0:00:04 > 0:00:10July 6th, 1483, and Westminster Abbey was packed tight
0:00:10 > 0:00:12for the coronation of one of England's
0:00:12 > 0:00:14most controversial kings, Richard III.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19His name and the battles of his violent era
0:00:19 > 0:00:21are familiar parts of our history.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Towton, Bosworth, the Wars of the Roses -
0:00:25 > 0:00:30when the rivalry between two great dynasties tore the nobility apart.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37But my story is not about kings and their great power struggles,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39it's about the remarkable women
0:00:39 > 0:00:41whose stories have been hidden
0:00:41 > 0:00:44by these tales of conflicts and alliances.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Almost by accident, I have spent my working life
0:00:50 > 0:00:53researching and writing the secret histories
0:00:53 > 0:00:55of virtually unknown women
0:00:55 > 0:00:59who appear as the wife or mother of a more famous man.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Three of them in particular have fascinated me for years.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08They are at the heart of our story.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10And on the day that Richard was crowned,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13they could all be found here in Westminster.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18The first is Anne Neville.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20At this extravagant ceremony,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23she was transformed into the leading woman in the realm.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27As Richard's wife, she was the new queen.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33She brought with her the love and loyalty of the north of England.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36She was so important that Richard honoured her
0:01:36 > 0:01:37with a joint coronation.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43As the daughter of the most powerful noble in the realm,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Anne was destined for greatness from birth.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50And by her side was another extraordinary woman.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Dressed in scarlet, carrying the queen's train
0:01:54 > 0:01:56was Margaret Beaufort,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59the second most important woman in the country.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04She had deliberately placed herself at the heart of this new court.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Margaret's ambitions were bound up with her only son, Henry Tudor.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Never far from the centre of power,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15the Margaret I know was a skilled politician
0:02:15 > 0:02:18who believed herself guided by God.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And out of sight at this great occasion was the third woman.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Hidden in the sanctuary of the abbey in fear of her life
0:02:27 > 0:02:29was Elizabeth Woodville
0:02:29 > 0:02:33the former Queen of England and Richard's declared enemy.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38She had risen the furthest and fallen the hardest.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Elizabeth was the commoner queen.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43An English beauty who enchanted a king.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47This is my chronicle of these three women.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49The former queen, the new queen
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and the woman who planned to be greater than them both.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We call this conflict the Wars of the Roses,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00but they called it the Cousins' War.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02A war between kin, not countries.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05And that is why the women really matter.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10They had to survive a violent family feud and utterly ruthless men.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14But women were actors on their own account,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18capable of fierce loyalty and shocking treachery.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Living in a world where women's roles were strictly limited
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and their behaviour judged as good or bad
0:03:24 > 0:03:26by a misogynistic church,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29they had to exercise their power in hiding.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34In a time of bloodshed, these three tenacious women
0:03:34 > 0:03:36would become canny allies
0:03:36 > 0:03:39and grow into calculating adversaries.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Here in windswept Wales,
0:03:54 > 0:03:5830 years before the Cousins' War met its bloody climax,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01a fragile 12-year-old girl was facing a new life,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04a new home and a new husband.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08A man twice her age who she barely knew.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Margaret Beaufort was an heiress to valuable lands,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15but that gave her no power over her own life.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Margaret would have known that as a young woman from a noble family,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25she would never have had any choice over her husband.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28She probably would not even have been consulted.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32The medieval marriage was to forge family alliances.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34It was nothing to do with love.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40With no control over her own destiny,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Margaret turned to God at a young age.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49Later in her life, this devotion would earn her respect and status.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51But as a child, Margaret's fate had been decided
0:04:51 > 0:04:55by no less than the King of England, Henry VI.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59He had given her in marriage to his half-brother, Edmund Tudor.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03The aristocracy in the late Middle Ages
0:05:03 > 0:05:07were a social and political elite.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12And they were always seeking to increase their land-holdings
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and increase their status.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18So they did this by securing desirable marriages
0:05:18 > 0:05:20to other aristocratic families.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Margaret Beaufort was a very desirable commodity
0:05:24 > 0:05:27in the late medieval marriage market.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Margaret and all her possessions were transferred to Edmund Tudor
0:05:39 > 0:05:43and she was brought here, to his estates in Wales.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52At 12 years old, Margaret was old enough to marry,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57but she was small for her age and still a little girl.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Even her contemporaries would have thought that she was too young
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and too physically undeveloped for the marriage to be consummated.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Her 24-year-old husband had different ideas.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16He wanted a son to inherit his property and title
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and would not delay.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22He took young Margaret into the marital bed
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and just months after marrying Edmund Tudor, Margaret was pregnant.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Even by the standard of the time, this was a selfish, brutal act.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38But Edmund was so determined to secure Margaret's estates
0:06:38 > 0:06:39and the all-important heir,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43that he risked both her life and that of the unborn child.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Margaret might have been forgiven for cursing the man
0:06:51 > 0:06:55who had ordered her into this frightening life, but she didn't.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59She remained fiercely loyal to Henry VI,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01the King, who was now her brother-in-law.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Henry VI had reigned for over 30 years.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11He sat on the throne alongside his wife,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13the formidable Margaret of Anjou,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16not only as ruler of England,
0:07:16 > 0:07:21but as head of a great dynasty, the House of Lancaster.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22But Henry's reign was troubled.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26His nobles thought him feeble and unstable.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29His weakness encouraged disagreement
0:07:29 > 0:07:31at the highest levels of English society.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And strengthened the ambitions of another English noble line,
0:07:37 > 0:07:38the House of York.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Lancaster against York would scar England for decades to follow.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49And overshadow the lives of our three young women,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Margaret Beaufort, Anne Neville and Elizabeth Woodville.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Safely distant from the troubled royal court,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11leading the quiet life of an English country lady,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14was the beautiful wife of a mid-ranking English knight.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Elizabeth Woodville was a mother of two boys
0:08:18 > 0:08:20living in rural Leicestershire,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23but her family was extraordinarily well connected.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Elizabeth's parents were leading lights at the court of Henry VI
0:08:32 > 0:08:34because her mother, Jacquetta,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36was born into the Royal House of Luxembourg,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40an ancient European family who could trace their lineage back
0:08:40 > 0:08:43through recorded history into myth.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52The family seat was a fairytale castle
0:08:52 > 0:08:54that dominated the roads and rivers
0:08:54 > 0:08:58between France, Germany and the Low Countries.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00And as a child, Elizabeth must have heard
0:09:00 > 0:09:03the whole family story from her mother, Jacquetta.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08A story wrapped in magic and mystery.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Jacquetta's ancestor, Count Siegfried,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14was said to have married a water goddess, Melusina,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19a being half-woman, half-fish, rather like a mermaid.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21She made the family castle of Luxembourg
0:09:21 > 0:09:25magically appear on her wedding night.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And their marriage was a happy one,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29until the count broke his vow
0:09:29 > 0:09:32of giving her absolute privacy once a month,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and she flew away with her daughters and was never seen again.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46This was an age when people believed in the power of the supernatural.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Their connection with the water witch
0:09:48 > 0:09:52would have given the Woodville women a strange and mysterious allure.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56But more vital than their European heritage
0:09:56 > 0:09:58were their English allegiances.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Known as the Rivers Family, they were Lancastrian loyalists,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05steadfast followers of the king, Henry VI.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14So when the tension between the houses of Lancaster and York
0:10:14 > 0:10:15broke into open conflict,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18they were quick to rally to Henry's cause.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24The men in Elizabeth's family all readied themselves for war
0:10:24 > 0:10:26against the Yorkist rebels.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32The House of York had a new young champion
0:10:32 > 0:10:34and claimant to the throne, Edward of York.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38His family had long coveted the kingdom,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43and in 1461, he was ready to fight for the prize.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45The noble families of England
0:10:45 > 0:10:49were divided behind the banners of York and Lancaster.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52But one family would matter more than any other
0:10:52 > 0:10:54in this great struggle.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The family of Anne Neville.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Her childhood was one of opulence and privilege
0:11:11 > 0:11:14beyond the dreams of anyone else in the country.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16She was the youngest daughter of Richard Neville,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18the wealthiest noble in England,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22with a fortune that put him at the centre of English power politics.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Anne was born here, in Warwick Castle,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31the main power base of her spectacular father,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36He was, without question, the supreme noble in England,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40and starting to be thought of as greater than the king himself.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Warwick controlled lands from the south of England
0:11:46 > 0:11:49all the way up to the border with Scotland.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Mostly concentrated in the north and the Midlands,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55but there were some quite powerful estates down in the south, too.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58So, effectively, you could draw a line from London to Berwick,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01which would always go through lands owned by him.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Warwick's standard, the bear and ragged staff,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12would have been known to almost everyone in the country.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17A symbol of his unrivalled power and influence.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Effectively, the Neville family were princes in their own kingdom.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26They could raise armies, they could fight their own private wars.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29They effectively owned the lives of the men
0:12:29 > 0:12:31who lived and worked on their lands.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34So they had enormous influence, and especially in the north country,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37which was outside of the diaspora of royal power,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39they were the rulers.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43For young Anne, it all meant a gilded life,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48but there was a price to be paid for luxury and security.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50She may have been his daughter, but for Warwick,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53she was also a valuable piece to be played
0:12:53 > 0:12:56in the complex game of aristocratic alliance.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Anne had no brothers. She and her sister would inherit everything.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Even when they were tiny, the entire nobility could see
0:13:06 > 0:13:08their unequalled marriage potential
0:13:08 > 0:13:12and eyed them up as valuable wives for their sons.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Anne was one of the two most desirable heiresses in England.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18And making a good marriage alliance for her
0:13:18 > 0:13:21was one of the principal political decisions for Warwick.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25He had aspirations to be as close as possible to the throne.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29And in an age when all politics was family politics,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32dynastic politics, it was clear that his two young daughters
0:13:32 > 0:13:35were going to be very important parts of that strategy.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40But right now, the Earl of Warwick
0:13:40 > 0:13:44was engaged in a different strategy, how to topple a king.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48His sympathies and ties were with the House of York.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52And he threw his considerable power base behind Edward,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56backing his challenge against the Lancastrian King Henry VI.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02War was now inescapable.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And taking sides, as the violence escalated,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09were our three young women.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Anne Neville, daughter of the mighty Earl of Warwick
0:14:12 > 0:14:14and Elizabeth Woodville,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17the beautiful young wife of a Lancastrian knight,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20each had a life-changing stake in the outcome of these troubles.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26For Margaret Beaufort, the pious child bride,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28life had taken a menacing turn.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37A long way from family and friends and with war looming,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Margaret Beaufort had endured terrible suffering.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The husband who had forced her into pregnancy was dead.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47A victim of the plague.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49And she had another great burden.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Aged 13, she was now a mother.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59In the cold gloom of Pembroke Castle,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Margaret had faced the most dangerous moment
0:15:01 > 0:15:06of any medieval woman's life, the ordeal of childbirth.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Childbirth was much more dangerous in the 15th century than it is now.
0:15:12 > 0:15:18We estimate that about one in ten women died in childbirth.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23There was nothing they could do about very common complications
0:15:23 > 0:15:26like eclampsia and haemorrhaging.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28If you haemorrhaged, you died.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32If the baby got stuck in the birth canal or was a breech presentation,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34there was almost nothing they could do.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37They could do a caesarean, but only after the mother had died
0:15:37 > 0:15:39because they understood that it would be fatal.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44So if you think about the number of things we've got an answer to now,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48and think about the fact that they didn't have any answer to them then,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51you can understand what a dreadfully frightening experience
0:15:51 > 0:15:53it would have been for women.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Margaret would have been acutely aware of the fatal dangers
0:15:59 > 0:16:03facing her as she went into labour.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06And because of her size, she was greatly at risk.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The birth was long and difficult.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Both she and the baby were expected to die.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Margaret, small, still a child herself,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21was probably permanently physically damaged.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23She would never bear another child.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Against all the odds,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Margaret survived this agonising childbirth and delivered a son.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Unusually, she didn't christen him for his father,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47but chose instead a royal name.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49She called him Henry,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53after the child's uncle, the king, who Margaret revered as a saint.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Perhaps she felt as she emerged from the ordeal of childbirth,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00that this baby who had caused her so much pain
0:17:00 > 0:17:03was destined for greatness.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Why did this vulnerable young woman have such a determined belief
0:17:08 > 0:17:12that she and her child could rise so far?
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Her background was noble, but tainted.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Just like the king, she was descended from Edward III
0:17:19 > 0:17:21through his third surviving son,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30But there was one major difference between her and Henry VI.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34The Beaufort line was a bastard line.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Like many men of the time,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39John of Gaunt fathered illegitimate children.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Unusually, he later married his mistress
0:17:42 > 0:17:47and had his bastards legitimised by an Act of Parliament.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50But it was clearly agreed,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52the Beaufort line could never take the throne.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58So the Beauforts were of the Royal Family,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01but also not of the Royal Family.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03And from a Beaufort point of view,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I think that must have really rankled.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08They would have seen that as a considerable injustice.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12That we've been legitimated, we're part of the Royal Family,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15we're very, very close to the Royal Family,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19so why are we being excluded from succession to the throne?
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Bastards or not, Margaret knew she was close to the throne.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27But she saved her greatest ambitions, however unlikely,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31for the son that she insisted would carry the royal name, Henry.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38As the war between the cousins started,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42our women stood on different sides of the conflict.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44For the House of Lancaster,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Margaret Beaufort remained devoted to Henry VI.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51The family of Elizabeth Woodville
0:18:51 > 0:18:53were also aligned with King Henry
0:18:53 > 0:18:57as he stood against the Yorkist Edward's forces.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02But on the other side of the conflict was Anne Neville.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Her father, the Earl of Warwick was Edward of York's main ally.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09All three women had to watch anxiously
0:19:09 > 0:19:13as the war that was going to determine the rest of their lives
0:19:13 > 0:19:17escalated from early skirmishes to its pivotal moment.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Towton.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Edward quickly gathered all his forces together
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and they met on the battlefield of Towton in South Yorkshire.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33And Towton was the bloodiest battle of the civil wars,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35of the whole of the Wars of the Roses.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41The Lancastrians and Yorkists probably put
0:19:41 > 0:19:44between 20,000 and 30,000 men in the field.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Significantly, most of the English nobility was present at Towton.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53That's what really singles out Towton as a very special battle.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56This was the battle that was going to decide the Wars of the Roses.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01The Earl of Warwick had attracted the best soldiers and gunners
0:20:01 > 0:20:02to the Yorkist banner,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05greatly boosting their chances of success.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Edward, who had been Warwick's military pupil,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12fought, as always, in the middle of his men.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14And he was a fantastic symbolic figure.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Tall, very good looking.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19And he fought with an axe, with his standard behind him.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22A really inspiring figure to his troops.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27There was a high death rate,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30although no-one knows exactly what the death rate was,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34but the word went round 25,000 people died in the battle.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Almost every great northern family lost a son.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43It was said that all the fields from Tadcaster to Towton,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46a distance of more than two miles,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49were filled with the bodies of dead men.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53It was a bloody, but decisive victory for Edward.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Towton was the moment, the battle that secured Edward on the throne.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02It established the House of York.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09The slaughter at Towton toppled the House of Lancaster and King Henry.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13He fled into exile with his wife and son.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16But England had not heard the last of him or his cause.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Young Edward of York was triumphantly crowned Edward VI.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26And our three young women experienced dramatic upheaval.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Anne Neville's status rose with that of her powerful father, Warwick.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36He had made Edward's victory possible
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and people now called him the Kingmaker.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Anne's good fortune was in sharp contrast
0:21:47 > 0:21:50to the new life facing Elizabeth Woodville.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Her side had lost and her husband had died
0:21:53 > 0:21:55fighting for the Lancastrian cause.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It was a terrible blow for Elizabeth.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05She had lost her husband and she was now a widow with two little boys.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08To make matters worse, her mother-in-law
0:22:08 > 0:22:10was refusing to pay her the allowance
0:22:10 > 0:22:14that she was owed under her marriage contract.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18With no source of income, Elizabeth's future looked bleak.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21THUNDERCLAP
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Also facing anxious times was the 17-year-old Margaret Beaufort.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35The king she worshipped almost as a saint had been deposed.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Many of her family and allies were dead.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43Even worse, the future for the son she adored looked uncertain.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46The new king would control the destiny
0:22:46 > 0:22:49of wealthy, young, fatherless heirs.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52And Henry Tudor was a valuable prize.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58If a boy's father was dead, then care and custody of him,
0:22:58 > 0:23:03guardianship if you like, wardship, could be given or sold,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06because again, this was big business, to another noble.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10The noble would then be able to administer the boy's lands
0:23:10 > 0:23:13and also to dispose of him in marriage,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16which could be an advantageous business.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20In return, he was supposed to protect the boy's interests
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and teach him everything he should know.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25See that he was taught a certain amount of book learning, perhaps,
0:23:25 > 0:23:26everything to do with the estate,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30but also, and most importantly, the art of war.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Margaret Beaufort was powerless to prevent her son Henry from being moved
0:23:39 > 0:23:44into the home of one of the York King Edward's strongest supporters,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47the experienced soldier, William, Lord Herbert.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53In Herbert's household, Henry would have been given
0:23:53 > 0:23:55a basic military training.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59And we know that certainly from the age of nine, if not earlier,
0:23:59 > 0:24:04there was a regular exercise routine where these children were drilled,
0:24:04 > 0:24:10first of all with wooden toy replica, um...spears,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14swords, shields, and then the real thing.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22From now on, if Margaret wanted to see Henry,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25she would have to make the long journey to Raglan
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Lord Herbert's magnificent castle in Wales.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32And she would have to accept hospitality from a Yorkist.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Although wardship was a normal part of medieval aristocratic life,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Margaret must have found it very hard to bear.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Her son had been taken from her and placed with her enemy
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and there was nothing she could do about it.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51But in taking Henry out of Margaret's hands
0:24:51 > 0:24:54and putting him with one of his favourites,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58the king had merely underlined how important he was.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06We know that Margaret visited Henry at least once.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09She stayed with her son in Raglan Castle for about a week
0:25:09 > 0:25:13before she had to face the pain of separation once again.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20I think it did affect her very strongly.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25He was her only child, she was not able to have another one.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And their relationship had been forged
0:25:27 > 0:25:29in this time of terrible danger.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34First of all, she'd learned that her husband had succumbed to the plague,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37she was alone and vulnerable,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and that gave an intensity to their relationship.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45And I think when they were separated, it impacted on her a lot.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57It must have been terribly hard
0:25:57 > 0:26:00for Margaret to leave her son in the hands of the enemy,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03even if she knew that he was being raised as a nobleman
0:26:03 > 0:26:06in the house of a favourite of the king.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Worse for her must have been the fear that the Yorks
0:26:08 > 0:26:11would be turning him to their side,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14That the boy she had named for the Lancastrian king
0:26:14 > 0:26:16was becoming a Yorkist.
0:26:22 > 0:26:23Margaret had dreams for her son
0:26:23 > 0:26:27that could only be realised through years of patient scheming.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29But immediate action was needed
0:26:29 > 0:26:32to save the children of the widow Elizabeth Woodville.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Her husband was dead, she had no source of income
0:26:39 > 0:26:41and she and her boys were facing ruin.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48To save her family, she was forced to turn to the man
0:26:48 > 0:26:50who had brought this misery on them.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Edward, the newly-crowned king.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58According to the traditional story,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Elizabeth waited for Edward under an oak tree
0:27:01 > 0:27:04with her two fatherless boys.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09When the king appeared, she stepped forward and begged him to help her.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Edward, a notorious womaniser,
0:27:11 > 0:27:17was so struck by Elizabeth's beauty that he fell for her at once.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Edward did just fall hard for Elizabeth.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It was love or lust, whichever way you care to look at it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27She was beautiful, all reports say,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and in the way that the age most admired.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32I mean, the age admired a willowy figure,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36golden hair, white skin, perhaps grey or blue eyes.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Apparently powerless, without friends or family
0:27:43 > 0:27:47who could help her, Elizabeth's situation had seemed hopeless.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51But she still had one powerful tool available to her.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00In many ways, Elizabeth was trading her beauty,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03her sexual appeal, for great position.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05And good on her, really.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Because a women didn't necessary have very many weapons
0:28:08 > 0:28:10in the 15th century.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14And if she was going to try and carve her own place in the world,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17her looks and her allure
0:28:17 > 0:28:20were really one of the strongest tools she had.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28The young king may have assumed that he could have a secret affair.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32He'd had many lovers. Other women were happy to be his mistress.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38It was said that he went for women of all sorts.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Noble, lowly, married, unmarried.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I mean, the Chronicler does say, rather nicely,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47with, you know, some admiration,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50that nonetheless, he overcame none by force.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53He did all by, you know, money and promises.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55But that having won them, he then dismissed them.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Elizabeth resisted Edward's advances.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Chroniclers at the time reported that she was so determined,
0:29:05 > 0:29:09she held him off with his own dagger.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13There's stories that he held a knife to her throat,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15that she held a knife to his throat,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19but that either way, she said if she was too low to be his wife,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22she was too high to be his concubine.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25And that might have appealed to Edward.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29In Elizabeth, he'd met a woman who was not prepared to be dismissed.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Elizabeth left the completely love-struck king
0:29:39 > 0:29:42with only one option.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46One morning, he rode to the Rivers' home for a secret ceremony
0:29:46 > 0:29:50that would change the fortunes of the House of York and of the nation.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58According to chroniclers, Jacquetta was the only family member present
0:29:58 > 0:30:01when Edward and Elizabeth were married on May Day.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06A day for lust, for love and for the celebration of life.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09The marriage was consummated immediately.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13For the next few weeks, the handsome young king of the House of York
0:30:13 > 0:30:15was creeping every night
0:30:15 > 0:30:20into a staunchly Lancastrian home to be with his bride.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Elizabeth's mother must have encouraged this secret passion
0:30:28 > 0:30:30because she knew that their marriage
0:30:30 > 0:30:33could reap enormous benefits for the Woodville family
0:30:33 > 0:30:38and pave the way to Elizabeth's role as the first woman of England.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41If Edward could keep his throne, she would be queen.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47But Elizabeth's new husband, the king,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51had underestimated the outrage his marriage would cause.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Especially amongst powerful nobles like the Earl of Warwick.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00When the news escaped, when Edward told the council,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04they and his family were absolutely horrified.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08Kings were supposed to make a big public marriage
0:31:08 > 0:31:12with a foreign princess for the advantage of the country,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15not make a love match.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16And indeed, it was even said
0:31:16 > 0:31:20that Edward was proving himself to be no true monarch
0:31:20 > 0:31:23in doing something so undignified and extraordinary.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31In the eyes of the English nobility, she was wrong on practically every count.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34The fact she was a widow really meant she was tarnished
0:31:34 > 0:31:38by this previous relationship. They did call her a bigamist.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42And the fact that she had children by this previous marriage
0:31:42 > 0:31:44made it considerably worse.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46She was so much the wrong person for him to have married.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Edward's choice of bride was not just scandalous,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56it was deeply offensive to the man who had made him king,
0:31:56 > 0:31:57Warwick the Kingmaker.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02For a start, Elizabeth Woodville's family
0:32:02 > 0:32:05had been traditional Lancastrians,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08so what was a Yorkist king doing marrying her?
0:32:08 > 0:32:12For another, Warwick was in the middle of negotiating
0:32:12 > 0:32:16a diplomatic, advantageous, continental alliance for Edward.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19So he looked a fool when he was suddenly told,
0:32:19 > 0:32:20no, no, Edward was married already.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Edward had forgotten his duties as king
0:32:25 > 0:32:31and recklessly chosen his own bride for no other reason than blind love.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Or was it even worse than love?
0:32:35 > 0:32:38No other English king had married for love before.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Was young Edward in the grip of intemperate lust?
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Suspicious rumours began to circulate
0:32:45 > 0:32:47that would have dangerous repercussions.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Perhaps some malign influence was at work.
0:32:50 > 0:32:56Some people even suggested Edward had been seduced by witchcraft.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Belief in witchcraft was universal in the 15th century.
0:33:04 > 0:33:10In the power of spells, incantations, charms and herbs.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13What's more, it was one of the few accusations
0:33:13 > 0:33:16from which even royal rank couldn't protect a woman.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18There'd already been, in that century,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21two royal women imprisoned for it.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28But the enchanted Edward was sure of his choice.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31And Elizabeth's transformation was complete.
0:33:31 > 0:33:37From obscure country lady, she had emerged as the new Queen of England.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46And in May 1465, Edward officially confirmed her status
0:33:46 > 0:33:50with a highly glamorous and lavish ceremony in Westminster Abbey.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Elizabeth entered the abbey barefoot,
0:33:59 > 0:34:03dressed in purple, followed by the lords and ladies of the court.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05She passed through the choir,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08knelt and prostrated herself before the high altar
0:34:08 > 0:34:11while the archbishop conducted the service,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14anointing her on her forehead and her breast.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Then, after receiving the coronation ring on her finger
0:34:18 > 0:34:20and the crown on her head,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23she was solemnly led to the throne itself.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33In the magnificent abbey,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Edward paraded his new queen in a dazzling show
0:34:36 > 0:34:39attended by the most important nobles of Europe.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45The public spectacle of her coronation
0:34:45 > 0:34:50could not have been more unlike the secret wedding at the Rivers' family home.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53That had been a private, personal affair.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57This was a matter of international politics.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02As Queen of England, Elizabeth Woodville
0:35:02 > 0:35:05was the first of our women to win the highest position in the realm.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11Margaret Beaufort seemed further from achieving her aspirations than ever before.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16And Anne Neville had seen her father the Kingmaker
0:35:16 > 0:35:18sidelined by the new king.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23But he wouldn't take this treatment lightly.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26He was still the richest noble in the land.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28And he set out to prove it,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31with flamboyant demonstrations of his wealth.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Entertaining, giving large banquets and parties
0:35:38 > 0:35:41was a way of showing off your wealth, your power
0:35:41 > 0:35:42and also of networking.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45So, Warwick, yes, he did entertain lavishly,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47he did give very large parties
0:35:47 > 0:35:49and even as he moved about the countryside,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51he would have a large retinue of men at arms,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54he would have his banners, his emblems with him,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58so that every stage of his life was a carefully choreographed ballet
0:35:58 > 0:36:01to manifest his power upon the world.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07When his brother was promoted to Archbishop of York,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09the second most powerful position in the church,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Warwick the Kingmaker threw an enormous feast.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18We have the menu of the feast
0:36:18 > 0:36:21and it shows that the Nevilles would go to extraordinary lengths
0:36:21 > 0:36:23to demonstrate their wealth.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25The feast lasted several days
0:36:25 > 0:36:31and 2,000 guests drank their way through 25,000 gallons of wine
0:36:31 > 0:36:33and ate, among other things,
0:36:33 > 0:36:384,000 mallard and 500 buck and stag.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43One table at this great Neville dinner
0:36:43 > 0:36:45was reserved for the young people,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48the royal kinsmen and women of the House of York.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Seated together, with some ladies of the royal court,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55were Anne Neville and Richard of Gloucester,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57the king's younger brother.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59She was nine and he was 13.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03And he was invited to the feast because he was her father's ward.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06So Anne and Richard were growing up in the same household.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11It was a mark of Anne's high status that she was living
0:37:11 > 0:37:14under the same roof as the king of England's own brother.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18The boy who would become Richard III.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Anne Neville was brought up, if not to think of herself quite as a princess,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25then certainly something close to it.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27She knew that her father had great wealth, great influence
0:37:27 > 0:37:29and very important political connections
0:37:29 > 0:37:34and I think this must have informed her sense of self, of who she was
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and what her expectations of her life might be.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Anne's father, Warwick the Kingmaker,
0:37:41 > 0:37:46was becoming more and more resentful of the new Queen of England,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50the former loyal Lancastrian and commoner Elizabeth Woodville.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54As Queen, Elizabeth could use pillow talk
0:37:54 > 0:37:57to influence her husband the king.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00And this was of huge benefit to her family.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03She had five brothers and seven sisters
0:38:03 > 0:38:08who were found excellent marriages and great positions in the realm.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15The Woodvilles were a large, extensive, enthusiastic
0:38:15 > 0:38:18and some said rapacious family,
0:38:18 > 0:38:24who very quickly began snapping up the available positions,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27awards, heirs to marry.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29It did look to their enemies
0:38:29 > 0:38:32as though the Woodvilles were staging a takeover of the country.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38But not even the Earl of Warwick could deny
0:38:38 > 0:38:41that in her most important duty to king and country,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Elizabeth exceeded expectations.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50As Queen, Elizabeth's main job was to produce heirs.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Making the dynasty secure
0:38:52 > 0:38:55and proving that it was blessed by God.
0:38:55 > 0:39:00Elizabeth was expected to be fertile, and she didn't disappoint.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Within the first five years of her marriage to Edward,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05she gave birth to three daughters.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10The birth of royal heirs was attended
0:39:10 > 0:39:12by much ritual and superstition.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18Each time Elizabeth had a baby, she had to follow a strict protocol.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25When the queen was expecting to give birth,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28she would effectively retire from the court.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30There would be a ceremonial mass
0:39:30 > 0:39:33that was attended by a lot of people as a farewell,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36and then she retired into a suite of rooms
0:39:36 > 0:39:38that had been specially prepared for her.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43At this point, women of her household would take on roles
0:39:43 > 0:39:48that had previously been fulfilled by men, and deliver what was needed.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53The queen passed the last few weeks of her pregnancy
0:39:53 > 0:39:55served exclusively by women.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01There's a wonderful description of the inner sanctum,
0:40:01 > 0:40:03the room where she was actually going to give birth.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04It's very dark and warm.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08There's got to be carpets on the floor, on the ceiling and the walls,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11it's got to be blue with fleur-de-lis.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Blue, of course was the colour of the Virgin Mary
0:40:13 > 0:40:18and so, fleur-de-lis was her symbol, so it's connecting in with this.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20There's a sumptuous main bed,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24which the bedspread would be edged in velvet and ermine,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26but then, there was a pallet bed,
0:40:26 > 0:40:28which had a big canopy over it in crimson
0:40:28 > 0:40:30with gold crowns all over it.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38After giving birth, the Queen was expected to rest for two months
0:40:38 > 0:40:41before she ceremoniously re-entered public life.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47There was a long procession to the chapel and that's where she would be churched,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51the ceremony of purifying, which had a bishop putting holy water over her
0:40:51 > 0:40:54and then, after that, they went in for mass.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03All of this ritual was designed to celebrate the arrival
0:41:03 > 0:41:05of what might be the future king.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09For Edward, a usurper of the throne,
0:41:09 > 0:41:14these customs were a very public way to reaffirm his dynasty.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22This contemporary image of Elizabeth with her three daughters
0:41:22 > 0:41:25is not just a reminder of her fertility.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30It demonstrates how unusual she was as a royal, medieval mother.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32She has her children by her side.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36She didn't farm them out to aristocratic connections,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38as other high-status mothers did.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40She kept them by her.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44She was a devoted mother in a way that we can understand today.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49But she had failed in one key duty -
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Elizabeth hadn't yet produced the all-important son and heir.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58And as each daughter arrived, the Earl of Warwick's resentment grew.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Eight years after putting Edward on the throne,
0:42:04 > 0:42:09Warwick the Kingmaker could no longer tolerate the grasping Rivers family
0:42:09 > 0:42:13and his relationship with Edward collapsed completely.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Warwick was deeply resentful that he had been replaced
0:42:17 > 0:42:20in the central councils of the King,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22indeed as the most principal supporter
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and subject...minister of the crown,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30by, in particular, Earl Rivers, Queen Elizabeth Woodville's father.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37The Kingmaker began to enact his rebellion.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38Against the King's wishes,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40he married his eldest daughter
0:42:40 > 0:42:41to the King's brother,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43George, Duke of Clarence,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45cementing a dangerous alliance
0:42:45 > 0:42:47in opposition to Edward.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Together, Warwick and George issued a proclamation
0:42:50 > 0:42:54against certain "seditious persons" in court.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Warwick the Kingmaker declared that the King was being misled
0:43:00 > 0:43:02by these evil ministers,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04the government of the kingdom was falling into rack and ruin
0:43:04 > 0:43:08and he, Warwick the Kingmaker, was going to put it right.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14After eight peaceful years in England, war was looming once more.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Having installed Edward on the throne,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Anne Neville's all-powerful father
0:43:19 > 0:43:22now set out to remove him and seize control.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27When the Kingmaker took up arms against the King at Edgecote Moor,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31England was pitched into the most unstable time in its history.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38Once again, the families of these three women went to war.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Anne Neville saw her father
0:43:40 > 0:43:43boldly turn against the King he'd once served.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Elizabeth Woodville was about to pay an awful price
0:43:46 > 0:43:49for her meteoric rise to power.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52And Margaret Beaufort's adored son,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55who had been growing up in the house of a Yorkist noble,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58was about to come under terrible threat.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07On the eve of battle, Margaret would have been at her home,
0:44:07 > 0:44:09praying for a York defeat.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11But her loyalties would have been divided,
0:44:11 > 0:44:16because fighting for the enemy was her 12-year-old son Henry.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18He'd been led into his first battle by his guardian,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21the Yorkist commander William Herbert.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Margaret must have been beside herself,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26praying for a York defeat,
0:44:26 > 0:44:28hoping for the safety of her son.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39The battle was a disaster for York.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Henry's protector, William Herbert, suffered an awful fate.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46He was overwhelmed by rebels,
0:44:46 > 0:44:49dragged away and executed by Warwick the Kingmaker.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55The boy, Henry, who must have seen all this happen,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57was abandoned on the battlefield.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Margaret sent out frantic messages
0:45:02 > 0:45:05to try and find out what had happened to her son.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08She must have feared he was captured or dead.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18But the boy had been escorted from the battlefield
0:45:18 > 0:45:20in a state of terror.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24He and Herbert's widow had found safety in a house nearby.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28Margaret sent a party of trusted servants to find him
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and generously rewarded those who had saved her son.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34For Henry himself, she sent a gift,
0:45:34 > 0:45:40a reminder of his inescapable destiny - a bow and arrows.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Without her son, Margaret's ambitions would come to nothing
0:45:46 > 0:45:50and this battle had come close to taking him from her.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54But Elizabeth Woodville would suffer devastating, permanent loss
0:45:54 > 0:45:57with Warwick the Kingmaker's victory.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Warwick's triumph meant that he became England's ruler.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10He captured Elizabeth's husband, the King,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12and imprisoned him in his castle.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18But his treatment of the Woodville family was much more savage.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22He seized the Queen's father and brother
0:46:22 > 0:46:26and, without trial or charge, had them beheaded.
0:46:27 > 0:46:33This was an act of pure revenge, driven by hatred and jealousy.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Having dealt with the men of the family,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39Warwick turned his attention to the matriarch - Jacquetta.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42He sent an armed guard to snatch her from her home
0:46:42 > 0:46:45and imprisoned her here, in Warwick Castle.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59Grief-stricken, having just lost her husband and her son,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Jacquetta now faced their murderer
0:47:01 > 0:47:05as he accused her of a crime punishable by death.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Capitalising on rumours
0:47:08 > 0:47:12circulating from the marriage of King Edward and Elizabeth,
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Warwick claimed that Jacquetta had used magic
0:47:14 > 0:47:18to bewitch the King into marrying her daughter.
0:47:23 > 0:47:30Witchcraft in the 15th century is the ability to influence
0:47:30 > 0:47:34what happens to another person
0:47:34 > 0:47:36either by making them sick,
0:47:36 > 0:47:39making them love you or hate you,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42making them lucky or unlucky by cursing them.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Fear of the power of the witch
0:47:47 > 0:47:50tapped into fear of woman's power in general.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54I mean, a witch could be this old crone over a cauldron,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57but she could also be young and beautiful,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00wielding a dangerous sexual magic
0:48:00 > 0:48:04and, of course, that very much ties in all too neatly
0:48:04 > 0:48:07with the story of Elizabeth Woodville's marriage
0:48:07 > 0:48:09and how it was made.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Jacquetta's fate was in the hands of her sworn enemy
0:48:14 > 0:48:18and the murderer of her husband and son.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22As she waited in this castle, the odds were stacked against her.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26One word from the Earl of Warwick was enough
0:48:26 > 0:48:28to condemn her to death by strangulation.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Warwick didn't just want Jacquetta dead,
0:48:35 > 0:48:39he wanted to prove her malign influence on the young King
0:48:39 > 0:48:43and he staged a full show trial with witnesses.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45He even produced two little figures -
0:48:45 > 0:48:48one representing the King and one the Queen,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51which he claimed Jacquetta had bound together
0:48:51 > 0:48:54"with witchcraft and sorcery."
0:48:57 > 0:49:01But, incredibly, Jacquetta escaped her punishment.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05The Kingmaker realised he had over-reached himself.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08He didn't have the support of England's political elite
0:49:08 > 0:49:10and he was forced to set the King free.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14Edward intervened and cleared his mother-in-law's name,
0:49:14 > 0:49:19but the Kingmaker's accusations would have permanent consequences.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28Jacquetta was publicly named as a witch,
0:49:28 > 0:49:32the royal wedding condemned as the product of witchcraft.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36A slur was laid on Jacquetta, and on her daughter Elizabeth,
0:49:36 > 0:49:38that would follow them throughout their lives,
0:49:38 > 0:49:43even to the grave and beyond - into the records of history.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48After a brief period of imprisonment,
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Edward IV was back in power.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54In March 1470, he forced Warwick the Kingmaker
0:49:54 > 0:49:56and his own brother, George, Duke of Clarence,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59into exile as traitors.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02The rebels took their wives and children
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and fled across the Channel.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Unable to find a safe port,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10they were nearly wrecked in stormy seas.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15The Kingmaker's thirst for power
0:50:15 > 0:50:17had brought his family into terrible danger.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21This was a far cry from Anne Neville's life of luxury in England.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28They're really fleeing for their lives, and as this is happening,
0:50:28 > 0:50:29as if that wasn't traumatic enough,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32her sister Isabel has gone into premature labour
0:50:32 > 0:50:35with her first child. There's no-one on the ship to help them,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38they've got no medicine, there is certainly no question of a doctor
0:50:38 > 0:50:41so the only people who would have been able to help Isabel
0:50:41 > 0:50:44were her mother, her sister, Anne, and their very few maids.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48This must have been a terrifying experience for Anne,
0:50:48 > 0:50:52and a very traumatic one because Isabel, although she survived,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54lost her baby.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Anne's life of privilege was completely torn from her.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18Her father, who had seemed invincible, had been defeated.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Her sister had lost the heir,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23they were in exile from their castles and lands,
0:51:23 > 0:51:27and there was no way of knowing how they would ever get back to England.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Having dragged his family into this situation,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Warwick needed a drastic plan to save them.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39And he found it.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42He would switch sides
0:51:42 > 0:51:45and forge an alliance with his enemies in the House of Lancaster.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Warwick went to Margaret of Anjou -
0:51:49 > 0:51:53wife of the deposed Lancastrian king Henry VI -
0:51:53 > 0:51:56with an astounding proposal.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Warwick's strength was always as a diplomat.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01He was brilliant at manipulating people,
0:52:01 > 0:52:05he was brilliant at making implausible alliances cement.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10And the idea he came up with in France was absolutely preposterous!
0:52:10 > 0:52:13He planned to marry his younger daughter, Anne Neville,
0:52:13 > 0:52:19to Prince Edward, the son and heir of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Warwick managed to convince Margaret that the only future
0:52:22 > 0:52:26for the Lancastrian cause lay in this marriage.
0:52:26 > 0:52:27She didn't let him off lightly.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30He had to grovel on his knees for a good 15 minutes,
0:52:30 > 0:52:35but Warwick pulls it off, this incredible, improbable alliance,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38and his daughter is betrothed to the Prince of Wales,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41which means, potentially, that she will be Queen of England.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52It was an extraordinary turn of events.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56Warwick was prepared to trade a lifetime of loyalty to York
0:52:56 > 0:52:59to see his daughter, Anne, on the Lancaster throne.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07Of course, nobody thought to ask Anne's opinion of this plan.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09It was not her choice.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Her marriage was the key to reversing her family's fortunes
0:53:12 > 0:53:14and saving the House of Lancaster.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20The betrothal made, Anne's father left her in Normandy
0:53:20 > 0:53:25and returned to England, raising a huge army to destroy King Edward.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Edward is completely caught unawares.
0:53:31 > 0:53:32It's one of those rare moments
0:53:32 > 0:53:33in Edward's career
0:53:33 > 0:53:36where he has been unable to second-guess his opponent.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41Luck has run out for him, and faced with his inability to put an army
0:53:41 > 0:53:45together in a short period of time, he and his closest advisors
0:53:45 > 0:53:48decide that flight is really the only option.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Edward IV was forced to abandon his throne and the Yorkist cause,
0:53:55 > 0:53:57and flee England.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02The Lancastrian king Henry VI was restored in his place.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07With her husband on the run, Elizabeth Woodville,
0:54:07 > 0:54:11the former Queen of England, was now in grave danger.
0:54:11 > 0:54:16Anne Neville's life had returned to its former glory.
0:54:16 > 0:54:17Her father, the Kingmaker,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21was once again the most powerful noble in England.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25For Margaret Beaufort, seeing her hero restored to the throne
0:54:25 > 0:54:28was reward for years of patient scheming.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34BELLS TOLL
0:54:34 > 0:54:37When her husband Edward escaped abroad,
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Elizabeth Woodville was left powerless, with nowhere to turn.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Pregnant once again, she sought sanctuary with her mother
0:54:45 > 0:54:47and daughters in Westminster Abbey.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53The concept of sanctuary was a kind of right of asylum,
0:54:53 > 0:54:58whereby if a fugitive won their way to a church or monastery
0:54:58 > 0:55:01or a place of sanctuary, they could claim that right
0:55:01 > 0:55:05and, for as long as they stayed there, the law couldn't touch them.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08The authorities could not come in and haul them out by force
0:55:08 > 0:55:12so it gave, at the very least, a breathing space.
0:55:13 > 0:55:14As a devout man,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Henry VI would not breach Elizabeth's right to protection.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24This must have been a terrible time for Elizabeth.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Her husband was far away, perhaps never to return, and she was
0:55:27 > 0:55:32entirely reliant on the kindness and generosity of the Abbey's staff.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36Her only contact with the outside world were messages
0:55:36 > 0:55:39smuggled in by loyal Londoners.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42And, in stark contrast to her previous royal births,
0:55:42 > 0:55:46she faced delivering this new baby in cramped, cold surroundings.
0:55:51 > 0:55:56On November 2nd, 1470, in the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59with her mother and three young daughters present,
0:55:59 > 0:56:03Elizabeth Woodville gave birth to a boy -
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Edward IV's all-important male heir.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Elizabeth named him Edward, for his father, and had him baptised
0:56:13 > 0:56:15in the Abbey like a poor man's son,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19not like a future king for the House of York at all.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22What should have been a moment of great rejoicing was actually a time
0:56:22 > 0:56:27of great anxiety. What would the future hold for this little boy?
0:56:33 > 0:56:36But Elizabeth Woodville's anxiety for her child,
0:56:36 > 0:56:41the exiled King's son, was in stark opposition to the opportunities
0:56:41 > 0:56:44Margaret Beaufort now saw for her boy.
0:56:45 > 0:56:51The child's uncle, the ailing king Henry VI, was back on the throne,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54and Margaret immediately arranged for the two to meet.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57It was an encounter that would have lasting significance
0:56:57 > 0:56:58for the young mother.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07Henry Tudor's official historian later reported that the frail king
0:57:07 > 0:57:09had met the boy and said,
0:57:09 > 0:57:15"This is he unto whom both we and our adversaryes must yeald
0:57:15 > 0:57:17"and geave of over the dominion.
0:57:17 > 0:57:23"Yt woold come to passe that Henry Showld in time enjoy the kingdom."
0:57:25 > 0:57:27We know that they met,
0:57:27 > 0:57:32but this premonition was probably claimed by Margaret after the event.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36She believed that her son was the Lancastrian king's rightful heir,
0:57:36 > 0:57:41and that one day, Henry Tudor would sit on the throne of England.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46This was not yet Margaret's moment.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Her ambitions for her son could wait.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54Her side, the House of Lancaster, was strengthened by a new alliance -
0:57:54 > 0:57:59the marriage between Anne Neville, the Kingmaker's daughter,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03and the king's son and heir, Edward Prince of Wales.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09At this moment, it was Anne who seemed to have it all.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12Her father's plan to put his daughter on the throne of England
0:58:12 > 0:58:14was coming together.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17She was Princess of Wales, married to Henry VI's son,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20and if the king could just hold on to his crown,
0:58:20 > 0:58:23one day she would be queen of England.
0:58:27 > 0:58:32Next time, Anne Neville emerges from the shadow of her Kingmaker father.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Elizabeth Woodville fights for survival.
0:58:37 > 0:58:42And Margaret Beaufort sees her way clear to power.