The Count of Setubal (Edward of Norwich Book 2)
Book Details
Author(s)DougG Cooper
ISBN / ASINB008WY9NB8
ISBN-13978B008WY9NB7
Sales Rank2,513,151
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
In this, the second book in the series of Edward of Norwich’s memories, he progresses from Christmas 1381 to Christmas 1387, reaching the age of 14½ years and is definitely regarded by all his peers, young and old, as being as mature and skilled as the best of them. Aged just 8½ at the start of this set of recollections, Edward is selected by King Richard to be one of his four supporters on the occasion of his formal marriage ceremony to his beloved Queen Anne. Then at her coronation he represents his father by giving her homage on his father’s behalf.
Edward’s father returns from Portugal later in 1382, utterly disgusted with the fickleness of his ally, King Dom Fernando of Portugal, who has done an about face and switched his allegiance to the usurping king of Castile. Edward doesn’t mind that too much since Dom Fernando has also brought about the annulment of Edward’s marriage to the Crown Princess Beatrice of Portugal and seen to her re-marriage to the widowed Castilian king.
King Richard wants Edward in his court and gets his own way in February 1384 when Edward is 9½ years old and permitted by his father to join the court when the King takes some of them on a hunting holiday at Havering. Edward shows everyone that he is as proficient at riding, archery and hunting as the best of them but a savage boar with no respect for him or his horse has other ideas. Edward recovers from that and continues to be one of King Richard’s favourites at the court.
When rebellion in Portugal following the death of King Dom Fernando, ends with the Portuguese Cortes selecting Dom Joao (half-brother of their late king) as their new king, a famous defeat of a much larger Castilian army and King Dom Joao’s offer of a new treaty with England and an offer to combine with English forces to invade Castile and restore Queen Constance (Edward’s aunt) to the throne of Castile, the offer is accepted along with the Dom Joao’s proposal to marry the eldest daughter of the English King’s senior uncle.
Edward is required by both Dom Joao and Lancaster as the go-between to facilitate both the introduction of the Portuguese King and the English Duke and also the introduction of Dom Joao and Philippa of Lancaster. Philippa wants to have their cousin Philippe as her proxy to the Portuguese King and so Edward and Philippe both precede the main Lancaster force to Portugal. They enjoy thirteen months together in Portugal where Edward plays a large part in negotiations between his Uncle John of Lancaster and the Portuguese King and then in negotiations between them both and envoys from the King of Castile who wants peace.
King Richard has had a lot of trouble while Edward and their Uncle John have been absent and he demands that Edward comes back to his court, so he and Philippe have to part. However when he reaches England, Edward does not immediately seek the court of his cousin King Richard, but the court of his cousin Henry of Lancaster where he supports Henry when his son Henry is born and rehearses a routine with his own retainers that will ensure when he does go to the King’s court that King Richard and Queen Anne will be even more endeared to him.
Our hero succeeds so well in endearing himself all over again with the King and Queen that an insanely jealous Robert de Vere (now ridiculously titled ‘Duke of Ireland’) tries to murder him and have the death look like a drowning accident. Edward is too good for Ireland however and the result is the banishment from court of King Richard’s despised favourite. De Vere raises an army in Chester and marches it towards London after learning that a triumvirate of nobles calling themselves the 'Lords Appellant' are planning to appeal him of treason, along with some other ‘evil advisors’ of King Richard.
Edward’s father returns from Portugal later in 1382, utterly disgusted with the fickleness of his ally, King Dom Fernando of Portugal, who has done an about face and switched his allegiance to the usurping king of Castile. Edward doesn’t mind that too much since Dom Fernando has also brought about the annulment of Edward’s marriage to the Crown Princess Beatrice of Portugal and seen to her re-marriage to the widowed Castilian king.
King Richard wants Edward in his court and gets his own way in February 1384 when Edward is 9½ years old and permitted by his father to join the court when the King takes some of them on a hunting holiday at Havering. Edward shows everyone that he is as proficient at riding, archery and hunting as the best of them but a savage boar with no respect for him or his horse has other ideas. Edward recovers from that and continues to be one of King Richard’s favourites at the court.
When rebellion in Portugal following the death of King Dom Fernando, ends with the Portuguese Cortes selecting Dom Joao (half-brother of their late king) as their new king, a famous defeat of a much larger Castilian army and King Dom Joao’s offer of a new treaty with England and an offer to combine with English forces to invade Castile and restore Queen Constance (Edward’s aunt) to the throne of Castile, the offer is accepted along with the Dom Joao’s proposal to marry the eldest daughter of the English King’s senior uncle.
Edward is required by both Dom Joao and Lancaster as the go-between to facilitate both the introduction of the Portuguese King and the English Duke and also the introduction of Dom Joao and Philippa of Lancaster. Philippa wants to have their cousin Philippe as her proxy to the Portuguese King and so Edward and Philippe both precede the main Lancaster force to Portugal. They enjoy thirteen months together in Portugal where Edward plays a large part in negotiations between his Uncle John of Lancaster and the Portuguese King and then in negotiations between them both and envoys from the King of Castile who wants peace.
King Richard has had a lot of trouble while Edward and their Uncle John have been absent and he demands that Edward comes back to his court, so he and Philippe have to part. However when he reaches England, Edward does not immediately seek the court of his cousin King Richard, but the court of his cousin Henry of Lancaster where he supports Henry when his son Henry is born and rehearses a routine with his own retainers that will ensure when he does go to the King’s court that King Richard and Queen Anne will be even more endeared to him.
Our hero succeeds so well in endearing himself all over again with the King and Queen that an insanely jealous Robert de Vere (now ridiculously titled ‘Duke of Ireland’) tries to murder him and have the death look like a drowning accident. Edward is too good for Ireland however and the result is the banishment from court of King Richard’s despised favourite. De Vere raises an army in Chester and marches it towards London after learning that a triumvirate of nobles calling themselves the 'Lords Appellant' are planning to appeal him of treason, along with some other ‘evil advisors’ of King Richard.
