|
Richard was the last Yorkist king of England, whose death at the Battle of Bosworth effectively ended the Wars of the Roses. He has become infamous because of the disappearance of his young nephews - the Princes in the Tower - and through William Shakespeare's play 'Richard III'.
Richard was born on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire. His father was Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and his mother Cecily Neville. Richard had a claim to the English throne through both parents. The withered arm, crooked back and limp of legend are almost certainly fabrications.
His father's conflict with Henry VI was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses, which dominated Richard's early life. His father and older brother died at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. In 1461, Richard's brother, Edward, became Edward IV and created him duke of Gloucester. In 1470, Edward and Richard were exiled when Henry VI was briefly restored to the throne. The following year, they returned to England and Richard contributed to the Yorkist victories at Barnet and Tewkesbury which restored Edward to the throne.
When Edward died in April 1483, Richard was named as protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. As the new king travelled to London from Ludlow, Richard met him and escorted him to London, where he was lodged in the Tower. Edward V's brother later joined him there.
A publicity campaign was mounted condemning Edward's marriage to the boy's mother, Elizabeth Woodville, as invalid and their children illegitimate. On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed these claims. The following day, Richard III officially began his reign. He was crowned in July. The two young princes disappeared in August and were widely rumoured to have been murdered by Richard. A rebellion raised by the Duke of Buckingham in October quickly collapsed, but Buckingham's defection, along with his supporters, eroded Richard's power and support among the aristocracy and gentry.
In August 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was a Lancastrian claimant to the throne landed in South Wales. He marched east and engaged Richard in battle on Bosworth Field on 22 August. Although Richard possessed superior numbers, several of his key lieutenants defected. Refusing to flee, Richard was killed in battle and Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII.
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?