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. He 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 baby 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.

Edmund Mortimer's Later Life

Although he was a thorn in the side of King Henry IV—because he had a greater claim to the throne and was used as a focal point for rebellion—Edmund Mortimer (1391 - 1425) was nevertheless kept alive and safe. Near the end of Henry IV's reign, Edmund and his brother Roger were kept in the Tower of London. In 1409 they were given into the custody of the Prince of Wales, Henry, who was five years older than Edmund.

Edmund had a greater claim to the throne than the Prince of Wales as well, but when Henry IV died in March 1413 and the Prince of Wales became king, the Prince had to make a decision about Edmund. He had no doubt come to know Edmund well, not only personally but through Henry's siblings (Edmund and Roger had originally been raised alongside Henry's younger brother and sister), and decided he was not a threat by himself, despite what his older relatives might have tried in the past.

Henry (illustration) gave Edmund and Roger their freedom. Not only that, on 8 April 1413 (the day before Henry's coronation as Henry V), Edmund and Roger were made Knights of the Bath.

Two months later, Henry granted to Edmund his hereditary estates (Edmund's father was the 4th Earl of March). Edmund was 21, free, and now living in style. In 1415 Edmund received a papal dispensation to marry someone whose relationship to him was a little closer than was considered proper due to the laws of consanguinity, Anne Stafford. Edmund and Anne were both descendants of Edward III, and second cousins once removed. Henry was unhappy with the marriage—he had not been consulted for approval—and fined Edmund 10,000 marks.

This was the only disagreement between the two. Edmund never tried to claim the throne and was completely loyal to Henry, taking part in the king's court as an advisor.

There were, however, others who were not pleased with Henry V, and tried to use Edmund without his knowledge. Tomorrow I'll share the story behind the Southampton Plot.

The Mortimer Kidnapping

Young Edmund Mortimer, who was the heir-presumptive of Richard II with the strongest claim to the throne of England, was being raised by the usurper Henry Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV. Edmund's uncle, Sir Edmund Mortimer, in 1402 declared that young Edmund was the rightful heir to the throne, putting him publicly opposed to Henry's reign.

Sir Edmund's sister Elizabeth was married to Henry "Hotspur" Percy. Sir Edmund made an arrangement with the Percy family of northern England and Owain Glendower of Wales (now Sir Edmund's father-in-law) called the Tripartite Indenture, by which they would overthrow Henry and divide Great Britain among themselves. Their first attempt to overthrow Henry IV resulted in the death of Hotspur.

They did not give up. One step toward success was gaining control of the "captive" Edmund. Henry was raising Edmund and his brother Roger with Henry's own younger children at Windsor Castle.

For the rescue they turned to Constance of York, whose husband had been executed after a plot to assassinate Henry IV. In February 1405, Constance and her brother, Edward of Norwich Duke of York, managed to get to Edmund and Roger and kidnap them. They were overtaken in Cheltenham, 3/4 of the way to Wales.

Constance and Edward of Norwich were imprisoned. Many monarchs would have killed the buy in order to prevent him from being the focal point for a rebellion. Henry IV was kinder than that, as well as confident of his military superiority that could put down any rebellion.

Edmund and Roger were returned to Windsor, but ultimately kept in the Tower of London. Sir Edmund was kept in check and died in 1409. With the chief rebel gone, Henry IV handed custody of young Edmund to the Prince of Wales, Henry (later King Henry V), who was 22, five years older than Edmund.

While Henry IV lived, he would not allow Edmund or Roger to go free. They were now old enough and savvy enough to understand that they might someday become king of England with the right backing, and there were still people in England who would support them. Tomorrow I'll explain their fate after Henry IV died. You might be surprised.

The Mortimer Rebellion

Although Edmund Mortimer was only seven years old when Henry Bolingbroke usurped the throne from Richard II, he was a potential political threat. He was Richard's heir-presumptive, and his lineage gave him a greater right to the throne of England through the laws of primogeniture than Henry had.

Henry treated the boy well, putting him (and his brother, Roger) in the care of a trusted retainer and raising him with Henry's own youngest children. Edmund had two sisters, but they lived quietly with their mother, who had remarried. A few years later, however, events took a turn that made the young Edmund more of a threat without the boy even lifting a finger.

Edmund's uncle, Sir Edmund Mortimer, was captured in June 1402 in Wales by Owain Glendower, a rebel leader. Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV, thought that Sir Edmund had actually chosen to defect and join the Welsh rebellion. Henry refused to pay ransom for Sir Edmund and confiscated his lands. Sir Edmund reinforced the suspicion of defection by marrying Glendower's daughter, Catrin. On 13 December 1402 he declared publicly that Edmund was the rightful heir to Richard II.

Sir Edmund's sister, Lady Elizabeth Mortimer, was married to Henry Percy, the 1st Earl of Northumberland. The Percy family was notable for helping keep control of the north of England against the Scots and the northern seas. Henry Percy and his son, also named Henry but nicknamed "Hotspur," rebelled against King Henry in collusion with Sir Edmund. The Percys felt that they were not appreciated enough by Henry IV for what they provided. The initial rebellion failed, and Hotspur was killed (see illustration).

In 1405, Sir Edmund, Henry Percy, and Glendower made an agreement called the Tripartite Indenture, in which they would depose Henry IV and divide the kingdom into three parts. They rebelled against Henry IV in a plot designed to free the young Edmund and make him king (after which, no doubt, Sir Edmund would be a chief advisor).

There was a plan to abduct young Edmund and his brother. It worked, but the consequences were grave. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Edmund Mortimer

When Henry Bolingbroke decided in 1399 to return from exile in France and force his cousin, King Richard II, to return to him the properties and titles of Henry's deceased father, John of Gaunt, he gained so much popular support that his ambitions expanded to take the Crown from Richard as well. In doing this, Richard's chosen heir-presumptive was knocked out of the running. That man was Edmund Mortimer.

He was "heir-presumptive" because his position was potentially temporary if Richard had born a son. Who was Edmund? Why was he considered appropriate as a potential king of England? What happened to him after 1399?

Edmund's father was Roger Mortimer, the 4th Earl of March. Roger's mother was Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster, the daughter of Lionel of Antwerp, son of Edward III (and first "boss" of the page Geoffrey Chaucer). Edmund's parents and grandparents on both sides traced back to kings of England. Edmund's father had been made heir-presumptive, but his death in the Ireland campaign in 1398 caused the position to fall to Edmund.

Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke on 30 September 1399. Edmund was only seven years old, and clearly not seen as a threat to Henry, even though his lineage gave him status as heir to the throne above the rights of Henry.

Henry had no quarrel with the young and fatherless Edmund. His mother, Eleanor of Holland, had already remarried. Henry placed the child Edmund into the care of Sir Hugh Watertown, a trusted servant and attorney of Henry's father who now served Henry. Edmund was raised with Henry's own children, the ten-year-old John and five-year-old Philippa.

"Keep your enemies closer." Henry might have intended to raise Edmund as a loyal member of his household and court, ensuring that Edmund never saw Henry as a usurper. There were those—relatives of the young Edmund—who knew how to read a geneaology table and knew that there was a chance to replace Henry with Edmund and bring control of England back to their side of the family.

It only took a few years for an incident in Wales to turn into an opportunity for rebellion. This rebellion—entirely unconnected to anything Edmund would or could do—affected events and made Edmund less safe. I'll explain tomorrow.