THE LAST WHITE ROSE - EPISODE TWELVE: "THE REALM BETRAYED"

One page synopsis of the concluding Episode Twelve of "The Last White Rose": "The Realm Betrayed" The trumpet clarions the troops to battle. King Richard, astride his white steed, tightens his helm, as Merlin beckons him one last time to purge the demons of the cruelest of times, the death of his beloved Anne and the sharp thorns of rumor, mixed with the weeds of Welsh, Scott, Breton and Lancastrian dissidents rising to choke the Last White Rose that have led to this day. Soon Richard is enveloped in the mist and we are in London. Anne lies in her bed at Westminster, a dying shell. The tuberculosis grows. Richard shares his fears that Sir John de Vere's escape from Hammes Castle could hasten Richmond's advance on England. One of her last visitors is Will Caxton the printer. He presents her a bound edition of L'Mort d'Arthur. She's accomplished what they promised Thomas Mallory. On March 14, 1485 in the early afternoon the sun begins to dim in Anne's solar. In her dying hallucinations she is back in Middleham with Ned in the meadows, running carefree. She reaches for Richard and yet cannot reach him as her breathing slowly ebbs to stillness and the eclipse of the Sun In Splendor. Once again Requiem bells ring out for Anne's funeral at St. Edward's Chapel at Westminster. Banners of the White Boar and Sun In Splendor wave at half mast. Nothing can console the king. Richard has only one love left: England. He immerses himself into passing bills and laws in the affairs of the Realm, leaning heavily on the friendship and expertise of Catesby, the Cat; Ratcliffe, the Rat; and Lovell, the Dog all made famous by an insulting post by William Colynbourne turned into a battle cry among the inner circle of trust surrounding the Hog, Richard, as the solstice passes. On July 24, a fleet of galleons sail from the Port of Honfleurs with well-equipped, experienced archers fortified by Francis of Brittany. On board is Henry Tudor of Richmond with the Duke of Oxford Sir John de Vere and Bishop Morton. Their course: England by way of Wales. The campaign has commenced. Word reaches Richard who convenes an emergency Parliament. To defend the Realm Richard will amass his army at Nottingham, sending Lovell to defend the south, Brackenbury - London, and Howard - the northern Channel. Arriving at Milford Haven, Tudor discovers his archers have sweating sickness. To refortify he sails further north to join his 4000 men with the fierce Welsh chieftain Rys Ap Thomas and his forces at Devil's Gate Bridge on August 10. They march over the mountains to Shrewsbury On the Assumption Lord Strange, Lord Stanley's son Thomas confesses. They join Tudor for a war council at Three Tuns Inn in Atherstone. Richard marches west from Nottingham to Leicester, camping on the eve of August 21 on Ambion Hill where he has the lay of the land. Percy arrives from north and Brackenbury's diluted band lumbers in from London. Merlin and Richard converse for the final time. The battle has begun. Though greatly overmatched in numbers, Richard waits. When the Duke of Norfolk falls, Richard slams down his visor and raises his arm. Charge! He leads his cavalry thundering down the hill toward Henry of Richmond beneath the Red Dragon banner. It is a trap. Tudor has planted pikemen and soon Richard's men are inside the circle. There is no escape. The king looks toward Percy on the ridge to advance, but Percy will not. Lord Stanley and the Welsh Thomas move in from one side, William Stanley on the other engaging the king's elite knights. Richard sees Henry and thinks of nothing else. He whips his stallion at full gallop toward the man who would be Henry VII, screaming "Treason! Richmond! Treason!" He is felled from his horse and Tudor's men rush at him. It is too late. Swords and axes mutilate his body. In those last seconds he experiences inner visions that blunt the pain. Scenes flash before him and he is back in Middleham with Anne and Ned in a sea of white roses. He is at peace, oblivious that his body is being ripped to shreds. In the aftermath, William Stanley retrieves Richard's crown, dips it in the Scence Brook and rides to present it to Henry who has retreated to the ridge. Henry VII has conquered. Merlin then reviews the fate of the major characters of this series, finishing up with Richard at the last seat at the great round table of the English monarchs for he is the Last White Rose as white petals flutter everywhere, covering the screen and fade out.