Richard III

Start

RICHARD III

8. Finish!

7.1 progress medical thanks to his body

7.1 Photo of his skeleton

6. The Princes in the Tower

5. Reign

4. Relatives

3. Ascent to the throne

2. Childhood

1. Richard III

Index

Richard iii

1452 – 1485

Childhood

His father and brother Edmund died, so his mother sent him to the Netherlands, far from the reach of the queen consort of Henry VI, together with his brother George.They returned to England after the defeat of Lancaster at the Battle of Towton, to participate in the coronation of their older brother as Edward IV. Then Ricardo was made a duke and knighted.With some interruption, he remained there at the beginning of 1465, when he was 12 years old, was the second time Ricardo had to flee to the Netherlands.

Richard staged his first coup d’état on May 1, 1483, at Stony Stratford . The queen, her daughters, and Edward’s younger brother, also called Richard, took refuge in Westminster Abbey. Most people’s fears were allayed by Richard’s respectfulness to the king and by his continued preparations for the coronation. On June 16 he secured possession of the younger Richard on the pretext of ensuring that the boy would attend Edward’s coronation. With both princes in his power, Richard publicly declared his claim to the throne, and on June 26 he usurped it.King Richard III and Queen Anne were crowned at Westminster Abbey on July 6, 1483.

On April 9, 1483, Edward IV unexpectedly died. However, the royal council, the Wydevilles, decided to crown Edward V at once, which rendered any protectorate unnecessary and probably would have enabled them to rule on his behalf. The Wydevilles mistakenly believed that Richard was their friend, and the queen’s brother Earl Rivers arranged to meet with Richard and the duke of Buckingham en route from Ludlow to London.

Part 1

ASCENT TO THE THRONE

Part 2

Anne Neville

RElatives

Parents: Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville.Brothers: Edward IV and George.Married: Anne Neville, widow of Edward, Prince of Wales and daughter of Earl of Warwick.Children: One son, plus several illegitimate children before his marriage.Cousin: Henry VIINephew: Edward V and Richard

Although he abolished the highly unpopular forced gifts employed by his brother, sheer financial desperation forced him to revive them once again. Reluctantly, Richard replaced the natural rulers of southern England, who had rejected his rule, with his own northern supporters, which some southerners equated with tyranny. There was some good sense in the notion of marriage to Elizabeth of York, his niece and Edward IV’s daughter, who could have strengthened his title, would no longer have been available to marry Henry Tudor, and could have borne him sons anew.

Reign

Richard III presented himself as a reformer committed to justice and morality who would remedy the supposed misrule of Edward IV’s last years and the sexual license of his brother’s court. His signet registers reveal plans to improve the management of the royal estates and the north. He also came to an agreement with Queen Elizabeth and the Wydevilles.Unfortunately, his good intentions could not be implemented in a reign of only two years or in the face of serious opposition.

Although Richard sought Tudor’s extradition, all he achieved was his transfer from Brittany to France, where Tudor was able to recruit highly trained professional French and Scottish mercenaries. The scale and course of the battle and even the site where it took place are obscure and much disputed. A key role was certainly played by the Stanley family, whose northwestern contingents joined Tudor late in the battle. Fighting bravely, Richard himself was killed. Henry VII became the first Tudor king.

Richard’s support may have been diminished by highly effective propaganda presenting him as the murderer, like King Herod, of innocent «babes,» a betrayer like Judas Iscariot, a tyrant, and a committer of incest with his niece. Most of the leaders escaped to Brittany, where on Christmas Day they recognized the exiled Henry Tudor as king. Denounced by Richard as illegitimate, Tudor’s personal claim through the legitimated Beaufort line was extremely weak: it was important that Elizabeth of York remain available as his potential bride.

Shakespeare portrayed Richard as the most evil of Kings

The Princes in the Tower

The two princes, Edward and Richard were locked up in the Tower of London by Richard. The elder prince was in fact the 12 year old King Edward VI who Richard had kidnapped on his way to London to be crowned King. The other prince was his younger brother also called Richard (Duke of York).Richard Duke of York was obviously second in line to the throne. Both needed to be “done away with” before Uncle Richard could inherit the throne.The two boys simply disappeared and nobody who valued their lives dared to ask Richard what had become of them. About 150 years later some children’s bones were discovered but technology was not then available to provide the conclusive evidence for who they were. During the 1930’s the bones were examined again and were dated as far as was then possible to the late 1480’s.

Photo of his skeleton

Where did they find the skeleton?

Cut to rib likely caused by blow after death.

Deformed spine meant his left shoulder would have been lower than the right.

Both arms are of same size, refuting Shakespeare's description of a withered arm.

Skeleton of a male in his late 20s to late 30s, with an unusually slender, almost femenine build.

Spine severely curved by scoliosis, reducing height from 5ft 8in by up to a foot.

(Skull seen from undermeath)Large piece of bone hacked away by heavy-bladed weapon such as axe head of a halberd (left). Would have caused almost instant loss of consciousness and death.

The fatal blows

progress medical thanks to his body

Where did they find the skeleton?

Finish!