• 3 months ago
Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors is a three-part history docudrama that transports us back to a tumultuous, violent time of civil wars, usurped kings, intrigues and plots. This is the story of the Wars of the Roses and the origins of the Tudor dynasty.

Covering the second period of the Wars of the Roses (roughly 1468-1471). We learn that while Edward IV has managed to retain his throne, he has also alienated his right-hand man Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick aka the Kingmaker. Like many in England, Margaret Beaufort has learned how to compromise with Edward’s rule and manages to keep hold of her lands and her life under Yorkist rule. Warwick proceeds to lead a rebellion against Edward, allying with the king’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, and his former enemy, Queen Margaret of Anjou. For a brief period, Warwick achieves his aims and Henry VI returns to the throne but Edward IV will not give up that easily. This episode ends with his return to England, his triumphant victory over Warwick at the battle of Barnet, and then over Queen Margaret of Anjou at the battle of Tewkesbury. Edward IV is once again safe on the English throne whilst Margaret Beaufort’s son, Henry Tudor, is driven into exile.

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Transcript
00:00It's seven years since the Battle of Touton.
00:24The House of York rules England with an iron fist.
00:29And the Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort is getting ready for one of the most important
00:35nights of her life.
00:38Your Grace.
00:42The King is coming to dinner.
00:45Your Grace.
00:50The King who stole her son.
00:52Your Grace.
00:54Your Grace.
00:57The King that Margaret despises.
01:03Your Grace.
01:26Your Grace.
01:28Your Grace.
01:30Your Grace.
01:32Your Grace.
01:34Your Grace.
01:36Your Grace.
01:38Your Grace.
01:40Your Grace.
01:46So, there's this popular image in medieval England.
01:49It's called the Wheel of Fortune.
01:54You've got the King at the top.
01:55He's clearly in charge.
01:57But his throne is fixed to a wheel.
02:00And even he has no control over which way it will spin.
02:04This richly dressed man might take his place.
02:07Or this one.
02:09And who's spinning the wheel?
02:11The Goddess of Fortune.
02:13Power is fleeting.
02:15Fragile.
02:17And there is always someone waiting to take your place.
02:24And Fortune's wheel has turned for the House of Lancaster.
02:31The Lancastrian King, Henry VI, has been deposed
02:35and is in the Tower of London.
02:38His Queen and her supporters are in exile in France.
02:43And those Lancastrians left behind in England
02:46must now live under an enemy king.
02:50And to survive, Margaret Beaufort, now 25,
02:54is developing a cunning political mind.
03:00Her son, Henry Tudor, is being raised in Yorkist custody
03:04because he has Lancastrian royal blood.
03:10So, to get him back...
03:12..Margaret plans to get close to the king.
03:17LAUGHTER
03:18One bore! One fucking bore!
03:20No stags, not even a fucking door!
03:22Some fucking ointment that was!
03:24I'm telling you, Stafford, these woods of yours are cursed!
03:27Yes, Your Grace.
03:29Edward's been king for seven years
03:32and he's become a man of his word.
03:35He's become a man of his word.
03:37He's become a man of his word.
03:39Edward's been king for seven years
03:42and he's become infamous for his hard living.
03:45So, Margaret has spared no expense.
03:48This is Margaret's menu for the evening,
03:50which includes 700 oysters, a great conger eel,
03:5413 lampreys and five barrels of ale.
03:58Does Edward enjoy the good things in life?
04:00Absolutely.
04:01What do you expect from a man whose motto is comfort and joy?
04:06The important thing is
04:08that he is a strong and magnanimous king,
04:10intent on uniting the country.
04:13Does he trust these Lancastrians?
04:17Not at all.
04:21Now, of course, Margaret would rather see the king dead
04:24than enjoying her hospitality.
04:29But she knows that it's politics, not war, that will get her son back.
04:34She needs to get into the king's inner circle.
04:39THEY CONFER
04:50Your Grace, the other lords have withdrawn to take more wine.
04:53Shall I take you to them?
04:57Or I can have more brought to you here.
04:59Go on.
05:01Ask.
05:02Sorry, I...
05:03What is it you want?
05:05Only for you to enjoy our hospitality.
05:07Stop, I don't like tongues in me arse.
05:10I shall inform the local whores, Your Grace.
05:16If you really want me to enjoy myself, find me better hunting.
05:20That boar was a joke, I've done bigger shits.
05:22You took a boar?
05:23They're rare in these parts, most come back empty-handed.
05:26Yes, yes, I wish I enjoyed flattery as much as wine.
05:30I'd be happier in a better health.
05:32Indeed.
05:34You might hunt better, too.
05:38SHE SNIFFLES
05:49And so Margaret begins to win the trust of a suspicious king.
05:53She isn't going to ask for her son back yet.
05:59She'll play the long game.
06:08CHATTER
06:11But as Margaret tries to get into Edward's inner circle,
06:15those closest to the king are planning to betray him.
06:24I want this displayed in every town or village in the north.
06:27Sure.
06:33The Earl of Warwick.
06:35His hunger for power helped trigger the Wars of the Roses.
06:44First by supporting Richard of York.
06:49Then by putting York's son, Edward, on the throne.
06:56For Warwick, all the world is never enough.
06:59He's devious and ambitious, but he needs to be.
07:03Medieval politics is a bear pit.
07:06If you're not gaining, you're losing.
07:11And this is Warwick's problem.
07:13In medieval England, the closer to the king, the more powerful you are.
07:19And now Warwick is being edged out of the king's inner circle
07:22by a powerful new faction.
07:26The family and supporters of the king's wife.
07:30But Warwick has a plan to get rid of the king's new advisers.
07:34He just needs a pliable ally.
07:40And he knows exactly where he can find one.
07:43Hurry up or you'll feel my fucking boot in your arse.
07:47This is George, the Duke of Clarence, the king's brother.
07:5119 years old and next in line to the throne.
07:55He's arrogant, spoiled and has thousands of armed men at his disposal.
08:01Exactly what Warwick needs.
08:03Go on, what were you saying?
08:04I was saying I may have the solution to your problems.
08:07The only problem I'm having right now is this fucking imbecile!
08:11Fuck off!
08:15Clarence was due to marry Warwick's daughter, but the king has said no.
08:19So Clarence is furious.
08:21Well?
08:23The king's decision to deny the marriage.
08:25You understand why it was taken.
08:27Give me some shit about diplomatic marriages. It was all in spite.
08:31I don't believe it was the king's decision.
08:34At least not just his.
08:36The king's new advisers are not rivers in the Woodville clan.
08:40They've poisoned his mind.
08:43Do you know why?
08:46They fear you.
08:47They fear you.
08:49They fear the power you would have over your own destiny if you were to marry my daughter and claim her lands.
08:56They've seen something in you.
08:59As I have.
09:08And that's how Warwick gets Clarence to join a plot against his own brother.
09:14This kid is easy prey for Warwick.
09:17The classic middle sibling.
09:19All Clarence wants to do is show his brother that he can be his own man.
09:31So with Clarence in his back pocket, Warwick starts stirring up a rebellion.
09:36And he publishes this manifesto.
09:41Blaming the king's advisers for England's high taxes.
09:45He claims the advisers are enriching themselves and their blood at the expense of king and country.
09:56Ungrateful cunts.
09:58They own half of England between them thanks to me and this is how I'm repaid?
10:02Our own brother put his name on this.
10:08In the wake of the manifesto, unrest becomes violent insurrection.
10:13A full scale rebellion against the king's inner circle.
10:19It starts in Yorkshire and soon spreads as 20,000 men join the rebels.
10:29Are you sure this isn't treason?
10:31Treason is to hate one's country.
10:34But what we're doing is the very opposite.
10:37But my brother...
10:38We'll thank you for this.
10:40This is Warwick's work, not our brother's.
10:43They don't know Warwick like I do.
10:45Either way, they must be dealt with.
10:49They will be.
11:03And this is the moment when Margaret gets drawn into an escalating Yorkist civil war.
11:10Because at the top of Warwick's hit list is an adviser to the king called William Herbert.
11:16The Yorkist noble who has custody of Henry Tudor.
11:26Margaret's son is in danger.
11:40The Yorkist rebellion against King Edward has escalated into war.
11:47At Edgecote, the rebels face Edward's army, led by William Herbert,
11:53the Yorkist noble who has custody of Henry Tudor.
11:57At Edgecote, the rebels face Edward's army, led by William Herbert,
12:03the Yorkist noble who has custody of Henry Tudor.
12:10The 12-year-old who now gets his first taste of battle.
12:57Thankfully, Henry survives the battle.
13:02But the king's forces are beaten, and William Herbert is executed.
13:12And with the man who's been raising her son now dead, Margaret senses an opportunity.
13:19And so she goes to see Herbert's widow.
13:36Lady Anne, I'm sorry for your loss.
13:39We're grateful for the time and money your late husband invested in Henry's war.
13:44Grateful for the time and money your late husband invested in Henry's wardship.
13:49You'll be compensated, and more.
13:52This is not about money.
13:54Indeed it isn't. The boy belongs with his family.
13:58We are his family now.
14:02Lady Anne, Henry is my only son. I will give anything for him. Just name your price.
14:06If your mad cousin was on the throne, I might consider it.
14:12But Edward of York is king. My king.
14:18The king my husband died for.
14:21I won't sell the boy to you for any price.
14:31This was a big mistake.
14:33This was a big mistake. And Margaret knows it.
14:37She was impulsive. She abandoned her long game to gain the king's trust,
14:42and took advantage of the death of one of his closest allies.
14:46This could mean trouble.
14:56Every one of you is a traitor, and believe me, you'll be punished for it.
14:59Ten spikes for ten heads!
15:03By the spring of 1470, King Edward is striking back against the Yorkist rebels.
15:09The more observant of you will have noticed there are eleven amongst your number.
15:14One of you will get to keep his head. Who shall it be?
15:19How about the man who tells me what I need to know?
15:23Who's still plotting against the crown?
15:25Who's still plotting against the crown?
15:28The king is killing every traitor he can get his hands on.
15:34But the men who started this rebellion, his brother Clarence and the Earl of Warwick, are still at large.
15:45Edward has stripped both Clarence and Warwick of all their lands and property,
15:50and they have fled into exile in France.
15:52Clarence is thinking, maybe betraying my brother wasn't such a good idea,
15:57but Warwick's mind is racing.
16:00How can I strike back against Edward? Where can I get money and men?
16:07And then he has a brilliant idea.
16:13But to make it happen, Warwick needs the financial and military backing of the French government.
16:18So he makes contact with an agent of the French king.
16:26So you wish to reinstate King Henry?
16:30It's the only way to restore stability to England.
16:33Edward's mind's been turned too far, he'll no longer see reason.
16:37How many English lords would support a return to the old king?
16:41A king who would look favourably towards France, should she help him reclaim his throne.
16:47But deposing your brother may lead to extreme consequences for him personally.
16:53You are prepared for this?
16:56I only want what's best for me come true.
17:00I'm sure your patriotism will be well rewarded.
17:12So Warwick's mind's been turned too far.
17:15So Warwick the kingmaker is back in business.
17:20Warwick's plan with the backing of the French king is to take power from Edward
17:26and put the Lancastrian Henry VI, the king he helped depose, back on the English throne.
17:34Is it shameless? Yes.
17:37Is this a man devoid of any political conscience? Yes.
17:41But it's pure genius.
17:44The French agree to back Warwick's plan.
17:47But now Warwick was convinced the exiled Lancastrians and a queen who wants him dead.
17:57Your grace, I beg your forgiveness for my part in deposing the true king of England, his grace, Henry VI.
18:05I have had time to reflect upon my actions and witness the harm caused by the usurper Edward of March
18:10whose lies and misrule have so damaged the country I love.
18:15MUSIC
18:23Queen Margaret of Anjou, once the proud Lancastrian queen of England.
18:33Now living in impoverished exile in France.
18:37Whilst her husband, England's true king, is in the tower.
18:41And now she finds the Yorkist to blame for all this, grovelling at her feet.
18:53And I offer the hand in marriage of my daughter Anne to your son Edward of Lancaster
18:59in the sincere hope that their union may be a symbol of our united purpose.
19:04MUSIC
19:27Once, she would have had Warwick killed on the spot.
19:30But exile has taught the queen the importance of politics and the need for alliances.
19:38This deal is her family's way back to power.
19:42Okay Warwick, we are minded to look favourably upon your request.
19:50Our armies will unite to defeat Edward.
20:00You may rise.
20:05Of course, the queen doesn't trust Warwick.
20:09She won't risk returning to England until she's sure he'll deliver on the deal.
20:19And that's how Warwick goes from being a Yorkist to being a Lancastrian.
20:31So, with French backing, the queen's forces link up with the rebel Yorkists.
20:39And as word spreads that Warwick is fighting to reinstate King Henry,
20:44Lancastrian nobles flock to their cause.
20:53Edward is taken by surprise at the speed of Warwick's approach and has to flee to the coast.
21:00So he sails from East Anglia to Burgundy, where he knows he has a chance of finding allies.
21:16And so, once again, the wheel of fortune spins.
21:23Henry VI, England's true king, is released from the Tower of London to take back his throne.
21:31For the second time in ten years, there's a change of king.
21:39But even though it's Henry VI on the throne, Warwick is the real power.
21:47And his betrayal of Edward and the House of York is complete.
22:00And this is the moment that Margaret Beaufort is finally reunited with her beloved son, Henry Tudor.
22:30She's barely seen Henry in nine years. This is Margaret's chance to finally be with him, to be a mother.
22:47But she can't kid herself for long. This isn't a fairy tale.
22:54England can't have peace while there are two living kings.
22:58Edward will return and avenge this betrayal. Margaret knows it.
23:03And she has to back the winner.
23:06Look at this, Jasper. The king is weak, Warwick is divisive, and Clarence…
23:12We're far from safe.
23:14I know.
23:16I know.
23:18I know.
23:20I know.
23:22I know.
23:24I know.
23:26I know.
23:28I know.
23:30I know.
23:32I know.
23:33We're far from safe.
23:36Whatever happens, we'll be ready.
23:42Will you take Henry back to Pembroke?
23:45I'd like nothing more.
23:47The queen might be happy to sit on the other side of the channel, but Edward won't be.
23:51And I won't let him catch me with my skirts up.
23:53And what will you do?
23:57Just keep my son safe.
24:04It's the moment Margaret realises that her long game with the Yorkist king isn't over.
24:12She's Lancastrian to the core, but now Margaret begins to think the unthinkable.
24:19Can she betray her king and family and support Edward and the Yorkists?
24:34By spring of 1471, the deposed King Edward is back in England with his youngest brother, Richard.
24:43And a new Yorkist army, paid for by the Duke of Burgundy.
24:50The Lancastrian king is now the king of England.
24:54And the Yorkist king is now the king of England.
24:57And a new Yorkist army, paid for by the Duke of Burgundy.
25:03The Lancastrians, meanwhile, are taking back the lands stolen from them by the Yorkists.
25:09Including estates owned by the Duke of Clarence.
25:15Who now stands to lose everything.
25:19Tell the king his brother is here.
25:23And so, Clarence betrays Warwick and his new Lancastrian friends to come crawling back to his brother.
25:36Now by this point, Edward is way beyond showing mercy to his enemies.
25:41He's been betrayed, he's lost his crown.
25:43And he's returned to England to get it back at any cost.
25:52So what should Edward do?
25:54Forgive his little brother?
25:56Or kill him?
26:03My men are at your disposal.
26:06You have my undying loyalty and my heartfelt sorrow for my past misjudgment.
26:12Your past misjudgment?
26:16You mean raising an army against your own brother?
26:20Look, Edward, I'm sorry.
26:24I bring thought to my brother's death.
26:28I'm sorry.
26:31I'm sorry.
26:33I bring 4,000 men to fight alongside you.
26:46Kneel before your king.
26:48Enough!
26:53You are forgiven.
26:56We are brothers.
26:58It can never be undone.
27:03You are with me now, heart and soul.
27:08Say it.
27:11I'm with you, heart and soul.
27:25And that's how medieval England's most dysfunctional family gets back together.
27:30Now, the Chronicles tell us that there had never been such kind and loving language.
27:36They were knit together forever, hereafter.
27:40I don't believe what you read.
27:42This isn't brotherly love or forgiveness.
27:45It's pragmatism.
27:50Because Edward needs Clarence and his men if he's to have any chance against a Lancastrian army that is twice the size of his own.
27:59I'm with you.
28:07And so, once again, the Yorkists and the Lancastrians head towards a battle that will decide who rules England.
28:22And it's now that Margaret takes the ultimate high-risk political gamble.
28:30She's going to support Edward.
28:34If I fight for Edward, I'll take arms against your own family.
28:37The king, Jasper.
28:39If you fight for Henry and lose, my kin are just as dead as if you'd fought against them.
28:46If we can't save them by fighting, we can still do good for them if we had Edward's favour.
28:54If I fight for Edward and lose, will they ever forgive you?
29:00No.
29:06So Margaret persuades her husband to take his men into battle for the Yorkists.
29:14It's the kind of decision that eats away at your soul.
29:18This is betrayal.
29:20Is she any better than Warwick or Clarence?
29:23But this is civil war.
29:26There's no room for family loyalty.
29:29It's about survival.
29:31It's about the long game.
29:40The night before the battle, Stafford sends his will to Margaret and calls her
29:45my most entire beloved wife.
29:48But has Margaret sent Stafford to his death?
30:03The story goes that as dawn breaks on the day of battle, Edward is outnumbered and outgunned.
30:09It's not looking good for him.
30:11But then at first light, Edward realises he's been given a gift from the heavens.
30:19A creeping dense fog that can act as cover.
30:24But he doesn't know which way to go.
30:27Is he going to be able to find her?
30:34He's lost.
30:37And he's in a very bad way.
30:41He's lost his wife.
30:44He's lost his son.
30:47He's lost his wife.
30:49He's lost his son.
30:50So, Edward decides to attack.
31:45Warwick has been ambushed, and he's desperate for the Lancastrian Queen and her army to
32:02arrive from France.
32:27Queen Margaret and her son, delayed by a storm, land on the south coast, but it's
32:33futile.
32:34They're too late.
33:05And so, the Earl of Warwick, the man whose greed and ambition help divide a nation and
33:22bring down two kings, is killed with a sword through the face.
33:31His naked corpse will be displayed for days in St. Paul's Cathedral.
33:42Edward has won back his crown, and no one is going to take it again, so he comes to
33:47a simple decision.
33:49For decades, England has been in the grip of a power struggle between the Yorkists and
33:53the Lancastrians.
33:55Now, the only way to end this is to get rid of the Lancastrians once and for all.
34:07So Edward moves on from killing Lancastrian soldiers to destroying the royal family.
34:16He disposes of King Henry VI and his teenage heir.
34:24The Queen is hiding in a monastery a few miles from Tewkesbury when she gets the news that
34:29finally destroys her.
34:32Her 17-year-old son, Edward, has been killed in his first battle.
34:39Just like that, everything that the Queen ever fought for is gone.
34:49She's paraded through the streets of London, her shame evidence of Edward's triumph.
35:00Queen Margaret of Anjou will die in poverty in France.
35:09Margaret can see the path Edward is scything through the Lancastrian line, cutting down
35:14any threats to his throne.
35:19And now he's heading straight for her son.
35:24So Margaret sends word to Jasper Tudor in Pembroke, who flees with Henry to safety in
35:31France.
35:32Henry.
35:33Henry.
35:34Oh, no.
35:35I'm all right.
35:36What's happened?
35:37Help.
35:38Help me.
35:39I can't.
35:40I can't.
35:41I can't.
35:42I can't.
35:43I can't.
35:44I can't.
35:45I can't.
35:46I can't.
35:47I can't.
35:48I can't.
35:49I can't.
35:50I can't.
35:51I can't.
35:52I can't.
35:53I can't.
35:54I can't.
35:55I can't.
35:56I can't.
35:57I can't.
35:58I can't.
35:59I can't.
36:00I can't.
36:01I can't.
36:02I can't.
36:03I can't.
36:04I can't.
36:05I can't.
36:06I can't.
36:07I can't.
36:08I can't.
36:09What happened?
36:10I'm fine.
36:11I just needed to catch my breath.
36:12I couldn't keep it in.
36:13Hey.
36:14Hey.
36:15Hey.
36:16OK?
36:17Edward's in control.
36:18There's no one who can stop him now.
36:19You made a good choice.
36:25Enjoy.
36:41Within six months, Stafford dies of his injuries.
36:44Margaret has now lost two husbands
36:46to the Wars of the Roses.
36:53The House of Lancaster is gone.
36:56But by supporting the Yorkists,
36:58Margaret now has political leverage with Edward.
37:04But she needs a new husband.
37:09In a pious, medieval society,
37:13mourning should last for a year.
37:15But Margaret was never one for convention.
37:21She remarries in nine months.
37:23And to secure Henry Tudor's return to England as a free man,
37:28Margaret's political long game now continues.
37:40Twelve years after taking back the throne,
37:43Edward IV has a total grip on power.
37:47The king now has two young heirs
37:49who guarantee the future of the Yorkist line.
38:00And he has ordered the murder
38:02of everyone who betrayed him.
38:04No!
38:05No!
38:06No!
38:07No!
38:08No!
38:09No!
38:10No!
38:11No!
38:12No!
38:13No!
38:14No!
38:15No!
38:17No!
38:26Edward had tried to beget his brother's crimes.
38:29Clarence remained an arrogant bastard.
38:33And in the end, Edward couldn't trust him.
38:39Clarence pays the price for his betrayal.
38:42Margaret, though, is now ready to claim her reward for loyalty.
38:47She's now married to Lord Thomas Stanley,
38:50a powerful Yorkist and key advisor to the king.
38:58Does Margaret love Stanley?
39:00Probably not.
39:02You see, for Margaret, this marriage is purely strategic.
39:08Stanley's position in the king's inner circle
39:11places Margaret right at the heart of the King's plan.
39:15For a decade, Margaret has worked her way into the king's trust.
39:22Looking for the perfect time to convince him
39:25that Henry Tudor's Lancastrian royal blood
39:28isn't a threat to Yorkist power.
39:32And now, that time has come.
39:38Edward has two heirs and is feeling a bit uneasy.
39:41Edward has two heirs and is feeling comfortable in his reign.
39:45This is the moment to finally ask for what she wants.
39:49It's the endgame.
39:54When Stanley married you, I thought I should be worried.
39:57Sneaky bastard only ever backs the winning horse.
40:00On the contrary, Your Highness.
40:02I married Stanley that I might win your favour.
40:04What, this scheming cunt?
40:06I can't trust him as far as I could throw him and I like him even less.
40:10I find trust and affection a poor trade for usefulness.
40:16Come on, sit down.
40:28Your Highness, in the matter of Henry Tudor...
40:31Little Whelp's ready to put aside his Lancastrian cause
40:34and become a royal servant, is he?
40:36Of course not, Your Highness.
40:39If there were any chance of usurping you,
40:41I'd have him stay in Normandy and raise an army.
40:45But we both know you're now untouchable.
40:48My son simply realises he will advance further under you than against you.
40:56You'd have made some fucking queen, Lady Stanley.
40:59I'm glad you've only got the one son to terrify me with.
41:09And so finally, Margaret pulls off her political masterstroke
41:12by getting King Edward to draft this pardon for Henry Tudor.
41:20All that's needed is the king's signature
41:22and Margaret will have her son back for good.
41:29But for now, Margaret will have to wait.
41:33Because Edward's love of food, wine, battles and women...
41:40finally catches up with him.
41:50Come on!
41:53At 40 years old, the king dies.
42:03And once again, England will turn on itself.
42:11Is treason still a sin if the king is a tyrant?
42:16It's about who supports Richard III and who doesn't.
42:20We are all loyal to the crown.
42:22But not to me!
42:25Henry knows she's the only one who can get him home.
42:30This is our chance to kill the tyrant.
42:33Wow! Margaret Beaufort.
42:35So she's the one behind the plot.
42:37A woman!
42:38So what's he going to do?
43:02To be continued...
43:32Subtitling made possible by Acorn Media

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