Mad Bios: Suffolk-Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places
Through almost all of 1 Henry VI, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, has a very small part. Suddenly, however, he rises like a meteor, only to fall just as rapidly in 2 Henry VI. Almost by accident, Suffolk captures the beautiful Margaret of Anjou during a battle in France. Entranced by her beauty, he reluctantly remembers that he is already married. Since he can’t marry Margaret himself, Suffolk concocts a plan to have her marry the young Henry VI. Swiftly obtaining Margaret’s consent, Suffolk returns to England and convinces the young king over the objections of Gloucester, the Lord Protector. As the play ends, de la Pole is no longer content to be only a royal matchmaker; full of ambition he proclaims, “I will rule both her, the King and realm.”
By the time Suffolk brings Margaret to England at the beginning of 2 Henry VI, he is a much more prominent figure. Like Suffolk, Henry is entranced by Margaret’s beauty and rewards Suffolk with a dukedom. Equally impressed, Cardinal Beaufort recruits Suffolk to join the conspiracy against Gloucester. The new duke enthusiastically agrees and helps trap Gloucester’s unsuspecting wife, Eleanor, opening the way for Gloucester’s fall. Almost overlooked in the success of the ploy is a witch’s prophecy that Suffolk shall die by water.
Once Gloucester himself is arrested, Suffolk has Gloucester murdered, but things immediately go wrong. When Suffolk informs Henry of his beloved uncle’s death, the young king almost instinctively knows that de la Pole has been involved in foul play. Shortly thereafter, Gloucester’s death is confirmed as murder with strong evidence of Suffolk’s guilt. Acting decisively for the first and only time in the trilogy that bears his name, Henry banishes Suffolk from England and angrily rejects Margaret’s pleas, calling her an “Ungentle Queen, to call him gentle Suffolk!”
The two lovers, Suffolk and Margaret, share a bitter farewell before Suffolk tries to cross the channel into France. On the way he is captured by pirates including one whose name is pronounced “water.” Fulfilling the witch’s prophecy, Suffolk’s head is cut off and returned to a grieving Margaret. Watching this bizarre scene, Henry tells Margaret that if he had died instead of Suffolk, “Thou wouldst not have mourned so much for me.” Margaret responds, “No, my love, I should not mourn but die for thee.” Unfortunately, the dying has just begun.
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