7. An Earl Caught Between A Rock and a Hard Place
The newly-crowned Yorkist King Richard III was almost immediately challenged by Henry Tudor, the last viable claimant of the defeated Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. After years of exile, Tudor returned to England in 1485 and declared his bid for the throne. Richard set out to meet his challenger at the head of his forces, which included a large contingent commanded by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. Stanley was a major Yorkist supporter, but he was conflicted. His family had been Lancastrians, but he himself had defected to the Yorkists, who handsomely rewarded him with lands and estates, and appointments to powerful government positions.
Stanley was thus deeply indebted to the Yorkists. However, he also happened to be married to Henry Tudor’s mother, and that made him the Lancastrian challenger’s stepfather. That stuck Stanley between the rock of loyalty, and the hard place of peace at home. So he decided to play both sides of the feud, and secretly contacted his stepson to explore defection. Things got complicated when King Richard got wind of that: he seized Stanley’s son as a hostage for his father’s good behavior and an insurance against treachery. He then ordered Stanley to join the Yorkist army with his contingent, which the earl reluctantly did.