eing exceedingly uneasy about this, was anxious
that instructions should be sent to Lord Rivers to raise an army to
escort the young King safely to London. But, Lord Hastings, who was of
the Court party opposed to the Woodvilles, and who disliked the thought
of giving them that power, argued against the proposal, and obliged the
Queen to be satisfied with an escort of two thousand horse. The Duke of
Gloucester did nothing, at first, to justify suspicion. He came from
Scotland (where he was commanding an army) to York, and was there the
first to swear allegiance to his nephew. He then wrote a condoling
letter to the Queen-Mother, and set off to be present at the coronation
in London.

Now, the young King, journeying towards London too, with Lord Rivers and
Lord Gray, came to Stony Stratford, as his uncle came to Northampton,
about ten miles distant; and when those two lords heard that the Duke of
Gloucester was so near, they proposed to the young King that they should
go back and greet him in his name. The boy being very willing that they
should do so, they rode off and were received with great friendliness,
and asked by the Duke of Gloucester to stay and dine with him. In the
evening, while they were merry together, up came the Duke of Buckingham
with three hundred horsemen; and next morning the two lords and the two
dukes, and the three hundred horsemen, rode away together to rejoin the
King. Just as they were entering Stony Stratford, the Duke of
Gloucester, checking his horse, turned suddenly on the two lords, charged
them with alienating from him the affections of his sweet nephew, and
caused them to be arrested by the three hundred horsemen and taken back.
Then, he and the Duke of Buckingham went straight to the King (whom they
had now in their power), to whom they made a show of kneeling down, and
offering great love and submission; and then they ordered his attendants
to disperse, and took him, alone with them, to Northampton.

A few days afterwards they conducted him to London, and lodged him in the
Bishop's Palace. But, he did not remain there long; for, the Duke of
Buckingham with a tender face made a speech expressing how anxious he was
for the Royal boy's safety, and how much safer he would be in the Tower
until his coronation, than he could be anywhere else. So, to the Tower
he was taken, very carefully, and the Duke of Gloucester was named
Protector of the State.

Although Gloucester had proceed