The Southampton Plot

People in England during the reign of Henry V were still trying to use Edmund Mortimer as a focal point for a rebellion.

Edmund's sister, Anne Mortimer, had married the 3rd Earl of Cambridge, Richard of Conisburgh. Richard was also a descendant of Edward III. Richard's daughter, Isabel, was betrothed to Thomas, the son of Sir Thomas Grey (Isabel was three years old, Thomas was eight, and there's more to that story, believe me). Richard and Sir Thomas were two-thirds of a plot to assassinate Henry V.

The third member of the plot was the 3rd Baron of Masham, Henry Scrope. Henry was a decade older than Henry V, but the two were close. The king entrusted Scrope with diplomatic missions. Her had escorted Henry's sister Philippa on her voyage to Denmark to marry King Eric of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Scrope had married Joan Holland, whose stepson was none other than Richard of Conisburgh. (Richard's father, 1st Duke of York Edmund, had married Joan Holland in 1393 after the death of his first wife and Richard's mother.)

These three men had close ties to each other, and decided to place Edmund Mortimer on the throne in place of Henry V. They subsequently approached the 5th Earl of March and told him of their intent to make him king, assuming that Edmund (now 23 years old and ready to rule) would be in favor. This was not the case.

Edmund had seen what happened to people who threatened the king's status in Edmund's name. He wanted no part of it, and on 31 July 1415, while Henry V was at Portchester Castle (see illustration) making plans to invade France, Edmund informed him of the assassination plot.

The three co-conspirators were promptly arrested, put on trial at Southampton, and beheaded on 2 August (Grey) and 5 August (Richard and Scrope).

As for Edmund Mortimer, he was appointed to the regency council for the babe Henry VI after the death of Henry V in 1422. He was later made the King's lieutenant in Ireland, and wound up living there from 1424 until his death in January 1425, the man who refused to be king. He left no heirs.

I want to take a closer look at the men of the Southampton Plot, particularly that "marriage" of the two children. See you tomorrow.