Roses can be white whilst others are red! And boy, how England bled!
‘At the king’s lamentable performance as monarch, the whole of England did frown!
With most of England’s French possessions lost, Henry suffered an enormous physical and mental breakdown!’
Although Cade’s rebellion had been put down and the leaders executed, further trouble was on its way. By the summer of 1453, all of England’s French lands, save Calais, had been lost. The news struck Henry in the manner of a thunderbolt, and left him an emotional and mental wreck. But, there were glad tidings that autumn as the Queen was delivered of a baby boy and thus a royal heir, named Edward. However, the king was in a terrible condition and a worried parliament appointed Richard, Duke of York as regent to rule in the king’s name. This would be York’s first protectorate.
‘Richard, Duke of York!
You are the man, who can walk the walk!
And spout the regal, royal talk!’
Richard, the third Duke of York.
The King recovers!
Come Christmas 1453, Henry had recovered his emotional and mental composure, thus ending York’s protectorate. York was now out of the power loop. The king now placed his trust in Edmund Beaufort 2nd Duke of Somerset. York was enraged at his banishment from court and Somerset’s elevation to the inner circle.
‘Richard, Duke of York was furious at his dismissal from power at court!
He concentrated his fury at the 2nd Duke of Somerset, Edmund Beaufort!’
The Duke of Somerset banishes Richard of York from the king’s presence.
The Duke of York and the Duke of Somerset were bitter enemies, and this enmity would precipitate the dreadful conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. England’s nobility now split into two factions. Those who supported the Duke of York were known as Yorkists and the supporters of the Duke of Somerset were referred to as Lancastrians.
The of the Roses, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York had begun.
Round 1 The Battle of St Albans – The opening salvo of the Wars of the Roses.
In May 1455, a great Council was to be held at Leicester led by the king, with Somerset at his side. Sensing danger at what he perceived as Somerset’s scheming, York decided to intercept the royal party en-route at St Albans. He wished to detach the Duke of Somerset from the king with a view to restoring himself to his former position.
Of course, detaching the Duke from the side of King Henry meant the detachment of Somerset’s head from his body, something that the king would not agree to. It was this disagreement that led to the first armed conflict of the long running military saga known as the War of the Roses.
At St Albans on May 22nd, York’s forces, and those of the king clashed at St Albans.
Result : A Yorkist victory.
The skirmish in which a mere 75 men were killed, was a decisive victory for the Yorkists. Somerset was killed and the king, who had taken refuge in a tanner’s cottage, was now effectively in Yorkist custody. Richard of York was jubilant as he escorted King Henry VI back to London.
‘The sun on Somerset’s ambitions of power, at St Albans had indeed set!
Many considered that rule by Richard of York was now the surest bet!’
As he journeyed south, the Duke of York considered himself solidly back on the path to power.