Assassination: The Royal Family's 1000-Year Curse by David Maislish Read Free Book Online

wounding it. Then another deer had run past, and Tyrrell, who was standing on the other side of the clearing, had shot at that second deer, had unfortunately missed it completely (despite his renown as an expert shot), and even more unfortunately William was still standing up and by an amazing piece of bad luck the arrow glanced off an oak tree and struck him in the heart. Regrettably, William was unaware of the danger, as at that very moment he was shielding his eyes from the sun. For a final piece of misfortune, despite being struck in the chest, William fell forward to the ground, forcing the arrow through his body, thereby ensuring his death.
One account claims that when Tyrrell was asked how he did not see the King, he replied that he had mistaken the King’s red beard for a squirrel. Whether he said this or not, the fact remains that all the excuses made to suggest that this was an accident were just too ridiculous. In all probability the King was murdered, although the story of an accident was accepted at the time. Perhaps accusing the new king of being part of a conspiracy to murder the last king would not have been a good idea.
The Rufus Stone in the New Forest
    Tyrrell later denied that it was his arrow that struck the King. That denial is not assisted by the fact that Tyrrell instantly made for the coast, where a boat was waiting to take him to Normandy. He never returned to England.
    More circumstantial evidence points at Henry. Apart from Henry needing to stake his claim before Robert returned from crusade, William was refusing to allow Henry to marry Edith, the daughter of the King of Scotland and the niece of Edgar the Atheling. That was a union that would hugely increase Henry’s acceptability as king.
    Murder was not a predicament in itself, but there was a pitfall; if Henry killed the King, it might endanger his chances of the succession as far as the Church was concerned. He had to get someone else to do it.
    The Clares were great friends of Henry; the family was descended from Geoffrey Count of Eu, the son of Duke Richard I of Normandy. Gilbert de Clare and Roger of Clare were two of the lords at the hunt. After William’s death, when Henry rushed to Winchester, it was the Clare brothers who travelled with him. At Winchester, they were met by William Giffard, who was the Lord Chancellor and the uncle of Gilbert and Roger, and he helped them to seize the royal treasury. Then Giffard, Gilbert and Roger rode with Henry to London, where he claimed and obtained the crown.
    Were they rewarded? The day after the murder, William Giffard was installed as Bishop of Winchester; Gilbert de Clare was already Earl of Hertfordshire, he would soon become Lord of Cardigan; Roger inherited his father’s Norman lands and was appointed one of Henry’s most senior military commanders; their brother Robert of Clare was appointed Steward to the King and was granted the title of Lord of Little Dunmow; another of the Clare brothers was a priest, he was given the abbacy of Ely.
    But why would the Clares select Tyrrell? They had to choose someone whose presence would not be suspicious – Tyrrell (whose grandfather had fought alongside William the Conqueror at Hastings) was an unsurprising invitee to the hunt. They needed someone who was a good shot – Tyrrell was an expert marksman. They needed someone who would not be available for questioning or trial after the killing – Tyrrell lived in Normandy, and was clearly willing to leave England for good. Most of all, they needed someone who was close to the other conspirators and whom they could trust – Tyrrell was married to Alice, sister of Gilbert de Clare and Roger of Clare.
    Walter Tyrrell, having returned to Normandy, brazenly selected the stag’s head for the motif on his shield. Then, funded by whatever reward he may have received for the coldblooded murder of the King, he went on crusade and died in the Holy Land.
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HENRY I
3 August 1100 – 1 December