The official centre of government in medieval England is certainly the Palace of Westminster on the banks of the river Thames, with the original construction dating back to Saint Edward the Confessor. It is the principal seat of the monarch, the courts of justice, and the parliament of England. The vast complex is where much of the business of government takes place, whether the monarch is present or not, and it is surely a symbol of power and authority that whoever wishes to rule England must control, along with the Tower of London.
Regional Bonuses (Crown)
London (County):
Heart of England: Located upon the Thames, these fertile lands contain the capital of England, the beating heart of the crown. Those with estates located here undoubtedly benefit from the buzz and trade that thrives within England’s largest city. +10% estate income.
Provincial Bonuses:
London (Province):
Palace of Westminster: This palace has not just been the official meeting place of Parliament since 1295, but it is also currently the official royal residence of England's sovereigns. It is the centre of government for the entire country. Whoever controls it has quite the head-start on being considered England's legitimate monarch, not to mention control over the Kingdom's central administrative apparatus and access to Parliament. +2 Charisma, and grants the ability to call Parliament and raise taxes upon the populace. If the King loses this seat of power to a rival, he suffers a -5 malus to all AI interactions.
Westminster Abbey: This consecrated church is of special significance to the English Crown, as it is where England's Kings are traditionally crowned since Henry III (and long before him, Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror) and, also since Henry III, where most monarchs are laid to eternal rest. The controller gets +1 to reaction rolls when dealing with AI English nobles, and characters may also seek refuge within the abbey for up to 1 in-game year; unless permitted by the religious authorities, anyone who would do harm unto them on its consecrated ground will certainly have to face some consequences at the Church's hands. Control of this church is required to have a politically legitimate coronation: A King who has not been crowned here and does not control it suffers -5 malus to noble AI interactions.
The Tower of London: Built by the Conqueror on the northern bank of the Thames as a symbol of his power and a safe base of operations, the Tower of London is actually a castle complex shielded by two walls and a moat. The White Tower which gives the whole place its name can also (and famously did) serve as a prison for enemies of whoever happens to control London. In case London's outer defences falter, the surviving defenders can fall back here to hold out for another half-year (3.5 days). Prisoners locked up here also suffer -4 to escape rolls.
City of London: London is a fiercely independent city, and will refuse access to those who it does not favour - again, this is dependent on context, and will usually only occur in times of rebellion and warfare.
London Dockyard: Significantly enlarged during the reign of Edward IV to accommodate the growing royal navy, it has the added effect of allowing more trade and commerce into the city of London. +5% estate income, +20 requistionable ships, -10% naval upkeep, +3 Carrack slots.
Croydon:
Arsenal at Woolwich: This facility, constructed during the reign of Edward IV, is England’s only gun foundry. Though it is extremely expensive to maintain due to requiring those schooled in the construction of these flame-spitting war machines, it does allow the crown to regulate the small-scale production of these weapons within England, as well as making it more cost efficient for such weapons to be produced, as previously England's only source of gunpowder weaponry was from its allies upon the continent. -10% to the upkeep of gunpowder units.
EDWARD OF GRAFTON,
KING OF ENGLAND, KING OF IRELAND, KING OF FRANCE, DUKE OF AQUITAINE.
DATE OF BIRTH:
1467 - 14 years of age as of 1481 Anno Domini
TRAITS:
+2 Charisma
+2 Wealth
TEMPERMENTS:
- Idealistic: This person is a strong believer in higher ideals and the innate goodness of man. On the one hand they tend to be inspiring and uplifting figures, on the other they can be taken advantage of by those who live well beneath their expectations. +1 Charisma, -1 to rout/assassination/escape rolls.
- Submissive: This character is the sort of person others can easily walk all over. On the other hand, they're generally regarded as beneath suspicion, and if they ever find their spine they could easily strike back without their foes seeing it coming. -1 to Charisma, -1 Battles, +1 to assassination & escape rolls.
- Meticulous: This character loves to analyze situations down to the last minutiae before acting. On one hand this means they'll probably have a clear picture going in, on the other their decision-making abilities could easily become paralyzed as they spend too much time analyzing and not enough acting. +1 detection rolls, -5% movement speed.
BIO:
Edward of Grafton was born at Baynard's Castle to Elizabeth Woodville, with little pomp and ceremony, being, at the time, nothing more than one of the King's many illegitimate children. The subsequent saga of King Edward's marriage, leading to Elizabeth Woodville being crowned Queen in 1471, transformed the fortunes of this royal son. Now the heir to England's throne, the now Prince of Wales was sent to Ludlow Castle to be tutored under the watchful eye of Edmund Kyriell, the Earl of Cambridge. Rarely seeing his father, Grafton's daily interactions were mostly with Cambridge, his other tutors, and the other children that had been jostled into the Prince's household by parents eager to see their children become playmates with England's future King. His thin frame and lanky gait makes him ill suited to martial pursuits (no matter how hard Cambridge tried), and thus the boy has instead dedicated himself to the gaining of knowledge, with a keen sense of justice and a sharp intellect to match. Grafton is dedicated to being the romanticised ideal of the benevolent monarch; isolated from the royal court, the now-king has grown up away from the type of cutthroat courtly politics that saw his father gain the throne and his mother supplant Margaret Percy as Queen. The king is best described as naïve, prone to believing in the innate good of man that is spurred on by the just rewards the virtuous shall receive in heaven. Now this boy wears the crown of England, his hand undoubtedly to be guided by whoever asserts themselves as the true power of English politics.
Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Dowager
[FIELDSET2=The Woodvilles]
QUEEN ELIZABETH WOODVILLE
Born 1437 (44).
Status: Married, firstly Sir John Grey of Groby, secondly, Edward IV. Children:Thomas Grey (born 1455), Richard Grey (born 1457), Elisabeth of York (born 1466), Edward V (born 1467), Richard of Westminster (born 1470), Bridget of York (1472), Edmund of Rutland (1473).
Traits (6) and temperaments:
+3 Survival
+3 Charisma
Sanguine:
- Confident: This character is very self-assured, brimming with confidence and difficult to shake even under pressure. However, taken to an extreme, they can show a suicidal disregard for their life and the lives of others, and fail to take...well, failure into account when planning. +1 battle rolls, +1 to rout rolls against this character.
Melancholic:
- Haggler: This character is obsessed with getting the best possible deal for themselves, and ever watchful (even paranoid) for anyone trying to rip them off. This sort of fellow is rarely the sort others like, but none can deny their ability to sniff for gold. +2% income and improves loot from raids, -2 Charisma.
- Meticulous: This character loves to analyze situations down to the last minutiae before acting. On one hand this means they'll probably have a clear picture going in, on the other their decision-making abilities could easily become paralyzed as they spend too much time analyzing and not enough acting. +1 detection rolls, -5% movement speed.
BIOGRAPHY:
Lady Elizabeth was born of the unequal marriage of the widow Duchess of Bedford, Jacquetta of Luxembourg (daughter of Peter de Luxembourg, count of Brienne, Saint-Pol and Conversano) and Sir Richard Woodville, a mere knight of an ancient but humble family; he was later created Baron Rivers in 1448. They had met in the household of John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford and Jacquetta's elderly husband, where Sir Richard had served as chancellor; they married only two years after Bedford's death in 1435, Elizabeth being born the same year. Without firstly seeking the king's approval for their union. Their daughter became a truly beautiful and comely woman, with heavy-lidded eyes and a cascade of golden hair, who married the 6th Baroness Ferrers of Groby's heir (she was a widow of Edward Grey, who later married John Bourchier), Sir John Grey in 1452. Alas, the heir to the barony died in the battle of Towton in 1461.
A young and atractive widow, she met at some point Edward IV, soon-to-be crowned King of England, with Elizabeth seemingly becoming his paramour. Quite ironically, because her first husband had died fighting York. Edward ended marrying Lady Margaret Percy in 1465, in the wake of the First Lancastrian Invasion and under the pressure of the Duke of Norfolk, the man behind the throne. However, some whisper the King had actually, secretly, married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464... In 1466 Elizabeth delivered a daughter, her namesake, and only a year after in 1467, a boy was born, called after his royal progenitor, Edward. Few years later she was acknowledged as England's one and true queen, been crowned with due pomp soon thereafter. Elizabeth's raise to power awakened the envy or even repulse among many magnates, who looked down at the obscure queen with contempt. However, with the House of York ruling uncontested over the realm her own status as queen was unquestioned, circumstance she used to promote her extense family, marrying off her siblings to scions of the noblest families in England. The ambitious queen used his numerous relatives to ciment her own standing and in turn, they were showered with grants and signs of royal favor: advantageous matches, manors and farms, wardships and more. Her power-grabbing attitude has gained her many sworn enemies, but considering her sway over Edward IV, none could even dare to raise a hand against the voracious royal consort. One of her latest acts of depredation was the purchase of Lady Scales' wardship, immediately after her father's heroic death, and its transfer to her brother Rivers, who promptly married off her new ward to his own son and heir, Lionel, augmenting his increasingly considerable wealth.
The death of Edward IV left her absolutely devastated, for Woodville genuinely loved her husband, notwithstanding his numerous flaws of character and recurring infidelity. However, she quickly assumed was her duty to assume the whole regency for herself, as was fitting for the queen dowager and mother of the new heir. Elizabeth's voracity has deprived her of many potential allies, friends that could have been very valuable in the uncertain years ahead. But, instead, she relies in her numerous creatures and relatives, centered around her siblings, her in-laws and her eldest sons, Thomas and Richard Grey. She has little affection for her brothers-in-law, including the sly and despicable Exeter, the pompous Suffolk and the self-righteous and stiff Gloucester, while harboring a complete indifference towards Clarence. However, she does favor Gloucester over the rest, believing no harm could come from the gentlest, most loyal and intelligent of all the York siblings.
Sir Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, Lord Protector of England
Age: 29 (born 2 October, 1452) Spouse: Mary of Burgundy (24, b. 13 February 1457) Traits: 6 pts
+4 Battles (base 3, +1 from 'Reserved' trait)
+2 Personal Combat
+2 Survival (base 1, +1 from 'Pessimistic' trait)
+5% income (Austere)
-2 Charisma ('Pessimistic' and 'Reserved')
Temperaments:
Phlegmatic - dominant: - Austere: This character disdains pomp and pageantry, instead preferring a plain & simple (the uncharitable might say 'rigidly spartan') lifestyle. +5% income, -1 Charisma.
- Reserved: This character is a stoic who generally keeps to him/herself and exercises strict control over their emotions. While this means they're not likely to make reckless moves in court or on the battlefield, they can come across as unfeeling robots to others. +1 battle rolls, -1 Charisma.
Melancholic - subservient: - Pessimistic: This character is always looking at the negative side of things. They may be right in some cases - when you suspect every man you meet to be a bad guy, you're probably right at least one out of ten times - but it doesn't exactly make them endearing. +1 to survival rolls, -1 Charisma.
----------------
Richard, Duke of Gloucester is the youngest son of his namesake Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and failed claimant to the English throne. From birth he was afflicted with scoliosis, a disorder that left his spine unnaturally curved and forced him to wear heavy padded clothing to mask the resulting hunchback. Despite his disfigurement, Richard grew up to be a diligent lad, who would rigorously spar until he collapsed from exhaustion in an (unsuccessful) effort to set his back right. He also got along with his family, who by and large loved and accepted him even in spite of his humpback, from his parents to his elder brothers Edward, Edmund and George and his many sisters from Anne, future Duchess of Exeter to Margaret, future Duchess of Burgundy. In return, he gave them his similarly unconditional love and loyalty.
What a shame, then, that his father York and brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland were killed at the Battle of Wakefield and their heads spiked above Micklegate Bar when Richard was only eight years old. And so, for the first time in his life, the soon-to-be Duke of Gloucester - then living at Middleham Castle, the seat of his father's Neville ally the Earl of Warwick, and acquainted with his host's daughters - learned true hatred and wrath.
Like their remaining middle brother George, Richard was too young to help Edward of March avenge their butchered kin. Nonetheless this quiet and ponderous last son of York understood what it meant when that eldest brother of theirs returned in glorious triumph from the battlefields of Towton to be crowned Edward IV, and even before hitting puberty he took in the sight of the head of Margaret of Anjou - the Queen of the House of Lancaster, and the woman who had York and Rutland's heads spiked - rolling on Tower Hill after a later clash at Wallingford with a decidedly unchildlike nonchalance. Upon reaching the age of 14 two years after that, he was assigned as ward to Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland and a former Lancastrian who had demonstrated his own allegiance to York by helping to destroy the Lancastrian Duke of Somerset and his Scottish at Carlisle soon after Wallingford, and served diligently in his new capacity for four years. In that time he unwittingly played a small but crucial part in causing the downfall of another Margaret, his guardian's daughter Queen Margaret Percy; it was he who recovered his nephews borne by Margaret after she handed them off to a Flemish artist, and honestly informed both Edward IV and Northumberland that Margaret had told him that she trusted that Fleming more than anyone else in the court (for some reason which she did not explain to him in particular), which in turn planted the seed of fear that she was having an affair behind Edward's back in the minds of half the realm.
Having been emancipated at 18, the young Duke of Gloucester was assigned to serve as Lord Chancellor of Wales and later Lord Captain of Calais, and again he served quietly, faithfully and dutifully in both offices. Some years later, while his other brother George of Clarence was fighting in Ireland, Richard was married to the noble lady Mary - then only living child to Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, Europe's wealthiest and most warlike magnate; as it turned out, the marriage was key to a renewed Anglo-Burgundian alliance against the Crown of France, whose wearer King Louis had supported the House of Lancaster against Richard's own House of York time and again. Soon after conceiving a son with his new wife, Richard was directed to aid his father-in-law in a war against the German city of Neuss, which had done him offense by evicting Burgundy's ally from their halls of power, and to bring him round to support Edward IV's own invasion of France. This Gloucester did his best to accomplish, helping Charles storm Neuss' walls and reduce its gates to splinters with gunpowder-filled 'rams' before 1474 ended.
Unfortunately for all parties involved Charles was a muleheaded man with more ambition & pride than sense, overly determined to realize his dream of a new Lotharingia stretching from the Low Countries and the Moselle Valley to Arles, and drunk on his victory over Neuss he decided to press his luck with an invasion of Lorraine rather than any actual part of France. Disgruntled though he may have been at being ignored, the ever stoic and dutiful Richard followed his father-in-law into defeat after defeat at the business end of Swiss pike columns, until Charles finally got himself killed at the 1477 Battle of Nancy where he attempted to take on a Swiss and Lorrainer army several times larger than his own in the middle of a snowstorm. Richard was left to pick up the pieces that were left of the once-proud Burgundian army, and combining them with his own battered English detachment, he led this badly bloodied host on a desperate struggle to preserve the Burgundian possessions from French encroachment and at the same time assist his brother's armies in western & northern France wherever he could. In these dark years where he frantically raced from battlefield to battlefield and engaged French armies often several times larger than his own with little room for personal comfort or even sleep, the only help he got from home came in the form of the Dukes of Buckingham and Suffolk, the brother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth Woodville and husband to his older sister Elizabeth of York respectively. With their support, and despite the odds arrayed against him, Gloucester managed to keep Burgundy in the fight and persist as a thorn in France's side until 1479, when to his deep anger and disgust the Burgundian peers cut a separate peace deal with their French adversary behind his back and that of his other sister Margaret, Charles the Bold's widow.
Abandoned by the Burgundians, Richard and the other Englishmen made their way to Normandy, where they linked up with the main English host under Edward IV himself and were present at the great yet greatly inconclusive bloodbath of Quessigny, 1480. He was present at the signing of the Treaty of Picquigny later that same year, where the five-year war was brought to an end and yet England managed to secure only a slice of Aquitaine for all their efforts and all the blood shed; a great injustice, Gloucester thinks, which he blames on the Burgundian nobility for abandoning the fight. Since then, Gloucester returned to his duties as Lord Captain of Calais, and privately seethes with resentment over what could have been. Coincidentally, his focus on the southern half of the Kingdom of England has also left him in position to attend his eldest brother's deathbed, bringing him both unmeasured grief and hidden opportunities to slip out from the shadow of the Sun of York...
As a man, Richard could hardly resemble his brothers Edward IV, Rutland and Clarence less. Where they are fair and strongly built, he is dark and slender, though years of exercise and warfare have left his muscles well-honed and taut. And where they are full of vitality, vigor and fire, he is much cooler and sterner in temperament, quiet and calculating with little love of pageantry, all bite and no bark. His experience trying to direct an entire front of the Hundred Years' War's latest phase while chronically outnumbered by the French foe, undersupplied by his increasingly reluctant Burgundian allies, and almost entirely cut off from his family and home have left him gaunter and grimmer than ever. Still, though his hunchbacked countenance and cold manner may be off-putting to many, the youngest son of York is a loyal brother and friend to those few who truly know him. Moreover, with his older brother Clarence still alive and ahead of him in the line of succession (as well as all of Clarence's progeny), none have reason to fear that this particular Duke might snuff out his nephews borne by Woodville, even if their mother's constant grasping for more power and titles has increasingly concerned him over the past years. 'Loyaulte me lie' (loyalty binds me) goes the White Boar's motto, and for the foreseeable future at least, he is determined to not give anyone cause to doubt the truth of those words.
Arms and Garter plate of Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Battle standard of the Duke of Gloucester, a common sight on the 'eastern front' of the Hundred Years' War's Yorkist phase, 1474-80
Richard's family
Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Gloucester, Richard's wife - 24, b. 13 February 1457
Lionel of Calais, Richard and Mary's son - 6, b. 11 January 1475
Richard's other relations
Brother to George, Duke of Clarence; Anne Holland, née Plantagenet of York; Elizabeth de la Pole, née Plantagenet of York; Margaret of Valois-Burgundy, née Plantagenet of York
Paternal uncle to King Edward V, his siblings & paternal half-siblings (incl. Margaret Percy's issue and Arthur, Viscount Bourchier)
Uncle in both blood and law to Philip, Duke of Burgundy
Brother-in-law to Elizabeth Woodville, Anthony Woodville and their siblings
Brother-in-law to X Howard (?)
Brother-in-law to Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, and uncle by marriage to his children
Brother-in-law to John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and uncle by marriage to his children
Estates and honors
Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford
Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, Earl of Rutland
Elizabeth of York
Royal Household
Lord Steward of the Household: Thomas Grey, Earl of Salisbury
Lord Chamberlain of the Household: Thomas Grey, Earl of Salisbury
Keeper of the Wardrobe: John Plantagenet, 19th Earl of Warwick
Master of Horse: Richard of Westminster, 1st Duke of York
Principal Secretary: Laurence Grey, 1st Earl of Kent
First Lady of the Bedchamber: Elizabeth of York
Cheshire Archers
The King has a special guard of longbowmen from the forests of Cheshire that attend him personally. Known as the Cheshire Archers, this elite bodyguard consists of 100 Yeomen Archers that are free of upkeep. These royal yeomen serve as the King's bodyguard and ensure the security of his family as well as his royal person. As many units as the King sees fit can be detached from his retinue on different missions, otherwise they can be expected to always be near the Sovereign.
Orders of the Garter
ORDER OF THE GARTER
Reigning King: Edward V
Last edited by Gandalfus; September 04, 2017 at 04:14 AM.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Humphrey Bourchier, arrives to speak to the Regent. He was conspicuously absent from the council meeting but after a brief exchange with his brother, he was up to date on matters.
Humphrey took a seat, a large gold cross dangling from his neck. "good day Lord Regent, I am told that after a meeting of the peers, a general agreement has been struck to uphold the King's will." he began
"You would be correct, Archbishop." Richard stated simply but decisively with a nod. "I am determined to carry out my duties as assigned by His late Majesty's will, as will my brother of Clarence I'm sure, once he gets here."
"I am gladdened and relieved to hear this. I am sure, then, that the sums the late King left to the Church will in fact be honored." Humphrey said with a smile.
"I am gladdened and relieved to hear this. I am sure, then, that the sums the late King left to the Church will in fact be honored." Humphrey said with a smile.
"Naturally." Richard responded, politely but with no trace of a smile on his face. Then again, that was his default expression. "I aim to honor the Crown's debts to all, from the Lombards to our own coin-counters to, of course, the Church."
Originally Posted by Gandalf.
Holland entered Westminster Palace, a few days after the fateful council meeting. He wishes to secure a private audience with the regent.
Though not necessarily in that order, if you know what's good for you. "Very good my Lord. I will of course be at the King's funeral...and the King's coronation.I hope that the regency may be a period of mutual benefit, and that the realm may prosper."
Coming from his townhouse near the bridge to Southwark, Stafford rides into the enclosure of Westminster's church lands and then passed a minute later into the grounds of the palace.
The Duke of Buckingham, they say, seeks the regent's ear on a matter this day - though one of his stewards would do just fine if Gloucester is indisposed.
Though not necessarily in that order, if you know what's good for you. "Very good my Lord. I will of course be at the King's funeral...and the King's coronation.I hope that the regency may be a period of mutual benefit, and that the realm may prosper."
"I am certain that everyone shares your hopes, Archbishop. I know I do." Gloucester replied. "Is there anything else?"
Originally Posted by Dirty Chai
Coming from his townhouse near the bridge to Southwark, Stafford rides into the enclosure of Westminster's church lands and then passed a minute later into the grounds of the palace.
The Duke of Buckingham, they say, seeks the regent's ear on a matter this day - though one of his stewards would do just fine if Gloucester is indisposed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Duke of Gloucester, busy as he might be, always had time for his fire-forged friends from the battlefields of Burgundy. Thus, he greets Stafford personally in Westminster's main audience chamber. "Be welcome, good Buckingham. What brings you here?"
Originally Posted by Gandalf.
"I thought I may be able to assist in some matters of state, My Lord Gloucester, or at least bring them to your attention."
Said Holland, after deferring to Richard with a deft inclination of his head.
"If you are not already pre-occupied, of course. I would very much hate to impose."
"What matters of state do you have in mind, Lord Exeter?" Gloucester replied, one eyebrow raised.
The Duke of Gloucester, busy as he might be, always had time for his fire-forged friends from the battlefields of Burgundy. Thus, he greets Stafford personally in Westminster's main audience chamber. "Be welcome, good Buckingham. What brings you here?"
"Good day to you, my lord of Gloucester."
Henry Stafford gave a deferential nod of the head to the regent, while his squire and wards - who he had following him most places, within reason, for that was how you educated your charges - gave distinct bows from the waist.
"Fore things foremost," the lesser duke began, reaching his hand out of the folds of his airy coat in gesture, "I have not offered personal commiseration to thee over the death of the king, your brother. His body is much mourned, however, and I believe his soul will want not for heavenly bliss."
Now he offered what was more distinctly a bow, from the waist - though his wards remained still, watching curious.
"Secondly, I would thank thee for the recommendation to the constabulary of the white tower. I would accept this post in response, if it still seems appropriate to your lordship."
"Firstly, I have a few concerns in my own locality of Devonshire and Somerset that might be alleviated if a High Sheriff were appointed. With the uncertainty surrounding the lands of the late Lord Kent, a few lords there are becoming... Unruly."
Holland's hushed tone gave the impression that he felt he could speak to Gloucester in confidence.
"I wouldn't be so bold as to suggest my second son, but... He's often been overlooked by me, I admit, for my eldest. He stands to inherit nothing. I think some light responsibility would do him some good."
Lord Suffolk arrived, hugely agitated and murmuring, to the palace. He requests an audience with his brother-in-law, Lord Gloucester. He mutters such words as "outrageous", "vagrant", "unworthy sack of fat and iddleness" while incessantly walking around the chamber.
"Firstly, I have a few concerns in my own locality of Devonshire and Somerset that might be alleviated if a High Sheriff were appointed. With the uncertainty surrounding the lands of the late Lord Kent, a few lords there are becoming... Unruly."
Holland's hushed tone gave the impression that he felt he could speak to Gloucester in confidence.
"I wouldn't be so bold as to suggest my second son, but... He's often been overlooked by me, I admit, for my eldest. He stands to inherit nothing. I think some light responsibility would do him some good."
"I don't believe we've ever met, your son and I." Gloucester replied, scratching his chin in thought. "I should like to meet him in person before I make my decision. Can he arrive in London by the time of the coronation, at the very latest?"
Originally Posted by Oznerol
Lord Suffolk arrived, hugely agitated and murmuring, to the palace. He requests an audience with his brother-in-law, Lord Gloucester. He mutters such words as "outrageous", "vagrant", "unworthy sack of fat and iddleness" while incessantly walking around the chamber.
Suffolk is granted his audience. When the Duke of Gloucester enters the chamber, he quickly notices his brother-in-law's agitation and does not hesitate to ask, "Is something the matter, brother Suffolk?"
"I thank you for the swift audience, brother Gloucester"
He wavered his hands, with anger.
"The inheritance of Kent has been settled!"
Said Suffolk.
"I had reached a fair compromise with His Eminence, dividing the lands evenly between his nephew and my son, the noble Lincoln, but... but... that... duke of Buckingham decided it was unrightful and unlawful! Simply, my son's wife should get a larger share of her father's inheritance, as she is mother to the sole grandson of the late lord Anthony Neville"
He was fuming.
"Instead, he decided was right to grant many prosperous lands to that meek girl, still unmarried, and who I would rather see spending her days in prayer"
"That is all, Gloucester." Humphrey concluded. "I stand ready to begin my official duties with regards to the funeral arrangements and coronation when called upon."
"Very well." Gloucester replied with a nod.
Originally Posted by Gandalf.
"I can endeavour to do so, Lord Gloucester. He's at my residence in Dartington, currently, so I shall have him fetched as soon as I can. I shall in your debt."
Smiled Holland, who went to move away, only to apparently recall something.
"Oh, and also, there is my dear nephew, Ralph Neville, son of the last Earl of Westmorland. He served me well in France, fighting for our late King..."
Exeter then grimaced, and placed his hands on his hips.
"But, you see, his is quite destitute, living off an uncle's charity, as his blood is tainted by the writ of attainder. Should he prove his worth, it is my ambition to see his blood restored, and perhaps his ancestral lands recovered."
Then Exeter laughed.
"But, one step at a time, eh? I should like to see his loyalty proven in some official capacity first, so the realm knows his worth."
It appeared that 'matters of state' to Exeter meant that matters concerning him and his family, at least.
"I can understand you are busy governing the Kingdom, my Lord Gloucester, and so I shall not press you further. But, it does trouble my heart to know that I am excluded from assisting in my nephew's government."
"Neville, eh?" Richard vaguely recalled what had befallen them. The Lancastrian Nevilles were the senior branch of the family, descended from the 1st Earl of Westmorland's union with his first, Stafford wife. From his days under Lord Percy, he learned that they'd been dispossessed entirely in favor of their rivals, the junior branch of the Nevilles that produced the Kingmaker and the Marquess of Montagu. Richard could not fathom reversing the attainder that had cost these senior Nevilles their everything, considering it was done to reward the junior Nevilles who'd been staunch Yorkists from the start (and who had lost much to the Woodvilles and Greys), but he had an...alternative in mind.
"Yes...yes. He shall have his chance to prove himself sooner or later. Sooner, if fortune and time and the Crown's coffers permit." Gloucester finally stated, enigmatic and decisive at the same time. In all these years he had never forgotten Berwick, which even his brother had failed to take. Oh, but if he could have his way, they wouldn't stop there - there was a friendly pretender they could place on the Scottish throne, and failing that, he'd seen and heard of the old maps that showed Lothian being part of Old England. What once was could be again, and rewards for the deserving would come with it.
"I did mention that two advisory seats on the Council were vacated, owing to the recent war in France. One is set to be filled by Salisbury." The royal duke said, almost thinking out loud after Exeter lodged his last complaint. "Perhaps the other might suit you, if you wish it." Exeter had a poor reputation, on the one hand - Gloucester remembered he fought at Towton for Lancaster, then conveniently failed to show up at Wallingford until after the battle was won by his brother's forces. And on the other, he'd been the most ardent opponent of Elizabeth Wydeville's efforts to mess with her husband's will earlier in the council meeting, and it couldn't hurt to have such a man on the council to balance out the Woodville influence projected through Rivers and Grey.
Originally Posted by Trot
William Hastings arrives in the hopes of meeting with the regent.
Audience also granted.
Originally Posted by Oznerol
"I thank you for the swift audience, brother Gloucester"
He wavered his hands, with anger.
"The inheritance of Kent has been settled!"
Said Suffolk.
"I had reached a fair compromise with His Eminence, dividing the lands evenly between his nephew and my son, the noble Lincoln, but... but... that... duke of Buckingham decided it was unrightful and unlawful! Simply, my son's wife should get a larger share of her father's inheritance, as she is mother to the sole grandson of the late lord Anthony Neville"
He was fuming.
"Instead, he decided was right to grant many prosperous lands to that meek girl, still unmarried, and who I would rather see spending her days in prayer"
"I do not understand..." Richard replied, puzzled. "Did Buckingham not execute the law as it was written, as is the duty of the Lord High Constable of the realm? You and I know him, he wouldn't knowingly commit an injustice."
Gloucester then sighed, and placed his head in one hand. "In all the years that we've known him, the amiable and sincere Buckingham has given me no reason to mistrust his judgment, brother Suffolk. Why did you seek a less than equitable settlement in the first place, when you and your family are already so prosperous, and knowing that Buckingham is...well, Buckingham?" He could already guess, of course. The De la Poles had a reputation for greed, going back to John's father Jackanapes. As committed to justice and brutal honesty as he was, Gloucester wasn't thinking of reversing Buckingham's judgment, either.
"Let us suppose I am unable or unwilling to amend the judgment of Buckingham." He definitely was. "What would you consider just recompense for the lost Neville lands?" For the sake of their wartime friendship, Gloucester was prepared to pay out of his own pocket or name De la Pole's offspring to sheriffs of something or other, as Holland had requested the other day.
Last edited by Barry Goldwater; August 06, 2017 at 06:06 PM.
"I do not understand..." Richard replied, puzzled. "Did Buckingham not execute the law as it was written, as is the duty of the Lord High Constable of the realm? You and I know him, he wouldn't knowingly commit an injustice."
Gloucester then sighed, and placed his head in one hand. "In all the years that we've known him, the amiable and sincere Buckingham has given me no reason to mistrust his judgment, brother Suffolk. Why did you seek a less than equitable settlement in the first place, when you and your family are already so prosperous, and knowing that Buckingham is...well, Buckingham?" He could already guess, of course. The De la Poles had a reputation for greed, going back to John's father Jackanapes. As committed to justice and brutal honesty as he was, Gloucester wasn't thinking of reversing Buckingham's judgment, either.
"Let us suppose I am unable or unwilling to amend the judgment of Buckingham." He definitely was. "What would you consider just recompense for the lost Neville lands?" For the sake of their wartime friendship, Gloucester was prepared to pay out of his own pocket or name De la Pole's offspring to sheriffs of something or other, as Holland had requested the other day.
"I just probably... went out of mine head with the settlement. Those lands are far too prosperous to not try to get some more, my Lord. Greed is my capital sin, my confessor keeps forcing penitence on me, with no avail"
He said, walking around, hands clasped behind his back.
"How can't you desire more lands? I lived as a destitute orphan for years, vultures preying on my meager lands and starting suits and writting libels against my mother, shall the Virgin have mercy on her soul, and yet here I stand"
Suffolk's income had been barely over a couple hundred pounds for many years.
"Only through sheer will and ambition I regained all my father's lands and doubled my income"
He reassured himself, looking back at Gloucester.
"I completely lost my temper at court. Wanted to force the desired outcome. I'm afraid my relationship with Stafford is beyond repair"
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Originally Posted by Pontifex Maximus
