Parliament at Ludlow, 1484-1485

[Gandalfus]

Following the news that the King's heir has been born and an end to the festivities in Greenwich, the royal court was once again on the move. Edward had organised a royal progress to Ludlow Castle, with the royal household, including more than a thousand servants, retainers, and hangers on, were accompanied by the various nobles and their own respective entourages, which likely also numbered in the hundreds. A host of such size had to be fed, watered, and provided for, thus this bloated procession had to travel quickly at the risk of running out of provisions. They were unable to stay at any one castle or village for longer than a few days, following the Thames upriver through Berkshire and Oxfordshire - staying for a some days at the royal residence of Woodstock - before moving ever onward towards Wales. The King and his followers, after some difficulty with the horses and carts, crossed the river Severn at Gloucester, before swinging north-west towards the castle of Ludlow, the ancient seat of the Mortimer Earls of March.

For some days they stopped in the walled town of Hereford, where the King dispensed justice and solved some minor disputes between the landed gentry. Meanwhile, the party only grew ever larger. From Northumberland to Cornwall, every Peer in England had swiftly begun to converge upon Ludlow, in Shropshire, which on the eighteenth day of December would be graced by the King's presence. Lord Hastings, in his capacity as chancellor of Wales, would be the one to order the opening of the gates and welcome the King into the fortress. The King would firstly tend to his newborn son, presented to him by the recovering Queen and her household, and as tradition demanded would recognise him as his own unquestioned progeny. The King's new heir would be christened Richard of Ludlow, and immediately invested with the titles Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester and Earl of March following the official opening of the Parliament session.

The Peers would meet within the castle itself, the most expansive chamber available chosen to house the hundreds of nobles that would sit and debate upon matters of state. Larders had been fully stocked, but likely food and wine would constantly be in demand to supply the appetites of the realm's lords and the vast retinues that followed in their wake; the castle of Wigmore as well as nearby villages used to house those who physically could not fit within Ludlow proper. It was upon the twentieth day of December that Parliament finally opened to assume business, the King of England seated upon a slightly raised throne, the arms of the Kingdom engraved into the woodwork. Others would follow in taking their seats. Though the Peers would meet first, the Knights of the Shire and Burgesses had been summoned to a similar assembly to advise the King upon matters of finance: it was through this that many gleaned the rumour that a tax was perhaps soon to be raised, for nothing of the sort could be done without the permission of the Commons.

[General Brewster]

John Talbot, the lord lieutenant of Ireland and earl of shrewsbury had made the voyage from Ireland to attend parliament.

[Xion]

The Earl of Devon arrives to attend Parliament. Some time after the earl's arrival, Sir William de Courtenay of Powderham and Sir Edmond de Courtenay of Tremere arrive to attend parliament.

[Lucius Malfoy]

The Duke of Clarence, along with his son, John, Earl of Warwick, arrive at Ludlow Castle, with the King.

=======================

Lord Montagu, venturing from his northern lands, joins this session of Parliament.

[Pontifex Maximus]

The Duke of Aumale and the Archbishop of Canterbury arrive together. The Bishop of Durham arrives sometime later and separately.

[Mary The Quene]

Ralph Neville also arrives.

[Trot]

William Hastings arrives.

[Xion]

Devon, after reviewing a few items he brought with him in regards to the royal treasury as the Lord Treasurer, decides to stand up to address the presently assembled peers. "Your majesty, my lords." He pauses for a moment. "As surely most of you know, rumors of a tax have been going around since the royal court arrived here in Ludlow. I would like suggest another measure that would save the crown some funds, the disbandment or mothballing of a significant portion or the entirety of the Royal Navy." Devon pauses again to let the assembled nobility to begin to think on his statement. "The Royal Navy, with all of it's ships fully equipped and crewed, costs the crown over ten thousand pounds a year for it's maintenance. Something that I personally believe the realm does not require any more, as what enemies to the crown are there still that would require such a fleet? The fleet of the Hanseatic League was defeated and surely their trade disrupted to the point we could negotiate an end to that conflict. The Red Rose no longer lurks in France, having been destroyed at the Stour. While the fleet did not do anything to try and prevent the landing of Lancaster, assuming not the entirety of the navy sailed to the North Sea."

"The only adversary of the crown has left that would require such a fleet is the French, and I doubt war with France is on the horizon so soon after the end of the last conflict. The Irish, as I am sure my lord of Shrewsbury or his grace the Duke of Clarence can confirm, do not have a fleet that would necessitate the full might of the royal navy or even half of it. The Scottish I also doubt, should war with them occur in the coming years, also have such a fleet that keeping the Royal Navy at full strength is required to protect our shores. According to my estimates, mothballing the fleet would cut the costs to the crown at least by half while keeping the ships should we have need for them in the future. I shall leave it up to this body to determine which course of action, if either one, we should take."

[Oznerol]

Tudor arrives from his Welsh domains. Salisbury and Suffolk attend as well.

[Gandalfus]

Exeter is in attendance, also. He says nothing concrete or substantial, merely muttering some form of audible acceptance and support of Courtenay's proposal: if the treasury was empty, then the Kingdom certainly didn't need a Royal Navy that had so far only proven it was almost entirely useless.

--

The King tapped his hand idly upon the armrest of his throne.

"Very well, my Lord Devon. I gather thy thoughts upon the navy are shared by others here?"

Asked the King, gaze passing over those greater magnates who were present.

[Barry Goldwater]

Before the Parliament begins, Soleil eagerly awaited her king with their child in her arms, surrounded by her various ladies-in-waiting and the nurses who helped her deliver little Richard of Ludlow into the world. The birth had been far more painful than she could have imagined, but according to Ludlow's physician it had actually gone smoothly, and she had been all smiles since she laid her eyes on the soon-to-be Prince of Wales. Though she couldn't know it at the time (nor could anyone else), the boy would grow up to have his father's intelligence and then some...

---

At the actual Parliament, the Dukes of Gloucester & Somerset were of course in attendance, as were the Earls of Monmouth and Tankerville. All but Somerset expressed quick and/or quiet approval of Courtenay's proposal, with the realm's newest duke feeling the need to elaborate a little more on his decision: "While it pains me to do so, I must agree with the Lord Treasurer and support the mothballing of the Royal Navy. The Hansa have been dealt with and there is no other foe remaining that could or even has much interest in attempting to challenge us for mastery of the North Sea; much as the Royal Army had to be laid to rest after France, this is a cost-saving measure that's both necessary, as I have gathered from Devon's words, and practical in light of the war being effectively over. That said, I think it would be wise to send someone to Lubeck to negotiate a peace with the Hansa and extract as many concessions as we can from them before mothballing our ships, just in case they attempt anything to prolong this struggle."

[Pontifex Maximus]

Durham spoke up in agreement "What use is a a navy which costs so much, and that also fails to even warn of impending invasion from forces from France, much less engage them? It casts doubt on the whole purpose of having a standing fleet. I recommend its dismantling."

------

The Young Duke of Aumale awaited a turn to broach a subject that might prove controversial, but one which would be necessary in healing old rifts. The idea hadn't been his, but nonetheless he was the necessary mouthpiece for it.

[Lord William]

Earl of Worcester arrived to take part in the parliamentary proceedings

[Pontifex Maximus]

Upon seeing the Earl of Worcester enter the room,the Archbishop feels himself filled with sudden, irrepressible rage. He brandishes a mace hidden under his robes and lunges for the man, attempting to kill him.

[General Brewster]

Upon the unleashed chaos in the room, Red John took out his favorite, pocket sized stake and attempted with all his martial prowess to impale the King.