1532
The day of the Tournament had dawned, grey and overcast.
Eleanor had taken her position in the stands alongside her ladies, it had taken Richard a while to mount his horse and he had huffed as Eleanor had offered him her favour in the joust.
“What luck would your favour give me?” Richard had snarled “I need no luck, I have skill alone,”
Then he had ridden off and Eleanor had kept her smile firm and fixed.
“What a jest our King makes,” Eleanor murmured quietly, before her husband’s competitor paused alongside the stand to nod as his wife who sat among the group of women.
“My Lord Buckingham,” Eleanor caught his attention and gave him a nod “Good luck in the tournament today,”
“Your Majesty,” Henry Stafford said with a polite nod, “Thank you, I am sure that our King will give me a run for my money,”
Eleanor chuckled briefly before pausing as she caught the sight of something - though she wasn’t quite sure what, in his eyes as he glanced in the King’s direction.
“I am sure that the King will make for a most interesting joust,” Eleanor said, glancing in Richard’s direction.
“Well?” Richard demanded in his imperious voice “Are we to joust today or not?”
“My cue,” Stafford said calmly, inclining his head towards Eleanor. “Your Majesty,”
He rode off towards his starting position as Richard began to fuss louder and louder. Everyone at Court seemed to be packed in the stands and all eyes were on the King as he snatched his lance from a waiting page before waving him off.
Eleanor bit her lip, honestly she had never put much thought into her husband’s inclinations to joust. He never seemed to like any sport, well unless of course - he would win.
Cheers began to ring out as the two riders rode towards each other, Eleanor bit her lip as Richard approached Buckingham.
Then the world seemed to go in slow motion as Buckingham unhorsed Richard and he fell onto the ground with a thump.
“The King!” Someone called out in a panic and Eleanor opened her mouth to say something, but she could only watch in horror as his horse reared up but caught itself on the wooden fencing. The horse veered violently until it fell with a terrible thunk, directly on top of Richard.
There were no more cheers after that.