Susan (The Kingmaker)
Susan was, according to one account, the second-born child of King Edward IV. She was briefly King of England as Edward V but her uncle Richard discovered his brother's deception and stopped her from being properly crowned, with him becoming Richard III in her place. After William Shakespeare inadvertently replaced the doomed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth, Susan and her sister Judith, with the help of the Fifth Doctor, took their places in history as Shakespeare's daughters alongside Richard as Shakespeare.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]
Born fourteen years prior to mid-1485, Susan was the second child of King Edward IV and his consort Elizabeth of York, after their daughter Elizabeth of York. In the midst of the Wars of the Roses, Edward knew it was important for the stability of crown and country to continue his line with a son, the ascension of a queen not being feasible as England was "stuffed with power-hungry knobs with their own private armies just waiting for their chance to make it their own do-it-yourself monarchy". He panicked when his second-born turned out to be a girl and chose to lie about the identity of the child, announcing to the world that Susan was a boy in order to "stop the jitters going through the kingdom". When his third-born was another girl, Edward carried on the pretence to have two, "one for the succession and one for a spare".
Birth certificates were created for the two boys and they received an education as if they were princes. Only a small number of people knew the truth, including Hastings, a loyal friend of the King.
On 9 April 1483, Edward IV suddenly died of a chill, paving the way for "Edward" to be crowned as Edward V, scheduled to occur in London on 24 June that year. Earl Rivers, a materal uncle, was sent to bring the King back to London under close escort so the Woodville family could keep him under their control. However, Richard, who had previously been assigned as the young King's Lord Protector, intercepted the convoy on their journey and negotiated a compromise that they would both accompany "Edward" to London. While staying the night at a Stony Stratford inn, Susan escaped out a window but was knocked unconscious as she ran through a nearby forest. She was found by Peri Brown and Erimem, who carried him back to the inn. Peri and Erimem subsequently agreed with Richard to tend to Edward's injuries but they fled after Peri discovered a detatched metal part on him and concluded he had been replaced by a robot. Upon being told of the disappearance of the women, Richard momentarily suspected them of being Woodville spies come to help the Princes escape, but found "Edward" and his brother still in their bedroom after rushing there. However, he noticed the loose metal Peri had abandoned on the floor, which was really a codpiece, and worked out that Edward and Richard were both girls merely posing as boys.
As noted by Henry Stafford, Richard became "twitchy and troubled, almost addled in his mind" after his discovery and went "completely loopy" when the escort arrived in London. In fact, he was systemically rounding up and executing everyone who knew the truth about the Princes. He then bribed their mother Elizabeth Woodville to keep quiet about the whole affair, who was as petrified about the truth coming out as Richard himself. After that, Richard declared the "boys" bastards by voiding the marriage of their parents, allowing him to legally crown himself king as the next in line. Richard later said that exposing the lies of the "beloved and dearly departed king [...] would have torn the whole kingdom apart".
For the first six months of Richard's reign, Susan and Judith stayed in the Tower of London. However, when "all the murder and kidnap plots started buzzing", he sent them to live with their Uncle Clarrie, who was already lying low, at the Kingmaker tavern, where they also worked as serving wenches. Richard forced Peri and Erimem to regularly pretend to be the Princes in their stead, with whom he had recently been reacquainted, with Peri in the role of Prince Edward. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
Meeting the Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1485, Susan greeted and served the Fifth Doctor when he arrived at the Kingmaker and ordered a barely-drinkable wine. She also answered his questions about the new King Edward V as the Doctor claimed to be out of touch with local politics owing to his travels abroad. Susan told him Richard had deposed Edward but that he and his brother were living happily in the Tower of London. In exchange for buying a commemorative mug for Edward's coronation that never was, the Doctor convinced Susan and her sister Judith to show him where they last saw the Princes as the Doctor knew from history that the last sighting of them was over a year prior in 1484. They took the Doctor to a hill overlooking London from which they saw the Princes excerising in the Tower's garden. Peri, who was impersonating Edward, saw the Doctor come and go, making the conclusion that he had abandoned her and Erimem and got himself new companions.
Later, upon learning from Clarrie that Richard had detained the Doctor in the Tower, Susan and Judith launched a rescue attempt, persuading Clarrie to come along with them. They easily infiltrated the Tower by using a secret entrance to the dungeons which had been left unlocked. They found the Doctor, in chains, speaking to Richard but swiftly learnt that their efforts had been wasted as Richard had been about to let him go, being not willing to kill without good reason. Suddenly, William Shakespeare entered the room armed with a Cyber-rifle. As the Doctor and Richard exchanged words with Shakespeare about the motives and likelihood of success of the latter's plans, Susan and the others kept quiet until they asked to leave, saying they did not understand anything of what was being discussed. Shakespeare questioned them on their identities and, although a little suspicous of their story, allowed them to leave based on the claim that Susan and Judith were wenches who brought food to prisoners and Clarrie was the chief gobber.
As Susan, Judith and Clarrie started the journey back to the Kingmaker on foot, they encountered James Tyrell, who recognised Clarrie as the traitorous and supposedly deceased Duke of Clarence and called for some guards to detain him. They attempted to make an escape but Clarrie quickly realised the guards were only after him, clearly not realising who the girls were, and so bade farewell to his neices before drawing Tyrell and his men away. Susan and Judith watched him run out of Traitors' Gate and fall into the River Thames. Despite the fact they were aware he couldn't swim, they reluctantly fled, knowing there was nothing more they could do for him with guards swarming the area. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
Becoming Shakespeare's daughter[[edit] | [edit source]]
After a series of events led inadvertently to Shakespeare replacing Richard at the Battle of Bosworth, Richard took Shakespeare's place in 1597. The Doctor also brought Susan and Judith forward in time so that they could pretend to be Shakespeare's daughters, Susanna and Judith respectively. He knew this was the correct course of action because Shakespeare had previously told him he had lost his only child Hamnet to illness yet history recorded that he also had two daughters. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
According to a book from the Coal Hill library, Susanna was born soon after Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582 while Judith and Hamnet were twins born in 1585. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) Susan and Judith both outlived their "father", living very rich and full lives. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
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