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and quickly and secretly that's what he did.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14But Edward had broken a cardinal rule of dynastic politics
0:46:14 > 0:46:18by marrying not for a great dowry or political advantage,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20but moved by passion.
0:46:22 > 0:46:27Marriage was a crucial opportunity for the great families of Europe
0:46:27 > 0:46:30to advance their political and dynastic ambitions.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36Every Plantagenet king had gained advantage through marriage
0:46:36 > 0:46:41to a wealthy, high-born woman from Europe, most of them French.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Now, for the first time in more than 400 years,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52the King of England had married an English woman
0:46:52 > 0:46:55from the lower ranks of the aristocracy.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59She wasn't even a supporter of The House of York.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05Elizabeth Woodville had no great fortune -
0:47:05 > 0:47:07her father was a Lancastrian knight
0:47:07 > 0:47:09and her first husband had been killed
0:47:09 > 0:47:11fighting for The House of Lancaster.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14She brought no great political or material advantage.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Even more outrageously,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19the King had made the marriage without consulting his great nobles.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24Edward's marriage was a major political miscalculation.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30Edward didn't even tell his most loyal supporter and friend,
0:47:30 > 0:47:35the Earl of Warwick. He was so outraged by Edward's secret marriage
0:47:35 > 0:47:38that he deserted him, sailed for France
0:47:38 > 0:47:41and allied himself with the exiled Henry and Margaret.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47In 1470, Margaret of Anjou made a final bid for power
0:47:47 > 0:47:51on behalf of the Lancastrian cause, backed by the Earl of Warwick.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55They managed to overthrow Edward IV and send him into exile,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57but the following year he was back
0:47:57 > 0:47:59and he inflicted a crushing defeat on them.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Henry VI's heir was cut down as he fled from the battle.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Shortly afterwards, the former King himself was murdered.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25After 20 years of civil war,
0:48:25 > 0:48:30England now enjoyed a time of peace and stability under Edward IV.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36The King presided over a flourishing court,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38described by one European visitor as,
0:48:38 > 0:48:40"The most splendid in all Christendom."
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Edward commissioned beautiful manuscripts
0:48:46 > 0:48:48from the best illuminators in Europe.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55And he oversaw the building of a new royal banqueting hall
0:48:55 > 0:48:58here at Eltham Palace, south-east of London.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09The hall was one of the most expensive
0:49:09 > 0:49:11building projects of the age.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16It was a statement of the scale and grandeur of Edward's ambition.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21When the hall was complete, Edward held court here
0:49:21 > 0:49:25with Elizabeth at his side. They had two healthy young sons,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29and the future of the Plantagenet dynasty seemed assured.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31But not everyone at court was happy.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Elizabeth had ten brothers and sisters
0:49:33 > 0:49:35and they did tremendously well
0:49:35 > 0:49:38out of their beautiful sister's new royal connections.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42The rise of these new favourites, the Woodvilles,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44was resented by the old nobility
0:49:44 > 0:49:48and by some members of the Plantagenet family itself.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Richard was Edward's youngest brother.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Although not physically strong,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01he was a successful military leader
0:50:01 > 0:50:03and he'd been Edward's most dependable supporter.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Now his loyalty was about to be tested.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18On 9th April, 1483, Edward IV died suddenly.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22His 12-year-old son was proclaimed Edward V.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25But he was too young to take power.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Richard saw an opportunity to win the crown for himself.
0:50:34 > 0:50:39Over the last century, two kings had already been violently deposed.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42It's not surprising that Richard felt able
0:50:42 > 0:50:44to make a bid for the throne.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Edward's death was followed by a power struggle between
0:50:51 > 0:50:55his younger brother Richard and Richard's rivals, the Woodvilles.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Fearing that they would be the power behind the throne,
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Richard made sure that he got custody of the young King, Edward IV
0:51:01 > 0:51:03and his little brother.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12The two princes were placed in the Tower of London.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15They were never seen again.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20The gossip in the courts of Europe
0:51:20 > 0:51:24concluded that Richard had them murdered.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26It's never been proved,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30but Richard wouldn't be the first Plantagenet wicked uncle to be
0:51:30 > 0:51:34accused of killing a nephew who stood between him and the throne.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42On 6th July, 1483, Richard was crowned.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48With a helping hand from Shakespeare, he's been painted as
0:51:48 > 0:51:51one of the greatest villains in English history.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53But his actions were driven
0:51:53 > 0:51:56by the same dynastic ambitions that drove his ancestors.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59This latest usurpation, however, would lead directly
0:51:59 > 0:52:02to the downfall of the dynasty.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10Richard's suspected murder of the young princes caused outrage.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16The Plantagenets had often been brutal in their pursuit of power...
0:52:19 > 0:52:22..but the killing of innocent children was an abomination.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29Both Lancastrians and some Yorkists now turned against Richard.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38The Lancastrians backed a man whose claim to the Plantagenet throne
0:52:38 > 0:52:41was tenuous - Henry Tudor.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50Henry had been living in exile and had won the support
0:52:50 > 0:52:54of the Plantagenet's perennial enemy, the French King.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00In August 1485, he landed at Milford Haven
0:53:00 > 0:53:03with thousands of French troops.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09He marched east, gathering Welsh and English support along the way.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Richard rode out to meet them.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17The two armies met near the Midlands town of Leicester.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Richard's forces camped here, a few miles from Bosworth.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Tudor propagandists later reported that on the night before the battle
0:53:26 > 0:53:30Richard saw hideous images, as it were, of evil spirits,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33haunting him, and they would not let him rest -
0:53:33 > 0:53:35clearly a sign of a guilty conscience.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39But for Richard the battle offered an opportunity
0:53:39 > 0:53:42to prove that he was God's chosen monarch.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49Richard wore the royal crown on his battle helmet and declared,
0:53:49 > 0:53:53"This day I will die as King, or win."
0:53:55 > 0:53:58His army was far superior in numbers,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01but the loyalty of his men was in doubt.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06As the battle began, his soldiers
0:54:06 > 0:54:08seemed to be fighting half-heartedly.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14But then Richard saw an opportunity to bring the battle to a swift end.
0:54:16 > 0:54:21Richard caught sight of Henry Tudor, surrounded by only a small retinue,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24and he charged directly at him with a few loyal knights.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28The chronicler John Rous says that although Richard was small
0:54:28 > 0:54:31and physically weak, he fought like a noble knight.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35He cut down Henry's standard-bearer
0:54:35 > 0:54:38and almost slashed his way to Henry himself,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41but then he was betrayed.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45One of his most powerful nobles, Lord Stanley,
0:54:45 > 0:54:48was watching the battle unfold from a distance.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52He commanded up to 5,000 men,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55but his allegiance was in doubt.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00When he saw Richard isolated and vulnerable,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02he threw in his lot with the Tudors.
0:55:07 > 0:55:12Stanley's troops were then unleashed upon the Plantagenet king.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18The recent discovery of Richard III's body
0:55:18 > 0:55:19in a Leicester car park
0:55:19 > 0:55:24confirms the chronicler's reports of what happened next.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30The King was abandoned, but he chose not to flee.
0:55:30 > 0:55:35The last Plantagenet monarch was cut down by a lethal blow to the head.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Even his enemies admitted Richard's courage.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43They describe him fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies
0:55:43 > 0:55:47and describe how, "In battle and not in flight King Richard died
0:55:47 > 0:55:51"like a noble ruler, most bold in the field."
0:55:53 > 0:55:55The last Plantagenet King of England
0:55:55 > 0:55:58was stripped naked and slung over a horse.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03His corpse was paraded along the road to Leicester
0:56:03 > 0:56:05for all men to wonder upon.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12He was later carelessly buried in a hastily dug grave.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21The crown Richard wore into battle
0:56:21 > 0:56:25was discovered in the carnage at Bosworth.
0:56:25 > 0:56:30It was placed upon the head of the new king, Henry Tudor.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43When the Plantagenets won the English crown
0:56:43 > 0:56:44three centuries earlier,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48England had been devastated by decades of civil war.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58Now a civil war between two branches of their own family
0:56:58 > 0:57:00had brought about their downfall.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06But the longest-ruling dynasty in English history
0:57:06 > 0:57:11had helped transform the culture and politics of the British Isles.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18They'd inspired and provoked the emergence
0:57:18 > 0:57:22of many of the country's distinctive institutions and laws.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30And adopted symbols that represent the nation to this day.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42For 331 years this single family's ambition, cruelties and achievements
0:57:42 > 0:57:46had shaped the history of much of Britain and France.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Now Henry Tudor led England into a new world.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54The Tudors sought their empire not in France but across The Atlantic,
0:57:54 > 0:57:55and they would hunt down
0:57:55 > 0:57:58any remaining Plantagenet claimants to the throne.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02This once mighty dynasty ended in oblivion.