THE JACK LESLAU NEWSLETTER
&
NOTICEBOARD
I have been asked to provide a short summary of the
history. OK! Difficult requests are answered immediately. The impossible take a
little while longer. First, there is a summary of an interview with BBC Radio
Leicester (18 August 1995). Second, for those who are sensitive to this sort of
thing, The Debt is a translation of the history into drama for the
stage, presented on a replica sixteenth century “Cockpit” stage at the Bear
Gardens Museum, Southwark, London (18 Sept – 5 Oct 1985).
An introduction to Tudor
history:
THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER
I am Jack Leslau, an amateur historian with a background of methods,
investigating the case of the two sons of Edward IV, Edward V and Richard, Duke
of York, who disappeared from the Tower of London more than five hundred years
ago, in 1483, and were never seen again: the most baffling and longest-running
case of missing persons in England’s royal history.
1976: I
found new evidence that the princes were not murdered, as we had all been
brought up to believe, but lived on under false names and identities. The elder
prince, Edward V, was also known as Sir Edward Guildford; and, the younger
prince, Richard, Duke of York, was also known as John Clement. Guildford
married, had two children and died in England and, according to the
witness/informant, was secretly buried in Old Chelsea Church. John Clement also
married, had six children and died and was buried abroad, with all of his
family, in Flanders. The evidence shows the two princes living under cover over
a substantial period of time. The
informant gives us the names of each one of those eminent courtiers responsible
for the princes as case officers. If true, it means the princes were
financially supported by the Tudors. Guildford became Standard Bearer and Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports. However, at first, John Clement, like other York
family prominentes, fled abroad. I found him registered in the
University of Louvain in the Faculty of Arts studying Classics. Shortly after
the death of Henry VII, Clement returned to England but then returned abroad
for a second time where he attended the university of Siena and obtained his
doctorate in medicine. He returned once more to England and, in a unique
meteoric rise to eminence, within one year was admitted Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians and later president of the college, appointed by Henry
VIII. When Elizabeth I came to the
throne he was exiled for the last time, or exiled himself, to Flanders together
with his family and the remainder of the More family circle. Investigation
found Clement and his wife buried at the High Altar in St Rombouts Cathedral,
Mechelen: the Westminster Abbey of Flanders. I have recently received
permission to open the tomb. I have also found where Clement’s eldest daughter,
Winifred, was buried, beside her husband, Judge William Rastell, More’s nephew.
It was William Rastell who had published More's famous ms/book The History
of King Richard III many years after More’s death, wherein More had
stated for the first time, authoritatively, that the princes were dead. Since More contributed absolutely nothing
about the alleged murders from first hand knowledge (Lawyer More was no more
than six years old at the time of their disappearance); and, since the
manuscript was not published during his lifetime -- it was my theory from the
outset that the hearsay evidence in this book was a blind, perhaps to lay down
a smokescreen over the continued existence of the two princes. In order to prove this theory I had to find
the princes. The new evidence means I
may have succeeded. For instance, we know John Clement married Thomas More's adoptive daughter, Margaret Giggs. More was Clement's father-in-law. If
you want one safe, simple reason for More's Richard, that will do. If
you want another, William Rastell, was Clement's son-in-law. DNA
profiling may prove conclusively that the princes lived on. If findings are
positive, it means that the false story of Richard III having murdered them in 1483
was black propaganda emanating from a highly effective Tudor department of
dirty tricks. It means that More's History of King Richard III was More's
blind to protect his son-in-law, Richard, Duke of York (by saying that he was dead)
and this blind was firmly nailed down after More's death by More's nephew,
Judge William Rastell, publishing the story in print for the first time to
protect his wife, Princess Winifred, and their royal children. More risked his
life to lay a smokescreen over Richard, Duke of York, rightful heir to the
throne of England after the death of his elder brother, Edward V, in July 1528.
It means More had successfully persuaded Henry VIII that Henry’s two uncles
were no threat to Henry’s throne. There is also More's part in persuading the
two York princes not to attempt to regain the English throne from the Tudors --
thus saving England from a coup d'état and all the horrors of civil war
in the sixteenth century. If DNA findings are positive it means we have
uncovered a deception plan that held in place for more than half a millennium
and the history of England is changed utterly.
The court painter to Henry VIII, Hans Holbein the Younger, left personal
and political information concealed in 73 paintings discovered to date. The decrypts
in 12 paintings are detailed at www.holbeinartworks.org
2001: The University of Louvain (Professor Doctor
J.-J. Cassiman) will DNA profile Guildford and Clement (a distinguished former alumnus),
with the agreement and support of the Harveian Librarian of the Royal College
of Physicians of London (Sir Gordon Wolstenholme).
Antwerp
3 December 2001
When? Soon.
And now to our
play!
(Designed and drawn by Julian Bleach)
And our
players…
CHORUS JULIAN
BLEACH
KING RICHARD III
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MARK
LAVILLE
THOMAS MORE ANDREW
CASSELL
HENRY VII CHRISTOPHER
LEY
QUEEN ELIZABETH WOODVILLE SHARON
SCOGINGS
ELIZABETH OF YORK SARAH
KING
EDWARD V JUSTIN
KIELTY
RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK WAYNE
MURPHY
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIRECTOR MICHAEL
ROSEN
DANCE MASTER RON
HOWELL
ORIGINAL MUSIC CARL
LEWIS
STAGE MANAGER (Sound/Lighting) LIZZ
POULTER
COSTUME PHILLIPPE
DE BORSCHE
FOYER ART DISPLAY EMMA
PLANT
CO-ORDINATOR JAMES
LESLAU
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR THE BEAR GARDEN MUSEUM THEATRE
CLUB
MUSEUM MANAGER PATRICK
SPOTTISWOODE
ASSISTANT MANAGER SOPHIE
HAUSER
TECHNICIAN ROGER
TAYLOR
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DEBT
by
Jack Leslau
ACT ONE, Scene One.
Enter CHORUS
CHORUS: Rounds about this humble stage
A Mighty History
-- of England.
Enter Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII,
Elizabeth of York, Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Edward Vth and Richard, Duke of
York.
Long dead shadows now
are fleshed again
--For pleasure of your
eyes.
That you may see -- what
William Shakespeare saw.
Not always what he wrote
-- Of Lustrous Kings and
Chosen Queens
But what he surely
saw. And just as surely knew.
Of Royal Blood, Of Noble
lineage,
Forked and split like riven trees
Beneath the Storms of
Earth & Sky. And, Man.
The
Rightful Heirs, made Rightful By the Laws of God
-- And, Man.
The Master made of them
His creatures, his puppets,
Strong symbols for his
stage.
But Symbol is not the
Thing itself !
Not on this Stage of
Life, not anywhere.
And if we see the murky
falseness of the outer show...
Then can we look again
at Inner Things.
And if Good Truth burns
in your Heart & Mind,
And will not leave you
go -- consuming you
Then must we look again.
To see each problem with
a mind afresh
As though 'twer never
seen before.
For this, we have
assistance,
A Witness -- German --
Free.
With secret information
On the Tudor Dynasty.
His name was Hans
Holbein,
Court Painter of his
day. And in a Painter's Codeform,
In his portraits he did
lay The story, hidden !
And now we scan today,
One hundred and eighteen
years,
The background to our
play,
The Secret History of
the Tudors,
Which involved Sir
Thomas More.
And later, our Will
Shakespeare,
In a debt we will
explore, Of Honour --
The play will tell you
more.
I am your Counsel, and
your Guide. Your Interlocutor
-- if you would have me
so !
And if my earnest mien
displease you not
Then mayhap it may
please you that much more
To start upon this
Venture...First, to understand
Why this King -- Henry
the Seventh --
Took this Queen --
Elizabeth of York --
To be his lawful wedded
wife --
Soon after this King
(points to Richard III)
Lost his life.
And
why this King with re-marriage was obsessed
(points to Henry VIII)
And why Queen Elizabeth
Woodville
Was dis-possessed of her
two sons, Who disappeared !
The Princes in the
Tower.
Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Queen
Elizabeth Woodville, Edward Vth and Richard, Duke of York, dance a pavane. Exeunt.
Scene Two
RICHARD
III : "Now is the Winter of
our discontent..."
(Mid-way through the speech CHORUS
interrupts)
CHORUS
: Come now, Richard -- 'Tis
not unacceptable, the part
you play -- but, is it
necessary ?
In
reality, you probably said no such thing.
And take out that stupid
padding -- your false nose
-- and that ghastly
wig... And unwind your arm !
(CHORUS "dismantles"
RICHARD III and bundles him off).
Many have liked that
part -- and have coveted it.
But, rest awhile -- or
listen if you will.
We are going to take the
History of England --
Most seriously --
And turn it on its
ear...!
(Re-enter RICHARD III)
RICHARD
III : Hold, Master Chorus --
while I submit my evidence.
Here is the authority
under which I claim my role --
Sir Thomas More !
(Enter SIR THOMAS MORE. Exit RICHARD III).
THOMAS
MORE : "Richard, the third
son, of whom we now entreat,
Was in wit and courage
Equal with either of
them (his brothers).
In body and prowess, far
under them both.
Little of stature,
ill-featured of limbs,
Crook-backed
His left shoulder much
higher than his right.
Hard favoured of visage,
and such
As
in states called -- Warly,
In other men, otherwise.
He was malicious,
wrathful, envious,
And from before his
birth, ever froward.
It is for truth
reported, that the Duchess
His Mother, had so much
ado,
In her travail --
That she could not be
delivered of him uncut,
And that he came into
the world,
With the feet forward,
as men be borne outward --
And (as the rumour
runneth)
Also not un-toothed (!)
Whether men of hatred
report above the truth
Or else that nature
changed her course
In his beginning
Which in the course of
his life,
Many things un-naturally
committed...
He was close and secret
--
A Deep Dissimuler --
Lowly of countenance --
Arrogant of heart.
Outwardly companionable
-- where he inwardly hated,
Not letting to kiss --
whom he thought to kill.
Disputatious and cruel
--
Not for evil always, but
often for Ambition --
And either for the
surety, or increase,
Of
his Estate. Friend or Foe,
Was
much what indifferent
Where his advantage
grew.
He spared no man's death
Whose life withstood his
purpose.
He slew -- with his own
hands --
King Henry Sixth,
Being Prisoner in the
Tower,
As men constantly
say."
CHORUS
: (to
the audience) Now, you see. Thomas
More gave
this word picture of
Richard -- and Shakespeare used
it for his character.
From his portraits -- he
wasn't crook-backed and had
no withered arm. If he
had really been deformed,
someone would surely
have hinted at this -- sometime
during his lifetime of
33 years !
Strange, isn't it ? The first authoritative
statement was made by
Sir Thomas More -- some
thirty years after
Richard's death !
(Enter HENRY VII, who speaks with a
Welsh accent).
HENRY
VII : He was a monster
!
By what right
Do you take it upon
yourself
To leave Richard alive
--
I want him dead !
CHORUS
: Oh, No ! Not again. Had
Richard lived -- this tale
could not be told. You assassinated
him -- not once,
but twice ! First, his
body. Then, his character.
(Enter HENRY VIII)
HENRY
VIII : (aside to his
father) Leave Richard alone.
We
shall hear what he says.
CHORUS
: Yes -- (to Henry
VIII). You, are the Legal Heir of
the Legal King of
England (indicating Henry VII) --
but are you the Rightful
Heir to the Throne of
England ?
HENRY
VIII : to Chorus) Of course I am the Rightful Heir --
Son of my Father.
CHORUS
: But your Father never
claimed to be rightful heir to
his throne -- so, how
can you claim to be rightful
heir to your throne
? Your Father claimed his
throne "By
Conquest" -- Of course, you know this.
HENRY
VIII : (silky and
dangerous) And, so ?
CHORUS
: Did your Father -- usurp
the Throne ?
HENRY
VIII : (very dangerous) Now, you tell me !
CHORUS
: (flatly) No !
We will hear what your Father has
to say. Well, is it true ?
HENRY
VII : (steps forward) Well, we know, don't we -- that
the Illustrious
Tudor Blood prevailed. It was the
Will of God...
CHORUS
: Do you know the
Will of God ?
HENRY
VII : Of course ! I am a King -- with the sacred blood
of Kings in my veins.
CHORUS
: Somewhat diluted, I fear. Are you not the great-
grandson, of an
illegitimate son, of the third son,
of a King ? The Will of God was formerly -- and
more
generally -- thought to be descended from
Father to eldest son,
was it not ? Did you
disagree with this ?
(Enter Queen Elizabeth Woodville
and Elizabeth of York).
WOODVILLE
: Who
is this man ?
HENRY
VIII : It's More -- Thomas
Bloody More ! (exit)
WOODVILLE
: Is he trying to say that
Richard was a cripple --
when everyone knows he
was nothing of the sort ?
ELIZ.
OF YORK : I'm so sorry, Dear More
! Yes. I knew him too,
and loved him well, and
trusted him.
(Re-enter Henry VIII)
HENRY
VIII : He denied my Divine
Right. You denied my Supremacy !
HENRY
VII : (interrupts) I knew him as a young man, of course.
In parliament. A beardless boy -- he cost me money
I wanted from Parliament
-- rightfully mine -- my
money !
CHORUS
: Nothing was rightfully
yours, unless Parliament
approved -- and said so. Not even you, Henry
(indicates Henry VIII)
can kill a man twice.
Please leave us !
(Exit Henry VII, Henry VIII and
Queen Elizabeth Woodville)
THOMAS
MORE : Thank you, Master Chorus.
CHORUS
: You are welcome, Master
MORUS. For are you not
known also as MORUS ?
THOMAS
MORE : Yes -- amongst the
scholars. Sometimes amongst my
friends.
CHORUS
: Please stay awhile. Maybe you can help us. For
surely -- you could not
know that Shakespeare would
use your book to write a
play about Richard ?
THOMAS
MORE : No, quite true. I was dead before he was born.
CHORUS
: Your title is
unequivocal, is it not ?
"The History of
King Richard the Third"...
THOMAS
MORE : True.
CHORUS
: But the story you told is
not true, is it ?
THOMAS
MORE : I did not say that !
CHORUS
: Neither did you say that
the story was true,
did you ?
THOMAS
MORE : I told the truth. Men really did say it was true.
CHORUS
: 'Men really say' ? Come, come Thomas --
What is your profession?
THOMAS
MORE : I am a lawyer.
CHORUS
: Very well -- why does a
lawyer say 'Men really say',
and 'It is for truth
reported' -- without naming his
witnesses? Were they not reliable sources?
The fact is -- that you
had no first-hand knowledge
whatsoever of Richard's
alleged secret deeds -- and
could
not possibly have had -- on the grounds that
you were only a young
child -- maybe no more than
six years old, at the
time.
THOMAS
MORE : Not so. I
heard this from others.
ELIZ.
OF YORK : No, Dear More -- that is
insufficient. From whom
did you get the story of
Richard's appearance -- and
character?
CHORUS
: We love the monstrous
villain you portrayed. He is
an actor's dream! Every actor competes to make
him more and more
loathsome.
ELIZ.
OF YORK : He wasn't like my Uncle,
King Richard -- at all.
Please answer.
THOMAS
MORE : The book was unfinished
-- not for publication.
I did not publish it !
CHORUS
: But you wrote it -- Why ?
THOMAS
MORE : (carefully) I wanted to.
CHORUS
: Yes, but why ? Was it to gratify your undoubted
dramatic instincts ?
THOMAS
MORE : Yes -- pure
self-indulgence.
CHORUS
: Do you mean to tell us --
that no one -- not one
person -- read the
manuscript ? That you did
not show it to a friend,
a colleague ? I submit
that you did -- to at
least one person -- and maybe
many more. There is a witness who saw it -- who
will say that the
manuscript and its contents were
well-known in your
family -- and amongst your
friends -- and that you
alone had written the book.
And why you wrote the
book.
THOMAS
MORE : Hopefully -- that is
quite impossible !
CHORUS
: 'Hopefully' -- is it
? There was someone in your
house -- who loved you
dearly -- and who knew and
understood very well
what you were trying to
achieve. He respected your desire for
confidentiality but felt
compelled -- by an
obsessive urge -- to
tell the true story ! So,
Thomas -- will you tell
the true story now ?
ELIZ.
OF YORK : Tell him, Dear More --
for I could say nothing.
I was too young -- too
afraid. I was always
overborne -- as you knew
well -- by my Mother -- and
after, by my
Husband. I had only my children to
love. Then you came, a young man who loved me --
and I loved you ! I remember the verses you wrote
for me. They are still in my heart and mind.
I welcomed you and
invited you -- and you came to
see my children, at
Eltham -- Remember ? And I
prayed you would be good
friend to them always --
and to my brothers --
and you were. But they were
not always good friend
to you. And still you forgave.
Can't you see, Thomas ?
It does not matter who
knows now. All is long past.
You can do no harm to
any soul -- living or dead
-- nor can anyone else
-- no matter how evil-intentioned
And Master Chorus is not
malicious or evil,
I would swear.
He is no less
impassioned with his questing after Truth
than you yourself --
throughout your entire life.
Do you not see, Thomas
-- he loves you well,
but loves Truth more.
He -- and many others --
have studied your writings,
they all understand now
!
Save yourself from
further trial... (Exit)
THOMAS
MORE : Well. Elizabeth Woodville married Edward the
Fourth.
CHORUS
: Where ?
THOMAS
MORE : 'Tis well known. Men say, in GRAFTON.
CHORUS
: GRAFTON ? Why not in London ?
THOMAS
MORE : It isn't far from London
!
CHORUS
: (smiling) Thank you, Master More.
Will you please find the
passage in the text
concerning the alleged
murder of the two Princes ?
Let us now question
directly.
Call Elizabeth Woodville
!
(Enter Queen Elizabeth Woodville)
You were married to your
husband in GRAFTON. Why ?
WOODVILLE
: It was my family home --
what place more natural ?
CHORUS
: It is a fact that there was
no prior announcement of
your intended marriage
to the King of England --
which was only made
public after the marriage.
Clearly -- the marriage
was in secret !
WOODVILLE
: All my family knew !
CHORUS
: Your Mother-in-Law was
furious ! She didn't know
about the marriage. Would you like to know how
Shakespeare portrayed
you ?
A
relatively quiet and gentle lady, somewhat badly
treated by Life !
WOODVILLE
: Who portrayed me so ?
CHORUS
: William Shakespeare.
WOODVILLE
: And did I really appear so
quiet and gentle ?
Well, so I was. 'The Rose of Grafton.'
CHORUS
: But not if you follow
history !
You were Queen of
England for nearly twenty years.
Born Elizabeth Woodville
-- of undistinguished stock
-- you caused by your
ambition the private battle
between the
unforgettable Woodvilles and the
hereditary Yorkist
families -- which would change
the course of
history. Your well-calculated
entrapment of a
notorious womaniser, Edward IV,
caused the Duchess
Cecily Neville, Edward's mother,
to write in fury to her
son -- and for good reason.
WOODVILLE
: Undistinguished !
Within twenty years, my
sister Catherine Woodville
married the Duke of Buckingham.
And my sister Anne
Woodville married the
heir of the Earl of Essex.
Sister Eleanor Woodville
married the heir of the
Earl of Kent.
Sister Jaquetta
Woodville married Lord Strange.
Sister Mary Woodville
married Lord Herbert's heir --
And my dear brother
John...
CHORUS
: (aside) Aged about nineteen years...
WOODVILLE
: ...Married -- just in time
-- his much-beloved
Dowager Duchess of
Norfolk.
CHORUS
: Four times married, and
aged about eighty years !
WOODVILLE
: My eldest son, by my first
marriage, was made
Marquess of Dorset. My younger son was knighted.
My brother was made an
Earl, he was so clever !
Shall I go on ?
CHORUS
: Please do !
WOODVILLE
: The Woodville family, under
my protection, establish
themselves amongst the
greatest in the realm. And
I hold the trump card in
my hand. My infant son,
Edward V, will one day
be King under Woodville
influence. The Yorkist Nevilles and Percy's -- the
Founding Families of
this realm -- felt threatened.
Amd when my husband
suddenly died -- some say of a
heart attack...
CHORUS
: (aside) Some say, no wonder !
WOODVILLE
: ...His younger brother
Richard of Gloucester, later
King Richard III -- took
those princes away from me
-- and the influence of
my highly intelligent
Woodvilles.
CHORUS
: So you were no blushing
flower !
Do you remember the
letter you wrote to Sir William
Stonor ? Was he not a loyal servant of high
position ?
WOODVILLE