Edward of Middleham is most famous for having died young. Like his cousins, the Princes in the Tower, he was one of those many individuals who were briefly in line to the throne but never made it; one of history’s tantalising “what-ifs.” Another lost opportunity; the favourite food of historical fiction. Yet, certain clues suggest he might actually have made a good king.
Edward was the only legitimate child of Richard and
Anne, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. His loss had significance far beyond the
intense personal grief of his parents, who had by that time become king and
queen. He appears to have often suffered from ill-health, forcing him to miss
their coronation in 1483 and meaning he had to be carried on a litter to his
investiture as Prince of Wales. Yet his father’s succession had come as a
surprise to all. The boy’s namesake, the twelve-year-old Edward V, waiting in
the Tower, had been anticipating his coronation that summer but had never made
it into the Abbey. What a greater revelation was it then, to Richard’s son, who
then learned he may one day become king ? Much of his life had been spent in
his sick room: could he really rule England? It is impossible now to recapture
anything about Edward’s character but one connection I explored whilst
researching my biography of his mother, Anne Neville, shows us what would have
been on the syllabus in the Middleham schoolroom.
Had young Edward lived to take the advice of his
teachers, he could have proved a formidable opponent to Henry VII and a
diplomatic ruler. Of course, the facts are the facts. After all, Richard was
defeated on the battlefield at Bosworth and Edward of Middleham did die young.
Hindsight tells us he would never sit on the throne of England. His suitability
to rule is one of those “what-ifs” of historical speculation that allow us to
glimpse tantalising alternatives. However, between June 1483 and April 1484,
Edward’s future kingship was a very real possibility in which he and his
parents could believe. The woman who presided over his nursery was well placed
to prepare him for such a dazzling future.
Edward died on April 9 1484, aged somewhere between
seven and ten. Little is known about his short life; even his birthdate is
disputed, occurring somewhere between his parents’ marriage in 1472 and his
inclusion in prayers offered for Richard and Anne, Duke and Duchess of
Gloucester in the spring of 1477. He was born at Middleham Castle, where local
tradition names one of the towers after him. The court rolls list an Isabel
Burgh as his wet-nurse and the “mistress of the nursery” was Anne Idley, née
Creting, from Oxfordshire. Anne had been widowed around the time of Edward’s
birth and left her home at Market Drayton, to enter the Middleham household.
Her husband had been Peter Idley, author of a book of manners, or education,
for the rearing of boys, called Instructions
to his Son.
Idley was contributing to an established tradition.
The late fifteenth century saw a glut of instruction books, aimed at improving
the manners of the aspirational middle classes in every respect, from dining
etiquette, to appearance and protocol. The “Boke of Nurture,” the “Babees
Book,” the “Young Children’s Book” and the “Book of Courtesy” were among many
advising medieval “wannabes” to wash their hands and face, tell the truth and
“let no foul filth” appear on their clothing. Idley’s Instructions were composed in the late 1440s, following his first
marriage and the birth of his son John. Three decades later his widow, Anne,
was the guardian of his book and his legacy. After she arrived at Middleham,
John refused to pay her the annuity they had agreed, leading Richard to intervene
to ensure the debt was settled. His father’s advice apparently had little
impact on John but the future King’s son would have benefited from it instead.
As “lady governess” of Edward’s nursery, Peter’s
widow would have overseen the arrangements for his education. It is not
impossible that she taught him directly from the book herself. When she was
employed by the Gloucesters, Edward never expected to be anything other than
the nephew of the King, although it was crucial that he received a suitable
training for this prestigious role. Idley’s advice is in two volumes, the first
dealing with the theme of “wise business” and fickleness of fortune, while the
second includes religious teachings and the handling of sin. Family connections
and loyalty were important. A young man should leave idleness until his old age
and “set his mind” to business, for the advancement of his friends and
relatives. He should also honour his parents and see their blessing as a
reward. His father’s advancing age should serve as a reminder to a “negligent”
child that “after warme youth coometh age coolde.” In all dealings, he should
be lowly and honest to rich and poor, in both word and deed, and respectful of
his masters and superiors. It is no coincidence that the maxim “manners maketh
man” dates from this period.
Discretion was considered important too. Idley
advised keeping “within thi breste that may be stille” and not letting the
tongue “clakke as a mille.” The avoidance of unnecessary conflict and the
giving of offence are considered essential to personal control, as the “tonge”
could give “moche pain” and “a grete worde may cause affray.” In fact, caution
was a constant theme in the book. A boy should keep his ideas close “as thombe
in fiste” and not be too keen to express an opinion, as it may lose him
friends. He should aim for “meekness” as many had been “cast adoun” for their
“grete pride.” Loyalty should be tempered by wisdom when it came to personal
feelings.
Even as a child, boys like Edward were advised to
exercise self-control. Not for him were the games, japes and “evil company”
that could lead him into mischief, even if he had had the opportunity or the
good health to enjoy them. However, friendship was the greatest treasure the
author could recommend, as being more precious than silver or gold. According
to Idley, a man without friends was a man without a soul. Nor should a boy be
too hasty in making promises to friends or foe, or too quick to take vengeance.
Equally, he should not ask for advice when he was angry as “it is harde than
the trouthe to feele” nor accept it from those who were “greene” or
inexperienced. He should beware of greedy or “covetous” men who could show “two
faces in one hood.” Interestingly, as Edward’s father would find, Idley warns
“a man may somtyme wade so depe, it passeth his power to turn ageyn.”
Although many similar manuals existed, Edward’s
access to this text encourages speculation as to the lessons he was taught and,
by projection, the man and King he might have become. Idley advocated loyalty,
hard work, caution and discretion, characteristics that Richard himself had
amply displayed as Duke of Gloucester. This raises the question of how Anne
came to work at Middleham. Having spent her married life in Oxfordshire, there
is little to otherwise connect her with the Yorkists. Peter acted as the
Comptroller of the King’s household from 1456 to 1461, under the Lancastrian
Henry VI, leaving the position on the succession of Richard’s brother Edward
IV. He many also have been the Peter Idley who was listed in the court of
common pleas as having been in debt to a London tailor in 1466. Did he fall on
hard times after losing his job at court? Given how closely the advice in the Instructions tallies with Richard’s
character, it is not implausible that Gloucester had read Idley’s work. Then,
on hearing of Idley’s death, Anne was employed at his instigation.
Richard and Anne were heartbroken at the death of
Edward. They received the terrible news whilst at Nottingham Castle and hurried
home at once. The contemporary Croyland chronicle stated that many saw their
loss as divine judgement for Richard’s supposed murder of his nephews, the
Princes in the Tower. An alabaster tomb in the church at Sheriff Hutton is
supposedly that of Edward but examinations have proved it to be empty and the
whereabouts of his bones is currently unknown. Under the tutelage of Peter
Idley’s widow, the young boy at Middleham may have made a wise and cautious
monarch, had he only lived long enough to put his advice into practice. The
following spring, his mother would die, amid rumours of divorce and poison and
his father’s defeat at the battle of Bosworth would change the course of
British History.
