It was not until he was seated in St. Edward’s beautifully gilded throne with the heavy crown placed on his head that Richard truly appreciated the sanctity of his new role. “Dear God, save the king,” he pleaded, watching Anne being anointed beside him. “I pray You protect my family, and I promise to wear this crown with all honor and do my duty.”

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

July 1483

July was stifling in London, and the city was stifling Richard.

The first thing he did after the coronation and its following feast was to pack up his household and move down the Thames to Greenwich, away from any threat of plague. The Palace of Placentia was indeed a pleasant place to live with lawns running down to the widening river. It had been Elizabeth’s favorite residence.

As the oarsmen expertly guided the royal barge to the familiar wharf, Richard recalled his time there fondly while he had waited for King Edward to send him to Middleham. He also remembered it was the last time the three youngest York siblings had been together. They had all been so young and innocent in those first months of Edward’s reign. Now George was dead and Meg, the dowager duchess of Burgundy, was far away in Flanders. Richard suddenly wondered if the news of Rivers’ execution had reached his sister, rumored to have had a dalliance with the handsome earl. Another person to hate him, he mused with resignation. The longer he was king, the more that number would grow. He sighed.

For the first time in a week, Richard sat down to eat in the privacy of his own small hall with Anne and Harry as his sole companions. Still showing favoritism to Harry, Richard had given him the added titles of great chamberlain and constable of England and promised him the enormous earldom of Hereford, making Buckingham, in all but name, king of Wales. Ironically, he did not fully trust Harry, but he needed him. Besides, Harry knew how to get things done.

With Howard now duke of Norfolk, Richard felt East Anglia was his, Stanley was strong in the midlands, and Northumberland could be counted on in the north. It was only in the south and southwest where Richard lacked a following, and he hoped by good governance to bring those provinces around as well.

Anne was complimenting the garrulous Harry for carrying off the coronation arrangements with aplomb, and they gossiped about some of the lords and ladies present at the festivities. Richard retreated into himself as he twirled the goblet carefully in his fingers watching the burgundy liquid spin. He was remembering a sweet moment during the presentations at the feast when he had come face to face with Kate again. He had indulged his daughter’s request that her mother sit with her to watch the crowning, and she was presented to him afterwards.