Stormbird (39 page)

Henry’s weakness was not a steady state. At times, he played a more active part than I have given him, both before, during and after Cade’s rebellion. It is true, however, that Queen Margaret was the one who remained in London and it was she who negotiated the truce and pardon. In the interests of historical accuracy, I should say that she wasn’t in the Tower of London when it was breached. She stayed at
Greenwich, then known as the Palace of Pleasance. It is also true that pardoning Cade’s men was her idea and her command. Cade agreed the pardons. He slipped away as royalist forces regrouped and it was some months later when the newly appointed sheriff of Kent finally caught up with him. Cade was mortally wounded in his last fight and died on the journey back to London. His corpse was hanged, drawn and quartered before his own head was put on a pole on London Bridge. Many of the other rebels were tracked down and killed over the following year.

Note on roses: One of the symbols of the house of York is a white rose. Richard of York also used a falcon and a boar. Both Henry VI and Margaret used a swan as a symbol.

The red rose was one of many heraldic symbols for the house of Lancaster (from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster). The concept of a war between the roses is a Tudor invention and there was no sense of white versus red at the time. The actual struggle was between different male lines from Edward III: men of great power, who were all in reach of the throne. Yet it was King Henry VI’s weakness that made his enemies bold and plunged the country into civil war.

Conn Iggulden

London, 2013

Thanks are due to Victoria Hobbs, Alex Clarke and Tim Waller, skilful guides for each stage of the book’s development. Any errors that remain are my own. Thanks are also due to Clive Room, who accompanied me to castles and cathedrals, demonstrating a vast knowledge of the period. I just couldn’t stop him.

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First published 2013

Copyright © Conn Iggulden, 2013

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Cover illustration by Vince McIndoe
Author and title type by Carol Kemp
Series title type by Charles Stewart

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ISBN: 978-0-718-19633-2