King richard iii biography images
Was Richard III a Bad King?
‘Richard resolved to be a good king and even a reformer’
Michael Hicks, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Winchester and author of Richard III: The Self-Made King (Yale University Press, 2019)
For 500 years Richard III was a usurper and a wicked uncle, the murderer of his little nephews, the Princes in the Tower. He rightly suffered defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth (1485). Strenuous efforts since the 1930s have sought to rehabilitate him as the victim of libellous Tudor propaganda. In 2015 his bones were royally reinterred within a splendid table-tomb at Leicester Cathedral.
Surely Richard was the least successful of English kings. His reign was brief (1483-85) and he left no legitimate issue and no political heirs. He destroyed his immediate Yorkist family and indeed the whole Plantagenet dynasty. He plunged England back into civil war. He re-started the Wars of the Roses that had ended with Yorkist victory in 1471; the conflict raged on for another 20 years. Richard’s principal achievement, albeit inadvertent, was to make feasible the vestigial claim of the obscure Henry Tudor and to create the Tudor monarchy. His regime was catastrophic.
That Richard failed was his own fault. His accession flouted accepted conventions, his title was not credible and many Englishmen doubted his justifications. Richard was also the commander defeated at Bosworth.
Yet Richard resolved to be a good king and even a reformer. He distanced himself from the immorality of Edward IV’s court and the forced loans that Edward had exacted. Repeatedly he declared his adherence to his coronation oaths. He promised justice to all. He was a capable administrator, more hardworking and consistent than Edward IV.
Richard started his reforms immediately on all fronts. He established the College of Arms, the Council of the North, and mastership of Requests. He reorganised royal estate management and founded tw
File:King Richard III.jpg
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NPG 148
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National Portrait Gallery: NPG 148
| While Commons policy accepts the use of this media, one or more third parties have made copyright claims against Wikimedia Commons in relation to the work from which this is sourced or a purely mechanical reproduction thereof. This may be due to recognition of the "sweat of the brow" doctrine, allowing works to be eligible for protection through skill and labour, and not purely by originality as is the case in the United States (where this website is hosted). These claims may or may not be valid in all jurisdictions. As such, use of this image in the jurisdiction of the claimant or other countries may be regarded as copyright infringement. Please see Commons:When to use the PD-Art t (1452-1485) Richard III served as king of England for only two years, but his reign was one of the most historic and turbulent. He is credited with the responsibility for several murders, including those of his nephews Edward and Richard, and of Henry VI. William Shakespeare portrayed him as a tyrannical ruler in his play, King Richard III, but modern scholars have pointed to evidence that Richard III was a successful leader. Born in Northamptonshire, England, on October 2, 1452, King Richard III remains one of England's most infamous rulers. Modern scholars, however, question how much his bad reputation is true and how much is myth. Richard arrived into this world with little expectation that he would win fame or claim power. He was the youngest surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and his wife, Cecily Neville. It is thought that Richard spent his early years at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. Richard III was a child when his family, the House of York, engaged in battle against the Lancastrians for control of the country. This long and bloody civil conflict is known as the War of the Roses. Richard lost his father, an uncle and one of his brothers in December 1460 battling for the crown. Another brother, Edward IV, scored an impressive victory against King Henry VI, and his Lancastrian supporters the following February. When Edward IV officially took power in March 1461, young Richard became a prince. He was also granted the title "Duke of Gloucester." When he was old enough, Richard assumed the rights and responsibilities with his noble status. In 1469, the War of the Roses resumed with Richard's brother losing power in 1470. King Henry VI resumed his reign only briefly, however. Edward IV was back on the throne the following year. His loyalty to his brother Edward during this time brought Rich In his play "Richard III," Shakespeare depicted the king as a deformed killer and an evil tyrant. As this was well before the age of 24-hour news and Twitter, it was the ultimate negative press of its time. While some elements of the play are grounded in fact, Shakespeare also took some artistic license, as the play was written more than 100 years after the king’s death and there was no one still alive who had known Richard III. Here are some of the facts and myths about Richard III. Early years The boy who would become Richard III was born in England on Oct. 2, 1452. He was the youngest surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and his wife, Cecily Neville. There was not a high expectation that he was going to rise to fame — or infamy — based on his fairly quiet first years in Northamptonshire, England. Richard's life changed at an early age when his family, the House of York, waged the War of the Roses against the Lancastrians to gain control of the country. Richard's father, an uncle and a brother died in a December 1460 battle. Another of Richard's brothers, Edward, ultimately defeated Henry VI and his Lancastrian supporters the following February. Young Richard became a prince when his brother took the crown as Edward IV in 1461. Ultimately, Richard assumed the title Duke of Gloucester. Richard's role as warrior The War of the Roses resumed again in 1469. Richard was involved in many key battles and was wounded. Edward IV lost power briefly in 1470 but his forces were ultimately victorious. Richard was able to enjoy the spoils of victory, marrying Anne Neville, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and gaining access to the family’s immense fortune. Richard and Anne’s only child, a son named Edward, was born around 1476, but he died at a young age, and Anne soon followed. In the 1480s, the future king went into battle again, assisting his brother to invade S
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