Richard III
Richard III(1452-85). King of England. On the death of his elder brother, Edward IV (1483), the young king Edward V was left in Richard’s charge. At Richard’s re-quest, Edward V and his brother were declared illegitimate by Parliament and were imprisoned in the Tower. Richard subsequently became king himself. The fate of the two princes was never known but it was widely believed that they were murdered on Richard’s orders. He was later killed at the Battle of Bosworth, fighting against Henry Tudor (later Henry VII). Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard as a hunchbacked villain has been shown to be historically inaccurate.
“Six months were all he devoted to his kingdom in ten years’ reign. He used England as a bank on which to draw and overdraw to finance his ambitious exploits abroad… Twice in four years England was called upon to furnish money on a wholly unprecedented scale; first for the crusade, and secondly for the king’s ransom when he fell into the hands of the Emperor on his return. A. J. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta”
