View source for Richard III of England

{{Short description|King of England from 1483 to 1485}}
{{Redirect|Richard of Gloucester}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Richard III
| image        = Richard III Royal Collection.jpg
| alt          = Richard has pale skin, blue eyes, and wears a black hat
| caption      = Earliest surviving portrait, {{circa|1504-1520}}
| succession   = [[King of England]]
| moretext     = ([[Styles of English sovereigns|more...]])
| reign        = 26 June 1483 – 22 August 1485
| coronation   = 6 July 1483
| cor-type = [[Coronation of the English monarch|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = [[Edward V]]
| successor    = [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]
| birth_date   = 2 October 1452
| birth_place  = [[Fotheringhay Castle]], Northamptonshire, England
| death_date   = 22 August 1485 (aged 32)
| death_place  = [[Bosworth Field]], Leicestershire, England
| burial_date  = 25 August 1485<ref name=Carson8>[[#Carson|Carson, Ashdown-Hill, Johnson, Johnson & Langley]], p. 8.</ref>
| burial_place = {{hanging indent|[[Greyfriars, Leicester]]}} {{Br separated entries|26 March 2015|{{hanging indent|[[Leicester Cathedral]]}}}}
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Anne Neville]]|1472|1485|end=d}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales|Edward, Prince of Wales]]
* [[John of Gloucester]] ({{abbr|ill.|illegitimate}})
* Katherine, Countess of Pembroke ({{abbr|ill.|illegitimate}})
}}
| issue-link   = #Issue
| issue-pipe   = Detail
| house        = [[House of York|York]]
| father       = [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York|Richard of York]]
| mother       = [[Cecily Neville]]
| signature    = Richard III signature 1.svg
}}

'''Richard III''' (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was [[King of England]] from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the [[Plantagenet dynasty]] and its [[cadet branch]] the [[House of York]]. His defeat and death at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] marked the end of the [[Middle Ages in England]].

Richard was created [[Duke of Gloucester]] in 1461 after the accession to the throne of his older brother [[Edward IV]]. This was during the period known as the [[Wars of the Roses]], an era when two branches of the royal family contested the throne; Edward and Richard were [[Yorkists]], and their side of the family were in conflict with their [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] cousins. In 1472, Richard married [[Anne Neville]], daughter of [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], and widow of [[Edward of Lancaster]], son of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]], a Lancastrian. He governed northern England during Edward's reign, and played a role in the [[English invasion of Scotland (1482)|invasion of Scotland]] in 1482. When Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named [[Lord Protector]] of the realm for Edward's eldest son and successor, the 12-year-old [[Edward V]]. Before arrangements were complete for Edward V's coronation, scheduled for 22 June 1483, the marriage of his parents was declared [[bigamous]] and therefore invalid. Now officially illegitimate, Edward and his siblings were barred from inheriting the throne. On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed a declaration to this effect, and proclaimed Richard as the rightful king. He was crowned on 6 July 1483. Edward and his younger brother [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]], called the "[[Princes in the Tower]]", disappeared from the [[Tower of London]] around August 1483.

There were two major rebellions against Richard during his reign. In October 1483, an unsuccessful revolt was led by staunch allies of Edward IV and Richard's former ally, [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]]. Then, in August 1485, [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]] and his uncle, [[Jasper Tudor]], landed in [[Wales]] with a contingent of French troops, and marched through [[Pembrokeshire]], recruiting soldiers. Henry's forces defeated Richard's army near the [[Leicestershire]] town of [[Market Bosworth]]. Richard was slain, making him the last English king to die in battle. Henry Tudor then ascended the throne as Henry VII.

Richard's corpse was taken to the nearby town of [[Leicester]] and buried without ceremony. His original tomb monument is believed to have been removed during the [[English Reformation]], and his remains were wrongly thought to have been thrown into the [[River Soar]]. In 2012, [[Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England|an archaeological excavation]] was commissioned by [[Ricardian (Richard III)|Ricardian]] author [[Philippa Langley]] with the assistance of the [[Richard III Society]] on the site previously occupied by [[Grey Friars Priory]]. The [[University of Leicester]] identified the human skeleton found at the site as that of Richard III as a result of [[radiocarbon dating]], comparison with contemporary reports of his appearance, identification of trauma sustained at Bosworth and comparison of his [[mitochondrial DNA]] with that of two [[matrilineal]] descendants of his sister [[Anne, Duchess of Exeter|Anne]]. He was reburied in [[Leicester Cathedral]] in 2015.

==Early life==
Richard was born on 2 October 1452 at [[Fotheringhay Castle]] in [[Northamptonshire]], the eleventh of the twelve children of [[Richard, 3rd Duke of York]], and [[Cecily Neville]], and the youngest to survive infancy.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=}} His early years unfolded against the opening phase of what has traditionally been termed the [[Wars of the Roses]], a prolonged period of political instability and intermittent civil conflict in [[England in the Middle Ages|England]] during the latter half of the fifteenth century.{{sfnp|Pollard|2000|p=15}} On one side were the [[Yorkists]], who supported Richard's father{{snd}}a potential claimant to the throne of [[Henry VI of England|King Henry VI]] from birth{{sfnp|Ross|1974|pp=3–5}} and a leading opponent of Henry's regime{{sfnp|Pollard|2008}}{{snd}} and on the other, the [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrians]], who remained loyal to the crown.{{sfnp|Griffiths|2008}} 

In 1459, his father and the Yorkists were forced to flee England, whereupon Richard and his older brother [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|George]] were placed in the custody of their aunt [[Anne Neville, Duchess of Buckingham]], and possibly of [[Cardinal Thomas Bourchier]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}}

When their father and elder brother [[Edmund, Earl of Rutland]], were killed at the [[Battle of Wakefield]] on 30 December 1460, Richard and George were sent by their mother to the [[Low Countries]].{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=41–42}} They returned to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the [[Battle of Towton]]. They participated in the coronation of their eldest brother as [[King Edward IV]] on 28 June 1461, when Richard was named [[Duke of Gloucester]] and made both a [[Knight of the Garter]] and a [[Knight of the Bath]]. Edward appointed him the sole [[Commissioner of Array]] for the Western Counties in 1464 when he was 11. By the age of 17, he had an independent command.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=40}}

[[File:MiddlehamCJW.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The ruins of the twelfth-century castle at [[Middleham Castle|Middleham]] in [[Wensleydale]], North Yorkshire, where Richard was raised]]

Richard spent several years during his childhood at [[Middleham Castle]] in [[Wensleydale]], Yorkshire, under the tutelage of his cousin [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], later known as 'the Kingmaker' because of his role in the Wars of the Roses. Warwick supervised Richard's training as a [[knight]]; in the autumn of 1465, Edward IV granted Warwick £1,000 for the expenses of his younger brother's tutelage.{{sfnp|Scofield|2016|loc=p. 216, n.6|ps=, quoting Tellers' Roll, Mich. 5 Edw. IV (no. 36), m. 2.}} With some interruptions, Richard stayed at Middleham either from late 1461 until early 1465, when he was 12{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=34–44, 74}} or from 1465 until his coming of age in 1468, when he turned 16.{{refn|"From November 1461 until 1465 all references to Richard place him in locations south of the river Trent. It may have been partly to appease Warwick's injured feelings towards the rising influence of the king's new Woodville in-laws that he was given the honour of taking Richard into his household to complete his education, probably at some time in 1465".{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|pp=36–37, 240}}|group=note}} While at Warwick's estate, it is likely that he met both [[Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell|Francis Lovell]], who was his firm supporter later in his life, and Warwick's younger daughter, his future wife [[Anne Neville]].{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=9}}

It is possible that even at this early stage Warwick was considering the king's brothers as strategic matches for his daughters, [[Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence|Isabel]] and Anne: young aristocrats were often sent to be raised in the households of their intended future partners,{{sfnp|Licence|2013|p=63}} as had been the case for the young dukes' father, Richard of York.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=16–17}} As the relationship between the king and Warwick became strained, Edward IV opposed the match.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=68}} During Warwick's lifetime, George was the only royal brother to marry one of his daughters, the elder, Isabel, on 12 July 1469, without the king's permission. George joined his father-in-law's revolt against the king,{{sfnp|Hicks|1980|p=45}} while Richard remained loyal to Edward, even though he was rumoured to have been having an affair with Anne.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=522}}{{refn|1=As late as 1469 rumours were still linking Richard's name with Anne Neville's. In August of that year, by which time Clarence had married Isabel, an Italian observer in London mistakenly reported that Warwick had married his two daughters to the king's brothers (''Cal. Milanese Papers, I'', pp. 118–120).|group=note}}

Richard and Edward were forced to flee to [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]] in October 1470 after Warwick defected to the side of the former Lancastrian queen Margaret of Anjou. In 1468, Richard's sister [[Margaret of York|Margaret]] had married [[Charles the Bold]], the Duke of Burgundy, and the brothers could expect a welcome there. Edward was restored to the throne in the spring of 1471, following the battles of [[Battle of Barnet|Barnet]] and [[Battle of Tewkesbury|Tewkesbury]], in both of which the 18-year-old Richard played a crucial role.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=87–89}}

During his adolescence, and due to a cause that is unknown, Richard developed [[scoliosis]], a sideways curvature of the spine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spine |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/spine.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=5 February 2013 |quote=A very pronounced curve in the spine was visible when the body was first uncovered, evidence of scoliosis which may have meant that Richard's right shoulder was noticeably higher than his left....The type of scoliosis seen here is known as idiopathic adolescent onset scoliosis. The word idiopathic means that the reason for its development is not entirely clear, although there is probably a genetic component. The term adolescent onset indicates that the deformity wasn't present at birth, but developed after the age of ten. It is quite possible that the scoliosis was progressive...}}</ref> In 2014, after the discovery of Richard's remains, the [[osteoarchaeology|osteoarchaeologist]] Dr. Jo Appleby, of Leicester University's School of Archaeology and Ancient History, imaged the spinal column, and reconstructed a model using [[3D printing]], and concluded that though the spinal scoliosis looked dramatic, it probably did not cause any major physical deformity that could not be disguised by clothing.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-27610788 |title=Richard III: Team rebuilds 'most famous spine' |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Duffin |first=Claire |date=17 August 2014 |title=Richard III, the 'hunchback king', really could have been a formidable warrior... and his body double can prove it |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11038600/Richard-III-the-hunchback-king-really-could-have-been-a-formidable-warrior-...-and-his-body-double-can-prove-it.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11038600/Richard-III-the-hunchback-king-really-could-have-been-a-formidable-warrior-...-and-his-body-double-can-prove-it.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |access-date=24 November 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Marriage and family relationships==
[[File:Rous Roll - Richard and family.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Contemporary illumination ([[John Rous (historian)|''Rous Roll'']], 1483) of Richard, his wife [[Anne Neville]], and their son Edward]]
[[File:Edwin Austin Abbey richard duke of gloucester and the lady anne 1896.jpg|thumb|Imaginary depiction of Richard and his wife Anne by [[Edwin Austin Abbey]], 1890]]
Following a decisive Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury, Richard married Anne Neville on 12 July 1472.<ref name="ipup-timeline">{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=http://richardiii-ipup.org.uk/timeline |website=Richard III: Rumour and Reality |publisher=[[Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past]], [[University of York]] |access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref> Anne had previously been wedded to [[Edward of Westminster]], only son of Henry VI, to seal her father's allegiance to the Lancastrian party.{{sfnp|Hicks|2006}} Edward died at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, while Warwick had died at the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=21}} Richard's marriage plans brought him into conflict with his brother George.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=27}} [[Paston Letters|John Paston's letter]] of 17 February 1472 makes it clear that George was not happy about the marriage but grudgingly accepted it on the basis that "he may well have my Lady his sister-in-law, but they shall part no livelihood".{{sfnp|Hicks|1980|p=115|ps=. The East Anglian Paston family have left historians a rich source of historical information for the lives of the English gentry of the period in a large collection of surviving letters.}} The reason was the inheritance Anne shared with her elder sister Isabel, whom George had married in 1469. It was not only the earldom that was at stake; Richard Neville had inherited it as a result of his marriage to [[Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick]]. The Countess, who was still alive, was technically the owner of the substantial Beauchamp estates, her father having left no male heirs.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|pp=81–82}}

The [[Croyland Chronicle]] records that Richard agreed to a prenuptial contract in the following terms: "the marriage of the Duke of Gloucester with Anne before-named was to take place, and he was to have such and so much of the earl's lands as should be agreed upon between them through the mediation of arbitrators; while all the rest were to remain in the possession of the Duke of Clarence".{{sfnp|Riley|1908|p=470}} The date of Paston's letter suggests the marriage was still being negotiated in February 1472. In order to win George's final consent to the marriage, Richard renounced most of the Earl of Warwick's land and property including the earldoms of Warwick (which the Kingmaker had held in his wife's right) and Salisbury and surrendered to George the office of Great Chamberlain of England.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956}} Richard retained Neville's forfeit estates he had already been granted in the summer of 1471:{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=58}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Northern Properties and Influence |url=http://richardiii-ipup.org.uk/riii/46 |website=Richard III: Rumour and Reality |publisher=[[Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past]], [[University of York]] |at=CPR 1467–77, p. 260|access-date=7 September 2014}}</ref> Penrith, Sheriff Hutton and Middleham, where he later established his marital household.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=128}}

[[File:King Richard III and Queen Anne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Stained glass]] depiction of Richard and Anne Neville in [[Cardiff Castle]]]]

The requisite papal dispensation was obtained dated 22 April 1472.{{sfnp|Clarke|2005|p=1023|ps=. "In fact, [Richard and Anne] had sought a dispensation to marry from the penitentiary in early 1472, for it was granted on 22 April that year, and they probably married shortly afterwards."}} [[Michael Hicks (historian)|Michael Hicks]] has suggested that the terms of the dispensation deliberately understated the degrees of consanguinity between the couple, and the marriage was therefore illegal on the ground of first-degree consanguinity following George's marriage to Anne's sister Isabel.{{sfnp|Hicks|2006}} However, the first-degree consanguinity would have been only if Richard had sought to marry Isabel (in case of widowhood) after she had married his brother George, but no such consanguinity applied for Anne and Richard. Richard's marriage to Anne was never declared null, and it was public to everyone including secular and canon lawyers for 13 years.{{sfnp|Barnfield|2007|p=85}}

In June 1473, Richard persuaded his mother-in-law to leave the sanctuary and come to live under his protection at Middleham. Later in the year, under the terms of the 1473 Act of Resumption,{{sfnp|Cobbett|1807|p=431}} George lost some of the property he held under royal grant and made no secret of his displeasure. John Paston's letter of November 1473 says that King Edward planned to put both his younger brothers in their place by acting as "a stifler atween them".{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=190}} Early in 1474, Parliament assembled and Edward attempted to reconcile his brothers by stating that both men, and their wives, would enjoy the Warwick inheritance just as if the Countess of Warwick "was naturally dead".{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=30}} The doubts cast by George on the validity of Richard and Anne's marriage were addressed by a clause protecting their rights in the event they were divorced (i.e. of their marriage being declared null and void by the Church) and then legally remarried to each other, and also protected Richard's rights while waiting for such a valid second marriage with Anne.{{sfnp|Given-Wilson|Brand|Phillips|Ormrod|2005|loc="Edward IV: October 1472, Second Roll", items 20–24}} The following year, Richard was rewarded with all the Neville lands in the north of England, at the expense of Anne's cousin, [[George Neville, 1st Duke of Bedford]].{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=31}} From this point, George seems to have fallen steadily out of King Edward's favour, his discontent coming to a head in 1477 when, following Isabel's death, he was denied the opportunity to marry [[Mary of Burgundy]], the stepdaughter of his sister Margaret, even though Margaret approved the proposed match.{{sfnp|Hicks|1980|p=132}} There is no evidence of Richard's involvement in George's subsequent conviction and execution on a charge of treason.{{sfnp|Hicks|1980|p=146}}

==Reign of Edward IV==
===Estates and titles===
Richard was granted the Dukedom of Gloucester on 1 November 1461,{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=6}} and on 12 August the next year was awarded large estates in [[northern England]], including the lordships of [[Richmond, Yorkshire|Richmond]] in Yorkshire, and [[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]] in Wales. He gained the forfeited lands of the Lancastrian [[John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford]], in [[East Anglia]]. In 1462, on his birthday, he was made Constable of [[Gloucester Castle|Gloucester]] and [[Corfe Castle]]s and Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=9}} and appointed Governor of the North, becoming the richest and most powerful noble in England. On 17 October 1469, he was made [[Constable of England]]. In November, he replaced [[William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings]], as Chief Justice of North Wales. The following year, he was appointed Chief Steward and Chamberlain of Wales.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=136}} On 18 May 1471, Richard was named Great Chamberlain and [[Lord High Admiral of England]]. Other positions followed: [[High Sheriff of Cumberland]] for life, Lieutenant of the North and Commander-in-Chief against the Scots and hereditary Warden of the West March.{{sfnp|Hicks|2001|p=74}} Two months later, on 14 July, he gained the Lordships of the strongholds [[Sheriff Hutton]] and Middleham in Yorkshire and [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] in Cumberland, which had belonged to Warwick the Kingmaker.{{sfnp|Hicks|2001|p=82}} It is possible that the grant of Middleham seconded Richard's personal wishes.{{refn|Says Kendall, "Richard had won his way back to Middleham Castle". However, any personal attachment he may have felt to Middleham was likely mitigated in his adulthood, as surviving records demonstrate he spent less time there than at [[Barnard Castle]] and [[Pontefract Castle|Pontefract]]." "No great magnate or royal duke in the fifteenth century had a 'home' in the twentieth-century sense of the word. Richard of Gloucester formed no more of a personal attachment to Middleham than he did to Barnard Castle or Pontefract, at both of which surviving records suggest he spent more time."{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=125}}|group=note}}

===Exile and return===
During the latter part of Edward IV's reign, Richard demonstrated his loyalty to the king,{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|p=75}} in contrast to their brother George who had allied himself with the Earl of Warwick when the latter rebelled towards the end of the 1460s.{{sfnp|Hicks|2004|ps=. "After 1466 Clarence was not the ally for which Edward IV had presumably hoped. He embroiled himself in a dangerous feud in the north midlands and associated himself politically with Warwick, who graduated from direction of Edward's affairs in the early 1460s to outright opposition."}} Following Warwick's 1470 rebellion, before which he had made peace with Margaret of Anjou and promised the restoration of Henry VI to the English throne, Richard, the Baron Hastings and [[Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers]], escaped capture at [[Doncaster]] by Warwick's brother, [[John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu]].{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=152}} On 2 October they sailed from [[King's Lynn]] in two ships; Edward landed at [[Marsdiep]] and Richard at [[Zeeland]].{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=19}} It was said that, having left England in such haste as to possess almost nothing, Edward was forced to pay their passage with his fur cloak; certainly, Richard borrowed three pounds from Zeeland's town bailiff.{{sfnp|Lulofs|1974}} They were [[attainted]] by Warwick's only Parliament on 26 November.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=155}} They resided in [[Bruges]] with [[Louis de Gruuthuse|Louis de Gruthuse]], who had been the Burgundian Ambassador to Edward's court,{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=153}} but it was not until [[Louis XI of France]] declared war on Burgundy that Charles, Duke of Burgundy, assisted their return,{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=159}} providing, along with the [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic merchants]], 20,000 [[Pound sterling|pounds]], 36 ships and 1,200 men. They left [[Vlissingen|Flushing]] for England on 11 March 1471.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=160}} Warwick's arrest of local sympathisers prevented them from landing in Yorkist East Anglia and on 14 March, after being separated in a storm, their ships ran ashore at [[Holderness]].{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=161}} The town of [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] refused Edward entry. He gained entry to York by using the same claim as [[Henry of Bolingbroke]] had before deposing Richard II in 1399; that is, that he was merely reclaiming the Dukedom of York rather than the crown.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=163}}{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=20}} It was in Edward's attempt to regain his throne that Richard began to demonstrate his skill as a military commander.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|p=98}}

===1471 military campaign===
[[File:The East Gate, Exeter and the Visit of King Richard III, 1483.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|Imaginary depiction of the East Gate (since demolished) in [[Exeter]] and the Visit of King Richard III, painted in 1885]]

Once Edward had regained the support of his brother George, he mounted a swift and decisive campaign to regain the crown through combat;{{sfnp|Gillingham|1981|p=191}} it is believed that Richard was his principal lieutenant{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=21}} as some of the king's earliest support came from members of Richard's [[affinity (law)|affinity]], including [[James Harrington (Yorkist knight)|Sir James Harrington]]{{sfnp|Horrox|1989|p=41}} and [[William Parr (died 1483)|Sir William Parr]], who brought 600 [[men-at-arms]] to them at Doncaster.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=164}} Richard may have led the vanguard at the [[Battle of Barnet]], in his first command, on 14 April 1471, where he outflanked the wing of [[Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter]],{{sfnp|Kinross|1979|p=89}} although the degree to which his command was fundamental may have been exaggerated.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=93–99}} That Richard's personal household sustained losses indicate he was in the thick of the fighting.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=22}} A contemporary source is clear about his holding the vanguard for Edward at Tewkesbury,{{sfnp|Gillingham|1981|p=206}} deployed against the Lancastrian vanguard under [[Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset]], on 4 May 1471,<ref>{{harvp|Ross|1981|p=22}}, citing 'The Arrivall'.</ref> and his role two days later, as Constable of England, sitting alongside [[John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk|John Howard]] as [[Earl Marshal]], in the trial and sentencing of leading Lancastrians captured after the battle.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=172}}

===1475 invasion of France===
At least in part resentful of King Louis XI's previous support of his Lancastrian opponents, and possibly in support of his brother-in-law Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, Edward went to parliament in October 1472 for funding a military campaign,{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=206}} and eventually landed in [[Calais]] on 4 July 1475.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=223}} Richard's was the largest private contingent of his army.{{sfnp|Grant|1993|p=116}} Although well known to have publicly been against the eventual treaty signed with Louis XI at [[Treaty of Picquigny|Picquigny]] (and absent from the negotiations, in which one of his rank would have been expected to take a leading role),{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=34}} he acted as Edward's witness when the king instructed his delegates to the French court,{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=230}} and received 'some very fine presents' from Louis on a visit to the French king at [[Amiens]].{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=233}} In refusing other gifts, which included 'pensions' in the guise of 'tribute', he was joined only by [[Cardinal Bourchier]].{{sfnp|Hampton|1975|p=10}} He supposedly disapproved of Edward's policy of personally benefiting—politically and financially—from a campaign paid for out of a parliamentary grant, and hence out of public funds.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=34}} Any military prowess was therefore not to be revealed further until the last years of Edward's reign.{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}}

===The North, and the Council in the North===
Richard was the dominant magnate in the north of England until Edward IV's death.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|p=57}} There, and especially in the city of [[York]], he was highly regarded;{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=132–133, 154}} although it has been questioned whether this view was reciprocated by Richard.{{refn| Hanham has raised "the charge of hypocrisy",{{sfnp|Hanham|1975|p=64}} suggesting "that Richard would 'grin' at the city", and questioning whether he was either as popular or as devoted to the region as sometimes thought.{{sfnp|Hanham|1975|p=64}}|group=note}} Edward IV delegated significant authority to Richard in the region. [[Paul Murray Kendall]] and later historians have suggested that this was with the intention of making Richard the ''Lord of the North'';{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=156}} Peter Booth, however, has argued that "instead of allowing his brother Richard ''[[carte blanche]]'', [Edward] restricted his influence by using his own agent, Sir William Parr."{{sfnp|Booth|1997}} Following Richard's accession to the throne, he first established the [[Council of the North]] and made his nephew [[John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln]], president and formally institutionalised this body as an offshoot of the royal Council; all its letters and judgements were issued on behalf of the king and in his name.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=182}} The council had a budget of 2,000 [[Mark (currency)#England and Scotland|marks]] per annum and had issued "Regulations" by July of that year: councillors to act impartially, declare vested interests and to meet at least every three months. Its main focus of operations was Yorkshire and the north-east and its responsibilities included land disputes, keeping of the king's peace and punishing lawbreakers.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=183}}

===War with Scotland===
Richard's increasing role in the north from the mid-1470s to some extent explains his withdrawal from the royal court. He had been [[Lord Warden of the Marches#Warden of the Western March|Warden of the West March]] on the Scottish border since 10 September 1470,{{sfnp|Scofield|2016|p=534}} and again from May 1471; he used Penrith as a base while 'taking effectual measures' against the Scots, and 'enjoyed the revenues of the estates' of the Forest of Cumberland while doing so.{{sfnp|Ferguson|1890|p=238}} It was at the same time that the Duke of Gloucester was appointed High Sheriff of Cumberland for five consecutive years, being described as 'of Penrith Castle' in 1478.{{sfnp|Lysons|Lysons|1816|loc="Parishes: Newton-Regny – Ponsonby", pp. 142–150}}

By 1480, war with Scotland was looming; on 12 May that year, he was appointed Lieutenant-General of the North (a position created for the occasion) as fears of a Scottish invasion grew. [[Louis XI]] of France had attempted to negotiate a military alliance with Scotland (in the tradition of the "[[Auld Alliance]]"), with the aim of attacking England, according to a contemporary French chronicler.{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=278|ps=, citing Phillipe de Commynes}} Richard had the authority to summon the Border Levies and issue Commissions of Array to repel the Border raids. Together with the Earl of Northumberland, he launched counter-raids, and when the king and council formally declared war in November 1480, he was granted 10,000 pounds for wages.

The king failed to arrive to lead the English army and the result was intermittent skirmishing until early 1482. Richard witnessed the treaty with [[Alexander, Duke of Albany]], brother of King [[James III of Scotland]].{{sfnp|Ross|1974|p=9}} Northumberland, Stanley, Dorset, Sir Edward Woodville, and Richard with approximately 20,000 men took the town of Berwick as part of the [[English invasion of Scotland (1482)|English invasion of Scotland]]. The castle held out until 24 August 1482, when Richard recaptured Berwick-upon-Tweed from the [[Kingdom of Scotland]]. Although it is debatable whether the English victory was due more to internal Scottish divisions rather than any outstanding military prowess by Richard,{{sfnp|Ross|1981|loc=p. 143, n. 53|ps=. However, Ross cites a letter from Edward IV in May 1480, the letter of appointment to his position as Lieutenant-General referred to his "proven capacity in the arts of war".}} it was the last time that the [[Royal Burgh]] of Berwick changed hands between the two realms.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=44–47}}

==Lord Protector==
On the death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483, his 12-year-old son, [[Edward V]], succeeded him, with Richard being named Lord Protector of the Realm. At Baron Hastings' urging, Richard left his base in Yorkshire for London in order to assume his role.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=95}} On 29 April, as previously agreed, Richard and his cousin, [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]], met [[Elizabeth Woodville|Queen Elizabeth]]'s brother [[Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers]], at [[Northampton]]. At the queen's request, Earl Rivers was escorting the young king to London with an armed escort of 2,000 men, while Richard and Buckingham's joint escort was 600 men.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=207–210}} Edward V had been sent further south to [[Stony Stratford]]. At first convivial, Richard had Earl Rivers, his nephew [[Richard Grey]] and his associate, [[Thomas Vaughan (died 1483)|Thomas Vaughan]], arrested. They were taken to [[Pontefract Castle]], where they were executed on 25 June on the charge of treason against the Lord Protector after appearing before a tribunal led by [[Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland]]. Rivers had appointed Richard as executor of his will.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=252–254}}

After having Rivers arrested, Richard and Buckingham moved to Stony Stratford, where Richard informed Edward V of a plot aimed at denying him his role as protector and whose perpetrators had been dealt with.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=96|ps=citing Mancini.}} He proceeded to escort the king to London. They entered the city on 4 May, displaying the carriages of weapons Rivers had taken with his 2,000-man army. Richard first accommodated Edward in the Bishop's apartments; then, on Buckingham's suggestion, the king was moved to the royal apartments of the [[Tower of London]], where kings customarily awaited their coronation.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=162–163}} Within the year 1483, Richard had moved himself to the grandeur of [[Crosby Hall, London]], then in Bishopsgate in the City of London. [[Robert Fabyan]], in his 'The new chronicles of England and of France', writes that "the Duke caused the King (Edward V) to be removed unto the Tower and his broder with hym, and the Duke lodged himselfe in Crosbyes Place in Bisshoppesgate Strete."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Robert Fabyan: 'The Concordaunce of Hystoryes' {{!}} Richard III Society – American Branch|url=http://www.r3.org/on-line-library-text-essays/robert-fabyan-the-concordaunce-of-hystoryes/|language=en-US|access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=28 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428214916/http://www.r3.org/on-line-library-text-essays/robert-fabyan-the-concordaunce-of-hystoryes/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ''[[Holinshed's Chronicles]]'' of England, Scotland, and Ireland, he accounts that "little by little all folke withdrew from the Tower, and drew unto Crosbies in Bishops gates Street, where the Protector kept his houshold. The Protector had the resort; the King in maner desolate."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The history of Crosby Place {{!}} British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/bk9/pp15-32|website=british-history.ac.uk|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref>

On hearing the news of her brother's 30 April arrest, the dowager queen fled to sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Joining her were her son by her first marriage, [[Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset]]; her five daughters; and her youngest son, [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]].{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=212–213}} On 10/11 June, Richard wrote to Ralph, Lord Neville, the City of York and others asking for their support against "the Queen, her blood adherents and affinity" whom he suspected of plotting his murder.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=99}} At a council meeting on 13 June at the Tower of London, Richard accused Hastings and others of having conspired against him with the Woodvilles and accusing [[Jane Shore]], lover to both Hastings and Thomas Grey, of acting as a go-between. According to [[Thomas More]], Hastings was taken out of the council chambers and summarily executed in the courtyard, while others, like Lord Thomas Stanley and [[John Morton (cardinal)|John Morton, Bishop of Ely]], were arrested.{{sfnp|Horrox|2004}} Hastings was not attainted and Richard sealed an indenture that placed Hastings' widow, [[Katherine Neville, Baroness Hastings|Katherine]], under his protection.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=209–210}} Bishop Morton was released into the custody of Buckingham.{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|p=20}} On 16 June, the dowager queen agreed to hand over the Duke of York to the Archbishop of Canterbury so that he might attend his brother Edward's coronation, still planned for 22 June.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=101}}

==King of England==
[[File:Silver groat of Richard III (YORYM 1980 846) obverse.jpg|thumb|Silver groat of Richard III]]
[[File:Rous_Roll_Richard_III_detail.jpeg|thumb|Detail from the [[John Rous (historian)|''Rous Roll'']] (1483) showing Richard with a sword in his right hand, a [[globus cruciger]] in his left, a white boar (his [[heraldic badge]]) at his feet, framed by the crests and helms of England, Ireland, Wales, [[Gascony]]-[[Guyenne]], France and St. [[Edward the Confessor]].{{sfnp|Rous|1980|p=63}}]]

[[Robert Stillington]], the [[Bishop of Bath and Wells]], is said to have informed Richard that Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid because of Edward's earlier union with [[Lady Eleanor Talbot|Eleanor Butler]], making Edward V and his siblings illegitimate. The identity of Stillington was known only through the memoirs of the French diplomat, [[Philippe de Commines]].{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=215–216}} On 22 June, a sermon was preached outside [[Old St. Paul's Cathedral]] by [[Ralph Shaa]], declaring Edward IV's children bastards and Richard the rightful king.{{sfnp|Hicks|2001|p=117}} Shortly after, the citizens of London, nobles and commons, convened and drew up a petition asking Richard to assume the throne.{{sfnp|Wood|1975|pp=269–270|ps=,quoting a letter of instruction sent to [[John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy|Lord Mountjoy]] two days following Richard's assumption of the throne. Wood goes on to observe that "the impressions conveyed by this document are in many respects demonstrably false".}}{{improper synthesis|reason=Source itself disputes accuracy of claim.|date=June 2025}} He accepted on 26 June and was crowned at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 6 July. His title to the throne was confirmed by Parliament in January 1484 by the document ''[[Titulus Regius]]''.{{sfnp|Given-Wilson|Brand|Phillips|Ormrod|2005|loc="Richard III: January 1484", item 5}}

The [[Princes in the Tower|princes]], who were still lodged in the royal residence of the Tower of London at the time of Richard's coronation, disappeared from sight after the summer of 1483.{{sfnp|Grummitt|2013|p=116}} Although after his death Richard III was accused of having Edward and his brother killed, notably by More and in Shakespeare's play, the facts surrounding their disappearance remain unknown.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=96–104}} Other culprits have been suggested, including Buckingham and even Henry VII, although Richard remains the primary suspect.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=487–489}}

After the coronation ceremony, Richard and Anne set out on a royal progress to meet their subjects. During this journey through the country, the king and queen endowed [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]] and [[Queens' College, Cambridge|Queens' College]] at [[Cambridge University]], and made grants to the church.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=290}} Still feeling a strong bond with his northern estates, Richard later planned the establishment of a large chantry chapel in York Minster with over 100 priests.{{sfnp|Jones|2014|pp=96–97}} He also founded the [[College of Arms]].{{sfnp|Wagner|1967|p=130}}<ref name="collegeofarms-history">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/about-us/history |publisher=[[College of Arms]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601202732/http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/about-us/history |archive-date=1 June 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=6 December 2018 |quote=In 1484 [the Royal heralds] were granted a charter of incorporation by Richard III, and given a house in Coldharbour in Upper Thames Street, London to keep their records in.}}</ref>

===Buckingham's rebellion of 1483===
{{Further|Buckingham's rebellion}}

In 1483, a [[conspiracy]] arose among a number of disaffected gentry, many of whom had been supporters of Edward IV and the "whole Yorkist establishment".{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=105}}{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|p=211}} The conspiracy was nominally led by Richard's former ally, the Duke of Buckingham, although it had begun as a Woodville-Beaufort conspiracy (being "well underway" by the time of the Duke's involvement).{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=111}}{{refn|Rosemary Horrox notes that "Buckingham was an exception amongst the rebels as, far from being a previous favourite, he 'had been refused any political role by Edward IV'".{{sfnp|Horrox|1989|p=132}}|group=note}} Davies has suggested that it was "only the subsequent parliamentary attainder that placed Buckingham at the centre of events", to blame a disaffected magnate motivated by greed, rather than "the embarrassing truth" that those opposing Richard were actually "overwhelmingly Edwardian loyalists".{{sfnp|Davies|2011}} It is possible that they planned to depose Richard III and place Edward V back on the throne, and that when rumours arose that Edward and his brother were dead, Buckingham proposed that [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]] should return from exile, take the throne and marry [[Elizabeth of York|Elizabeth]], eldest daughter of Edward IV. It has also been pointed out that as this narrative stems from Richard's parliament of 1484, it should probably be treated "with caution".{{sfnp|Horrox|1989|p=153}} For his part, Buckingham raised a substantial force from his estates in [[Wales]] and the Marches.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=105–119}} Henry, in exile in [[Duchy of Brittany|Brittany]], enjoyed the support of the Breton treasurer [[Pierre Landais]], who hoped Buckingham's victory would cement an alliance between Brittany and England.{{sfnp|Costello|1855|pp=17–18, 43–44}}

Some of Henry Tudor's ships ran into a storm and were forced to return to Brittany or Normandy, while Henry anchored off Plymouth for a week before learning of Buckingham's failure.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=274}}{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|loc=p. 26, n. 2}} Buckingham's army was troubled by the same storm and deserted when Richard's forces came against them. Buckingham tried to escape in disguise but was either turned in by a [[Affinity (medieval)|retainer]] for the [[bounty (reward)|bounty]] Richard had put on his head, or was discovered in hiding with him.{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|loc=p. 25, n. 5}} He was convicted of [[treason]] and [[behead]]ed in [[Salisbury]], near the Bull's Head Inn, on 2 November.{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|pp=25–26}} His widow, [[Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham|Catherine Woodville]], later married [[Jasper Tudor]], the uncle of Henry Tudor.<ref>{{harvp|Davies|2011|ps=. "Following Bosworth, Katherine Stafford was married, by 7 November 1485, to the new king's 55-year-old bachelor uncle, Jasper Tudor, now duke of Bedford."}}</ref> Richard made overtures to Landais, offering military support for Landais's weak regime under [[Francis II, Duke of Brittany]], in exchange for Henry. Henry fled to Paris, where he secured support from the French regent [[Anne of Beaujeu]], who supplied troops for an invasion in 1485.{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|pp=29–30}}

==Death at the Battle of Bosworth Field==
{{Main|Battle of Bosworth Field|Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England}}

[[File:Memorial to King Richard III of England in Leicester Cathedral.jpg|thumb|Former memorial [[ledger stone]] to Richard III in the choir of [[Leicester Cathedral]], since replaced by his stone tomb (as illustrated further below)]]
On 22 August 1485, Richard met the outnumbered forces of Henry Tudor at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]]. Richard rode a white [[Courser (horse)|courser]] (an especially swift and strong horse).{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=365}} The size of Richard's army has been estimated at 8,000 and Henry's at 5,000, but exact numbers are not known, though the royal army is believed to have "substantially" outnumbered Henry's.{{sfnp|Jones|2014}} The traditional view of the king's famous cries of "Treason!" before falling was that during the battle Richard was abandoned by [[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby|Baron Stanley]] (made Earl of Derby in October), [[William Stanley (Battle of Bosworth)|Sir William Stanley]], and Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=367}}{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|p=55}} The role of Northumberland is unclear; his position was with the reserve—behind the king's line—and he could not easily have moved forward without a general royal advance, which did not take place.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=218|ps=. "Northumberland's rearguard was never seriously engaged, nor could be, whatever the proclivities of its commander".}}

The physical confines behind the crest of Ambion Hill, combined with a difficulty of communications, probably physically hampered any attempt he made to join the fray.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=222}} Despite appearing "a pillar of the Ricardian regime" and his previous loyalty to Edward IV, Baron Stanley was the stepfather of Henry Tudor and Stanley's inaction combined with his brother's entering the battle on Tudor's behalf was fundamental to Richard's defeat.{{sfnp|Bennett|2008}}<ref>{{harvp|Bennett|2008|ps=. "Sir William Stanley was among the first to rally to Edward, and he may have brought [Thomas Stanley]'s good wishes with him ... Appointed steward of the king's household late in 1471, [Thomas Stanley] was thenceforward a regular member of the royal council. }}</ref>{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=186}}{{sfnp|Gillingham|1981|p=244}} The death of Richard's close companion [[John Howard, Duke of Norfolk]], may have had a demoralising effect on the king and his men. Either way, Richard led a cavalry charge deep into the enemy ranks in an attempt to end the battle quickly by striking at Henry Tudor.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=218, 222}}

[[File:The death of Richard III at Bosworth.jpg|thumb|left|18th-century illustration of the death of Richard III at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]]]]
All accounts note that King Richard fought bravely and ably during this manoeuvre, unhorsing [[John Cheyne, Baron Cheyne|Sir John Cheyne]], a well-known [[joust]]ing champion, killing Henry's [[standard bearer]] [[William Brandon (standard-bearer)|Sir William Brandon]] and coming within a sword's length of Henry Tudor before being surrounded by Sir William Stanley's men and killed.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=223–224}} [[Polydore Vergil]], Henry VII's official historian, recorded that "King Richard, alone, was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies".{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=368}} The Burgundian chronicler [[Jean Molinet]] states that a Welshman struck the death blow with a [[halberd]] while Richard's horse was stuck in the marshy ground.{{sfnp|Griffiths|1993|p=43}} It was said that the blows were so violent that the king's helmet was driven into his skull.{{sfnp|Penn|2013|p=9}} It has been suggested that the poet [[Guto'r Glyn]] credits leading Welsh Lancastrian [[Rhys ap Thomas]] personally with the killing blow based on line 38 of his only surviving [[panegyric]] to the nobleman: {{lang|wlm|Lladd y baedd, eilliodd ei ben}} 'killing the boar, he shaved his head'.{{sfnp|Griffiths|1993|p=43}} Richard's emblem was a white boar, but Dafydd Johnston notes that the grammatical subject of the phrase in this poem is {{lang|wlm|y Cing Harri}} 'King Henry' in line 35.{{sfnp|Johnston|2013|p=|loc=note 38, '''lladd y baedd'''}} The reference to the shaving likely refers instead to a post mortem ritual shaving of Richard's head, to be compared with the shaving of a boar's head before cooking.{{sfnp|Johnston|2013|p=|loc=note 38, '''eilliodd ei ben'''}} Nevertheless, the poet does appear to suggest Richard was killed by a group of soldiers led by Rhys.{{sfnp|Johnston|2013|p=|loc=ll. 29-36}}

The identification in 2013 of King Richard's body shows that the skeleton had 11 wounds, eight of them to the skull, clearly inflicted in battle and suggesting he had lost his helmet.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Greig |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21245346 |title=Richard III dig: Grim clues to the death of a king |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> Professor Guy Rutty, from the University of Leicester, said: "The most likely injuries to have caused the king's death are the two to the inferior aspect of the skull—a large sharp force trauma possibly from a sword or staff weapon, such as a halberd or bill, and a penetrating injury from the tip of an edged weapon."<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--agency credited as author--> |title=Richard III died in battle after losing helmet, new research shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/16/richard-iii-died-battle-losing-helmet-new-research |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |agency=Press Association |date=16 September 2014 |access-date=18 September 2018}}</ref> The skull showed that a blade had hacked away part of the rear of the skull. Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=King Richard III killed by blows to skull |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-29222775 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=17 September 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> Henry Tudor succeeded Richard as King [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]. He married the Yorkist heiress Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's daughter and Richard III's niece.

[[File:Original grave of Richard III.jpg|thumb|Richard III's grave in 2013]]
After the Battle of Bosworth, Richard's naked body was carried back to Leicester tied to a horse, and early sources strongly suggest that it was displayed in the collegiate [[Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke]],{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|Johnson|Johnson|Langley|2014}} prior to being hastily and discreetly buried in the choir of [[Greyfriars, Leicester|Greyfriars Church]] in [[Leicester]].{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013|p=94}}{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986|pp=21–22}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schürer |first1=Kevin |title=The King in the Car Park: The Discovery and Identification of Richard III – Professor Kevin Schürer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XKeevzp9Zs |website=Youtube |date=12 November 2015 |access-date=7 May 2022 |language=en |quote=22:53–23:33}}</ref> In 1495, Henry VII paid 50 pounds for a marble and alabaster monument.{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986|pp=21–22}} According to a discredited tradition, during the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], his body was thrown into the [[River Soar]],{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986}}<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title='Strong evidence' Richard III's body has been found – with a curved spine |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9537600/Strong-evidence-Richard-IIIs-body-has-been-found-with-a-curved-spine.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912224825/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9537600/Strong-evidence-Richard-IIIs-body-has-been-found-with-a-curved-spine.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 September 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref> although other evidence suggests that a memorial stone was visible in 1612, in a garden built on the site of Greyfriars.{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986|pp=21–22}} The exact location was then lost, owing to more than 400 years of subsequent development,{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986|p=24}} until [[Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England|archaeological investigations in 2012]] revealed the site of the garden and Greyfriars Church. There was a memorial ledger stone in the choir of the cathedral, since replaced by the tomb of the king, and a stone plaque on Bow Bridge where tradition had falsely suggested that his remains had been thrown into the river.{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2015}}

According to another tradition, Richard consulted a [[wikt:seer|seer]] in Leicester before the battle who foretold that "where your spur should strike on the ride into battle, your head shall be broken on the return". On the ride into battle, his [[spur]] struck the bridge stone of Bow Bridge in the city; legend states that as his corpse was carried from the battle over the back of a horse, his head struck the same stone and was broken open.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legends about the Battle of Bosworth |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |url=http://www.r3.org/bosworth/legends.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725225433/http://www.r3.org/bosworth/legends.html |archive-date=25 July 2006 |access-date=5 July 2009}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Richard's Council of the North, described as his "one major institutional innovation", derived from his ducal council following his own viceregal appointment by Edward IV; when Richard himself became king, he maintained the same conciliar structure in his absence.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=181}} It officially became part of the royal council machinery under the presidency of John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln in April 1484, based at [[Sandal Castle]] in [[Wakefield]].{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=182}} It is considered to have greatly improved conditions for northern England, as it was intended to keep the peace and punish lawbreakers, as well as resolve land disputes.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=183}} Bringing regional governance directly under the control of central government, it has been described as the king's "most enduring monument", surviving unchanged until 1641.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=183}}

In December 1483, Richard instituted what later became known as the [[Court of Requests]], a court to which poor people who could not afford legal representation could apply for their grievances to be heard.{{sfnb|Kleineke|2007}} He also improved bail in January 1484, to protect suspected felons from imprisonment before trial and to protect their property from seizure during that time.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=188}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Higginbotham |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Higginbotham |url=http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/blog/posts/richard-iii-and-bail/ |title=Richard III and Bail |website=History Refreshed |date=16 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706163329/http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/blog/posts/richard-iii-and-bail/ |archive-date=6 July 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=31 March 2014}}</ref> He founded the [[College of Arms]] in 1484,{{sfnp|Wagner|1967|p=130}}<ref name="collegeofarms-history"/> he banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books,<ref>{{cite web |last=Woodger |first=Douglas |url=http://home.cogeco.ca/~richardiii/statutes.html |title=The Statutes of King Richard III's Parliament |publisher=Richard III Society of Canada |date=September 1997 |access-date=3 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927005934/http://home.cogeco.ca/~richardiii/statutes.html |archive-date=27 September 2014 }}</ref> and he ordered the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from the traditional French into English.{{sfnp|Cheetham|Fraser|1972}} During his reign, Parliament ended the arbitrary [[benevolences (tax)|benevolence]] (a device by which [[Edward IV]] raised funds),<ref>{{cite book|author1=Maureen Jurkowski|author2=Carrie L. Smith|author3=David Crook|title=Lay Taxes in England and Wales 1188–1688|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cdazAAAAIAAJ|year=1998|publisher=PRO Publications|isbn=978-1-873162-64-4|pages=119–120}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hanbury|1962|p=106}} made it punishable to conceal from a buyer of land that a part of the property had already been disposed of to somebody else,{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=340}} required that land sales be published,{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=340}} laid down property qualifications for jurors, restricted the abusive [[Courts of Piepowders]],{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=341}} regulated cloth sales,{{sfnp|Hanbury|1962|p=109}} instituted certain forms of trade protectionism,{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=343}}{{sfnb|Hanbury|1962}} prohibited the sale of wine and oil in fraudulent measure,{{sfnb|Hanbury|1962}} and prohibited fraudulent collection of clergy dues,{{sfnb|Hanbury|1962}} among others. Churchill implies he improved the law of trusts.{{sfnp|Churchill|1956|pp=360–361}}

Richard's death at Bosworth marked the end of the [[Plantagenet]] dynasty, which had ruled England since the succession of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] in 1154.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who Was Richard III? |url=https://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/history/whowasrichard.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204053826/https://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/history/whowasrichard.html |archive-date=4 December 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> The last legitimate male Plantagenet, Richard's nephew [[Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick|Edward, Earl of Warwick]] (son of his brother George, Duke of Clarence), was executed by Henry VII in 1499.{{sfnp|Chrimes|1999|p=92|ps=. "Tudor reason of State had claimed the first of its many victims."}}

===Reputation===
[[File:Richiii.jpg|thumb|upright=1.03|left|16th-century portrait, (oil on panel, [[National Portrait Gallery, London]])]]

There are numerous contemporary, or near-contemporary, sources of information about the reign of Richard III.<ref>{{cite web |title=Back to Basics for Newcomers |url=http://www.r3.org/on-line-library-text-essays/back-to-basics-for-newcomers/ |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408091044/http://www.r3.org/on-line-library-text-essays/back-to-basics-for-newcomers/ |archive-date=8 April 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=5 February 2013 }}</ref> These include the ''Croyland Chronicle'', Commines' ''Mémoires'', the report of [[Dominic Mancini]], the [[Paston Letters]], the Chronicles of Robert Fabyan and numerous court and official records, including a few letters by Richard himself. However, the debate about Richard's true character and motives continues, both because of the subjectivity of many of the written sources, reflecting the generally partisan nature of writers of this period, and because none was written by men with an intimate knowledge of Richard.{{sfnp|Hanham|1975}}

During Richard's reign, the historian [[John Rous (historian)|John Rous]] praised him as a "good lord" who punished "oppressors of the commons", adding that he had "a great heart".<ref>John Rous in {{harvp|Hanham|1975|p=121}}.</ref>{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=xxii–xxiv}} In 1483, the Italian observer Mancini reported that Richard enjoyed a good reputation and that both "his private life and public activities powerfully attracted the esteem of strangers".{{sfnp|Langley|Jones|2013}}{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=150–151|ps=, quoting from Mancini's ''De Occupatione Regni Anglie per Riccardum Tercium'': "After the death of Clarence, he [Richard] came very rarely to court. He kept himself within his own lands and set out to acquire the loyalty of his people through favours and justice. The good reputation of his private life and public activities powerfully attracted the esteem of strangers. Such was his renown in warfare, that whenever a difficult and dangerous policy had to be undertaken, it would be entrusted to his direction and his generalship. By these arts, Richard acquired the favour of the people and avoided the jealousy of the queen, from whom he lived far separated."}} His bond to the City of York, in particular, was such that on hearing of Richard's demise at the battle of Bosworth the City Council officially deplored the king's death, at the risk of facing the victor's wrath.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=444|ps=. "The day after the battle, John Sponer galloped into York to bring news of King Richard's overthrow...to the Mayor and Aldermen hastily assembled in the council chamber", "it was showed by...John Spooner...that king Richard, late mercifully reigning upon us, was through great treason piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this City". York Records, p. 218.}}

During his lifetime he was the subject of some attacks. Even in the North in 1482, a man was prosecuted for offences against the Duke of Gloucester, saying he did "nothing but grin at" the city of York. In 1484, attempts to discredit him took the form of hostile placards, the only surviving one being [[William Collingbourne]]'s lampoon of July 1484 "The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell the Dog, all rule England under a Hog" which was pinned to the door of [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] and referred to Richard himself (the Hog) and his most trusted councillors [[William Catesby]], [[Richard Ratcliffe]] and Francis, Viscount Lovell.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|pp=237–238}} On 30 March 1485 Richard felt forced to summon the Lords and London City Councillors to publicly deny the rumours that he had poisoned Queen Anne and that he had planned marriage to his niece Elizabeth,{{sfnp|Cheetham|Fraser|1972|pp=175–176}} at the same time ordering the Sheriff of London to imprison anyone spreading such slanders.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=395|ps=, quoting from the court minutes of the Mercer's company, 31 March 1485.}} The same orders were issued throughout the realm, including York where the royal pronouncement recorded in the City Records dates 5 April 1485 and carries specific instructions to suppress seditious talk and remove and destroy evidently hostile placards unread.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|pp=238–239}}{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=395–396}}

As for Richard's physical appearance, most contemporary descriptions bear out the evidence that aside from having one shoulder higher than the other (with chronicler Rous not able to correctly remember which one, as slight as the difference was), Richard had no other noticeable bodily deformity. [[John Stow]] talked to old men who, remembering him, said "that he was of bodily shape comely enough, only of low stature"{{sfnp|Buck|1647|p=548}} and a German traveller, Nicolas von Poppelau, who spent ten days in Richard's household in May 1484, describes him as "three fingers taller than himself...much more lean, with delicate arms and legs and also a great heart."{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=537}} Six years after Richard's death, in 1491, a schoolmaster named William Burton, on hearing a defence of Richard, launched into a [[diatribe]], accusing the dead king of being "a hypocrite and a crookback...who was deservedly buried in a ditch like a dog."{{sfnp|Pollard|1991|ps=, p. 200 quoting York records, pp. 220–222}}

Richard's death encouraged the furtherance of this later negative image by his Tudor successors due to the fact that it helped to legitimise Henry VII's seizure of the throne.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|pp=247–249}} The [[Richard III Society]] contends that this means that "a lot of what people thought they knew about Richard III was pretty much propaganda and myth building."<ref name="mackintosh-20130204">{{cite news |last=Mackintosh |first=Eliza |date=4 February 2013 |title='Beyond reasonable doubt,' bones are the remains of England's King Richard III |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/remains-of-king-richard-iii-identified/2013/02/04/d79e87b2-6ebb-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |publisher=<!--Washington Post Company (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=<!--Washington, DC (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829063405/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/remains-of-king-richard-iii-identified/2013/02/04/d79e87b2-6ebb-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html |archive-date=29 August 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> The Tudor characterisation culminated in the famous fictional portrayal of him in Shakespeare's play ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'' as a physically deformed, [[Machiavelli|Machiavellian]] villain, ruthlessly committing numerous murders in order to claw his way to power;<ref>{{Folger inline|Richard III}}</ref> Shakespeare's intention perhaps being to use Richard III as a vehicle for creating his own [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowesque]] protagonist.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=426|ps=. The comparison is with Barabas in Marlowe's ''Jew of Malta'' of a couple of years earlier.}} Rous himself in his ''History of the Kings of England'', written during Henry VII's reign, initiated the process. He reversed his earlier position,{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=419}} and now portrayed Richard as a freakish individual who was born with teeth and shoulder-length hair after having been in his mother's womb for two years. His body was stunted and distorted, with one shoulder higher than the other, and he was "slight in body and weak in strength".{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=420}} Rous also attributes the murder of Henry VI to Richard, and claims that he poisoned his own wife.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hammond |first=Peter |date=November 2003 |url=http://www.r3.org/rnt1991/supposedcrimes.html |title=These Supposed Crimes: Four Major Accusations (the Murders of Edward of Lancaster, Henry VI, Clarence and Queene Anne) Discussed and Illustrated |website=To Prove a Villain: The Real Richard III |medium=Exhibition at the Royal National Theatre, London, 27 March – 27 April 1991 |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |access-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714133941/http://www.r3.org/rnt1991/supposedcrimes.html |archive-date=14 July 2006}}</ref> Jeremy Potter, a former Chair of the Richard III Society, claims that "At the bar of history Richard III continues to be guilty because it is impossible to prove him innocent. The Tudors ride high in popular esteem."{{sfnp|Potter|1994|p=4}}

[[Polydore Vergil]] and [[Thomas More]] expanded on this portrayal, emphasising Richard's outward physical deformities as a sign of his inwardly twisted mind. More describes him as "little of stature, ill-featured of limbs, crook-backed&nbsp;... hard-favoured of visage".{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=xxii–xxiv}} Vergil also says he was "deformed of body&nbsp;... one shoulder higher than the right".{{sfnp|Ross|1981|pp=xxii–xxiv}} Both emphasise that Richard was devious and flattering, while planning the downfall of both his enemies and supposed friends. Richard's good qualities were his intelligence and bravery. All these characteristics are repeated by Shakespeare, who portrays him as having a hunch, a limp and a withered arm.<ref>{{Folger inline|Henry VI, Part 3|3|2|155–161}}</ref>{{sfnp|Clemen|1977|p=51}} With regard to the "hunch", the [[List of Shakespeare plays in quarto|second quarto]] edition of ''Richard III'' (1598) used the term "hunched-backed" but in the [[First Folio]] edition (1623) it became "bunch-backed".{{sfnp|Shipley|1984|p=127}}

[[File:Pomnik Ryszarda III przy Katedrze Św. Marcina w Leicesterze.jpg|left|thumb|upright|A statue of Richard III now outside [[Leicester Cathedral]]]]

Richard's reputation as a promoter of legal fairness persisted, however. [[William Camden]] in his ''Remains Concerning Britain'' (1605) states that Richard, "albeit he lived wickedly, yet made good laws".{{sfnp|Camden|1870|p=293}} [[Francis Bacon]] also states that he was "a good lawmaker for the ease and solace of the common people".{{sfnp|Bacon|Lumby|1885}} In 1525, Cardinal Wolsey upbraided the aldermen and Mayor of London for relying on a statute of Richard to avoid paying an extorted tax (benevolence) but received the reply "although he did evil, yet in his time were many good acts made."{{sfnp|Potter|1994|p=23}}{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=217}}

Richard was a practising Catholic, as shown by his personal [[Book of Hours]], surviving in the [[Lambeth Palace]] library. As well as conventional aristocratic devotional texts, the book contains a Collect of [[Ninian|Saint Ninian]], referencing a saint popular in the Anglo-Scottish Borders.<ref>Sutton & Visser-Fuchs. ''The Hours of Richard III'' (1996) pp. 41–44 {{ISBN|0750911840}}</ref>

Despite this, the image of Richard as a ruthless tyrant remained dominant in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th-century philosopher and historian [[David Hume]] described him as a man who used dissimulation to conceal "his fierce and savage nature" and who had "abandoned all principles of honour and humanity".{{sfnp|Hume|1864|pp=345–346}} Hume acknowledged that some historians have argued "that he was well qualified for government, had he legally obtained it; and that he committed no crimes but such as were necessary to procure him possession of the crown", but he dismissed this view on the grounds that Richard's exercise of arbitrary power encouraged instability.{{sfnp|Hume|1864|p=365}} The most important late 19th century biographer of the king was [[James Gairdner]], who also wrote the entry on Richard in the ''[[Dictionary of National Biography]]''.{{sfnp|Gairdner|1896}} Gairdner stated that he had begun to study Richard with a neutral viewpoint, but became convinced that Shakespeare and More were essentially correct in their view of the king, despite some exaggerations.{{sfnp|Gairdner|1898|p=xi}}

Richard was not without his defenders, the first of whom was Sir [[George Buck]], a descendant of one of the king's supporters, who completed ''The history of King Richard the Third'' in 1619. The authoritative Buck text was published only in 1979, though a corrupted version was published by Buck's great-nephew in 1646.{{sfnp|Buck|1647}} Buck attacked the "improbable imputations and strange and spiteful scandals" related by Tudor writers, including Richard's alleged deformities and murders. He located lost archival material, including the [[Titulus Regius]], but also claimed to have seen a letter written by Elizabeth of York, according to which Elizabeth sought to marry the king.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elizabeth of York |url=http://www.r3.org/basics/basic8.html |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408084900/http://www.r3.org/on-line-library-text-essays/back-to-basics-for-newcomers/elizabeth-of-york/ |archive-date=8 April 2018 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 December 2018 }}</ref> Elizabeth's supposed letter was never produced. Documents which later emerged from the Portuguese royal archives show that after Queen Anne's death, Richard's ambassadors were sent on a formal errand to negotiate a double marriage between Richard and the Portuguese king's sister Joanna,{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}} of Lancastrian descent,{{sfnp|Williams|1983|p=139}} and between Elizabeth of York and Joanna's cousin [[Manuel I of Portugal|Manuel, Duke of Viseu]] (later King of Portugal).{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}

Significant among Richard's defenders was [[Horace Walpole]]. In ''Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard the Third'' (1768), Walpole disputed all the alleged murders and argued that Richard may have acted in good faith. He also argued that any physical abnormality was probably no more than a minor distortion of the shoulders.{{sfnp|Walpole|1798|loc=''Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard the Third'', pp. 103–184}} However, he retracted his views in 1793 after [[the Terror]], stating he now believed that Richard could have committed the crimes he was charged with,{{sfnp|Walpole|1798|loc=''Postscript to my Historic Doubts, written in February 1793'', pp. 220–251}} although Pollard observes that this retraction is frequently overlooked by later admirers of Richard.{{sfnp|Pollard|1991|p=216}} Other defenders of Richard include the noted explorer [[Clements Markham]], whose ''Richard III: His Life and Character'' (1906) replied to the work of Gairdner. He argued that Henry VII killed the princes and that the bulk of evidence against Richard was nothing more than Tudor propaganda.{{sfnp|Myers|1968|pp=199–200}} An intermediate view was provided by Alfred Legge in ''The Unpopular King'' (1885). Legge argued that Richard's "greatness of soul" was eventually "warped and dwarfed" by the ingratitude of others.{{sfnp|Legge|1885|p=viii}}

Some 20th-century historians have been less inclined to moral judgement,{{sfnp|Myers|1968|pp=200–202}} seeing Richard's actions as a product of the unstable times. In the words of [[Charles Ross (historian)|Charles Ross]], "the later fifteenth century in England is now seen as a ruthless and violent age as concerns the upper ranks of society, full of private feuds, intimidation, land-hunger, and litigiousness, and consideration of Richard's life and career against this background has tended to remove him from the lonely pinnacle of Villainy Incarnate on which Shakespeare had placed him. Like most men, he was conditioned by the standards of his age."{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=liii}} The Richard III Society, founded in 1924 as "The Fellowship of the White Boar", is the oldest of several [[Ricardian (Richard III)|Ricardian]] groups dedicated to improving his reputation. Other historians still describe him as a "power-hungry and ruthless politician" who was most probably "ultimately responsible for the murder of his nephews."<ref>{{cite web |last=Hebron |first=Michael |date=15 March 2016 |title=Richard III and the Will to Power |url=https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/richard-iii-and-the-will-to-power |website=Discovering Literature: Shakespeare & Renaissance |publisher=[[British Library]] |access-date=23 September 2017 |archive-date=15 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315212407/http://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/richard-iii-and-the-will-to-power |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hogenboom |first=Melissa |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19572103 |title=Richard III: The people who want everyone to like the infamous king |website=[[BBC News Magazine]] |location=London |date=15 September 2012 |access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref>

===In culture===
{{Main|Cultural depictions of Richard III of England}}

[[File:The True Tragedy of Richard the Third.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Cover of the 1594 [[quarto]] of the anonymous play, ''[[The True Tragedy of Richard III]]''.]]

Richard III is the protagonist of ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'', one of [[William Shakespeare]]'s history/tragedy plays. Apart from Shakespeare, he appears in many other works of literature. Two other plays of the Elizabethan era predated Shakespeare's work. The Latin-language drama ''[[Richardus Tertius]]'' (first known performance in 1580) by [[Thomas Legge]] is believed to be the first history play written in England. The anonymous play ''[[The True Tragedy of Richard III]]'' ({{circa|1590}}), performed in the same decade as Shakespeare's work, was probably an influence on Shakespeare.{{sfnp|Churchill|1976}} Neither of the two plays places any emphasis on Richard's physical appearance, though the ''True Tragedy'' briefly mentions that he is "A man ill shaped, crooked backed, lame armed" and "valiantly minded, but tyrannous in authority". Both portray him as a man motivated by personal ambition, who uses everyone around him to get his way. [[Ben Jonson]] is also known to have written a play ''Richard Crookback'' in 1602, but it was never published and nothing is known about its portrayal of the king.{{sfnp|McEvoy|2008|p=4}}

[[Marjorie Bowen]]'s 1929 novel ''[[Dickon (novel)|Dickon]]'' set the trend for pro-[[Ricardian (Richard III)|Ricardian]] literature.{{sfnp|Brown|1973|p=369|ps=. "[''Dickon''] tells the story of Richard himself, a 'handsome, earnest young man' who always speaks the truth, is unswervingly loyal to his brother Edward IV, and by an unkind destiny becomes a King of 'deep unhappiness,' plagued by hostile supernatural forces although personally blameless."}} Particularly influential was ''[[The Daughter of Time]]'' (1951) by [[Josephine Tey]], in which a modern detective concludes that Richard III is innocent in the death of the Princes.{{sfnp|Kelly|2000|p=134}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Polsky |first=Sara |title=The Detective Novel That Convinced a Generation Richard III Wasn't Evil |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-detective-novel-that-convinced-a-generation-richard-iii-wasnt-evil |url-access=limited |department=Page-Turner |magazine=[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]] |publisher=Condé Nast |location=New York |date=24 March 2015 |access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dugdale |first=John |date=26 March 2018 |title=The many versions of Richard III: from Shakespeare to Game of Thrones |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/26/the-many-versions-of-richard-iii-from-shakespeare-to-game-of-thrones |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref> Other novelists such as [[Valerie Anand]] in the novel ''Crown of Roses'' (1989) have also offered alternative versions to the theory that he murdered them.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Book Review: Crown of Roses |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-03315-6 |magazine=[[Publishers Weekly]] |publisher=Cahners |location=New York |date=1 January 1989 |access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> [[Sharon Kay Penman]], in her [[historical fiction|historical novel]] ''[[The Sunne in Splendour]]'', attributes the death of the Princes to the Duke of Buckingham.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=George |author-link=George Johnson (writer) |date=2 February 1990 |title=New and Noteworthy: The Sunne in Splendour |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/04/books/new-noteworthy.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |publisher=<!--New York Times Company (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=<!--New York (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |access-date=24 November 2014}}</ref> In the mystery novel ''The Murders of Richard III'' by [[Elizabeth Peters]] (1974) the central plot revolves around the debate as to whether Richard III was guilty of these and other crimes.{{sfnp|Peters|2004}} A sympathetic portrayal is given in ''The Founding'' (1980), the first volume in ''[[The Morland Dynasty]]'' series by [[Cynthia Harrod-Eagles]].{{sfnp|Harrod-Eagles|1981}}

One film adaptation of Shakespeare's play ''Richard III'' is the [[Richard III (1955 film)|1955 version]] directed and produced by [[Laurence Olivier]], who also played the lead role.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brooke |first=Michael |title=Richard III (1955) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/467017/index.html |website=BFI Screenonline |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="VonTunzelmann2015">{{cite news |last=Von Tunzelmann |first=Alex |author-link=Alex von Tunzelmann |date=1 April 2015 |title=Richard III: Laurence Olivier's melodramatic baddie is seriously limp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/01/richard-iii-laurence-olivier-reel-history-accurate |department=Reel History |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |access-date=24 December 2018}}</ref> Also notable are the [[Richard III (1995 film)|1995 film version]] starring [[Ian McKellen]], set in a fictional 1930s fascist England,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ian McKellen is Richard III |url=http://www.mckellen.com/cinema/richard/notes.htm |website=Sir Ian McKellen: Official Home Page |access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>{{sfnp|Mitchell|1997|p=135|ps=. "Loncraine and McKellen's film adaptation, set in 1930s England, also explores the question of what would have happened if Hitler had invaded England. ... The House of York in this War of the Roses is depicted as the Nazi Party, and Richard in a Nazi uniform seals his fate as eternity's archvillain."}} and ''[[Looking for Richard]]'', a 1996 documentary film directed by [[Al Pacino]], who plays the title character as well as himself.<ref>{{cite web |title=Looking for Richard |work=Festival de Cannes |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4718/year/1996.html |publisher=[[Cannes Film Festival]] |access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>{{sfnp|Aune|2006}} The play has been adapted for television on several occasions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brooke |first=Michael |title=Tragedy of Richard III, The (1983) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527656/index.html |website=BFI Screenonline |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref>{{sfnp|Griffin|1966|pp=385–387}}<ref name="guardian-cumberbatchproves">{{cite news |last=Billington |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Billington (critic) |date=21 May 2016 |title=Benedict Cumberbatch proves a superb villain in The Hollow Crown's Richard III |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2016/may/21/benedict-cumberbatch-the-hollow-crown-richard-iii |department=Theatre Blog |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402120740/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2016/may/21/benedict-cumberbatch-the-hollow-crown-richard-iii |archive-date=2 April 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref>
<!-- NOTE: could editors please use Cultural depictions of Richard III of England to add further material rather than increasing the length of this section. Thanks! -->

==Discovery of remains==
{{Main|Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England}}

On 24 August 2012, the [[University of Leicester]], [[Leicester City Council]], and the Richard III Society announced that they were initiating a search for the remains of King Richard. The project was managed by [[Philippa Langley]] of the Society's Looking for Richard Project with the archaeology run by [[University of Leicester#College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities|University of Leicester Archaeological Services]] (ULAS).{{sfnp|Langley|Jones|2013|pp=11–29, 240–248}}{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|Johnson|Johnson|Langley|2014|pp=38–52, 71–81|ps=, including back cover.}}<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=The remains of King Richard III reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, in pictures |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/11488494/The-Remains-of-King-Richard-III-reburied-in-Leicester-cathedral-in-pictures.html?frame=3241293 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=<!--not given--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328133533/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/11488494/The-Remains-of-King-Richard-III-reburied-in-Leicester-cathedral-in-pictures.html?frame=3241293 |archive-date=28 March 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 April 2016 |quote=Philippa Langley, who led the quest to find the remains of King Richard III ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sabur |first=Rozina |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/11622151/Hunt-for-the-grave-of-a-medieval-king-first-check-the-car-park.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/11622151/Hunt-for-the-grave-of-a-medieval-king-first-check-the-car-park.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Hunt for the grave of a medieval king: first check the car park |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=22 May 2015 |access-date=24 April 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Earle |first=Laurence |date=10 February 2013 |title=Philippa Langley: Hero or Villain? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/philippa-langley-hero-or-villain-8488318.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |publisher=<!--Independent Print (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |access-date=17 September 2013}}</ref> The participants looked for the lost site of the former Greyfriars Church (demolished during Henry VIII's [[dissolution of the monasteries]]) to find his remains.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Historic search for King Richard III begins in Leicester |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2012/august/historic-search-for-king-richard-iii-begins-in-leicester |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=24 August 2012 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-date=27 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827030633/http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2012/august/historic-search-for-king-richard-iii-begins-in-leicester |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Hunt for Richard III's remains under car park |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-25/medieval-british-king-sought-under-car-park/4222264 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Sydney |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=27 August 2012 |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref> By comparing fixed points between maps, the church was found, where Richard's body had been hastily buried without pomp in 1485, its foundations identifiable beneath a modern city centre car park.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greyfriars Project – Update, Friday 31 August |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/greyfriars-project-2013-update-friday-31-august |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=31 August 2012 |access-date=1 September 2012 |archive-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218122830/http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/greyfriars-project-2013-update-friday-31-august |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1975 Audrey Strange of the Richard III Society had predicted that the lost grave lay beneath one of the three car parks that partly cover the site of the former Grey Friars Priory.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Strange |first=Audrey |date=September 1975 |title=The Grey Friars, Leicester |journal=The Ricardian |volume=III |issue=50 |pages=3–7}}</ref> In the mid-1980s, academic David Baldwin, a medieval historian formerly of Leicester University, concluded that the burial site lay further to the east, beneath the northern (St Martin's) end of Grey Friars Street, or the buildings that face it on either side.{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ashdown-Hill|first1=J. |author-link1= |last2=Johnson |first2=D. |author-link2= | last3=Johnson|first3=W.|author-link3= |last4=Langley|first4=P. |author-link4= |editor-last1=Carson |editor-first1=A.J. |date=2014 |title=Finding Richard III: The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project |publisher=Imprimis Imprimatur |isbn=978-0957684027 |pages=25–27}}</ref>

[[File:Greyfriars, Leicester site.svg|thumb|300px|Site of [[Greyfriars, Leicester|Greyfriars Church]], Leicester, shown superimposed over a modern map of the area. The skeleton of Richard III was recovered in September 2012 from the centre of the choir, shown by a small blue dot.]]

The excavators found Greyfriars Church by 5 September 2012 and two days later announced that they had found Robert Herrick's garden, where the memorial to Richard III stood in the early 17th century.<ref name="parking-lot"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Greyfriars Project – Update, 7 September |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/7sepupdate |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=7 September 2012 |access-date=10 September 2012 |archive-date=8 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908190452/http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/7sepupdate |url-status=dead }}</ref> A human skeleton was found beneath the Church's [[Choir (architecture)|choir]].<ref name=BBCLeicester>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III dig: 'Strong evidence' bones belong to king |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19561018 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref>

The excavators found the remains in the course of the first excavation at the [[car park]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=3 February 2013 |title=Richard III dig: 'R' marks the spot where skeleton found in Leicester car park |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-dig-R-marks-spot-skeleton-Leicester/story-18030925-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |access-date=2 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119012257/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-dig-R-marks-spot-skeleton-Leicester/story-18030925-detail/story.html |archive-date=19 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Burying Richard III: The hunch paid off |url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21647339-leicester-does-better-job-burying-plantagenet-king-second-attempt-hunch-paid |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |publisher=<!--Economist Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=28 March 2015 |access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Langley |first=Philippa J. |author-link=Philippa Langley |title=Looking for Richard Project |url=http://www.philippalangley.co.uk/looking-for-richard.html |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref>

[[File:The King In The Car Park - Page 15 - Figure 12.png|thumb|Skeleton as discovered]]

On 12 September, it was announced that the skeleton might be that of Richard III. Several reasons were given: the body was of an adult male, it was buried beneath the choir of the church, and there was severe scoliosis of the spine, possibly making one shoulder<ref name="parking-lot">{{cite web |title=Search for Richard III Confirms that Remains Are the Long-Lost Church of the Grey Friars |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/search-for-richard-iii-confirms-they-have-located-the-long-lost-church-of-the-grey-friars |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=5 September 2012 |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-date=24 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124031216/http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/search-for-richard-iii-confirms-they-have-located-the-long-lost-church-of-the-grey-friars |url-status=dead }}</ref> higher than the other. There was also what appeared to be an arrowhead embedded in the spine, and there were [[wikt:perimortem|perimortem]] injuries to the skull. These included a shallow orifice which was probably caused by a [[rondel dagger]], and a scooping depression to the skull that was probably inflicted by a sword.

Further, the bottom of the skull had a gaping hole, where a halberd had entered. The base of the skull had another fatal wound from a bladed weapon thrust, leaving a jagged hole. Inside the skull, there was evidence that the blade penetrated to a depth of {{convert|10.5|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Skull |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteologyskull.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref>

In total, the skeleton had 10 wounds: four minor injuries on the top of the skull, one dagger blow on the cheekbone, one cut on the lower jaw, two fatal injuries on the base of the skull, one cut on a rib bone, and one final wound on the pelvis that was probably inflicted after death. It is generally accepted that Richard's naked corpse was tied to the back of a horse, with his arms slung over one side and his legs and buttocks over the other. The angle of the blow on the pelvis suggests that one of those present stabbed Richard's right buttock with substantial force, as the cut extends from the back to the front of the pelvic bone, an action intended to humiliate. It is also possible that Richard and his corpse suffered other injuries which left no trace on the skeleton.<ref>{{cite web |title=Osteology |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteology.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Injuries to Body |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteologybody.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John Fisher Burns |title=DNA could cleanse a king besmirched; tests of skeletal remains may bring re-evaluation of the reviled Richard III |url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-36291789/dna-could-cleanse-a-king-besmirched-tests-of-skeletal |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |location=La Défense, France |date=24 September 2012 |via= |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024322/https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-36291789/dna-could-cleanse-a-king-besmirched-tests-of-skeletal |url-status=dead }}</ref>

British historian John Ashdown-Hill had used [[genealogy|genealogical research]] in 2004 to trace [[matrilineal]] descendants of [[Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter]], Richard's elder sister.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/04/richard-iii-dna-bones-king |title=Richard III: DNA confirms twisted bones belong to king |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC DNA">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21063882 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fricker |first=Martin |date=5 February 2013 |title=Edinburgh-based writer reveals how her intuition led archaeologists to remains of King Richard III |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/writer-reveals-intuition-led-archaeologists-1586462 |newspaper=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |publisher=Trinity Mirror |location=Glasgow |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lines of Descent |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/genealogy.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> A British-born woman who emigrated to Canada after the [[Second World War]], Joy Ibsen ({{née|Brown}}), was found to be a 16th-generation great-niece of the king in the same direct maternal line.<ref>{{cite web |title=Female-Line Family Tree |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/familytree.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |last1=Ashdown-Hill |first1=John |author1-link=John Ashdown-Hill |last2=Davis |first2=Evans |author2-link=Evan Davis |date=4 February 2013 |title=Richard III dig: 'It does look like him' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21319332 |medium=Radio programme |series=Today |series-link=Today (BBC Radio 4) |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |location=London |access-date=7 February 2013 |via=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]]}}</ref> Her mitochondrial DNA was tested and belongs to [[Haplogroup J (mtDNA)|mitochondrial DNA haplogroup J]], which by deduction, should also be the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup of Richard III (rare '''mtDNA J1C2C3''').{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=Turi E. |last2=Fortes |first2=Gloria Gonzalez |last3=Balaresque |first3=Patricia |last4=Thomas |first4=Mark G. |last5=Balding |first5=David |last6=Delser |first6=Pierpaolo Maisano |last7=Neumann |first7=Rita |last8=Parson |first8=Walther |last9=Knapp |first9=Michael |last10=Walsh |first10=Susan |last11=Tonasso |first11=Laure |last12=Holt |first12=John |last13=Kayser |first13=Manfred |last14=Appleby |first14=Jo |last15=Forster |first15=Peter |date=2 December 2014 |title=Identification of the remains of King Richard III |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=5631 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6631 |pmid=25463651 |pmc=4268703 |bibcode=2014NatCo...5.5631K |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free }}</ref> Joy Ibsen died in 2008. Her son [[Michael Ibsen]] gave a mouth-swab sample to the research team on 24 August 2012. His [[mitochondrial DNA#Female inheritance|mitochondrial DNA, passed down the direct maternal line]], was compared to samples from the human remains found at the excavation site and used to identify King Richard.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boswell |first=Randy |date=27 August 2012 |title=Canadian family holds genetic key to Richard III puzzle|url=http://www.canada.com/technology/Canadian+family+holds+genetic+Richard+puzzle/7151179/story.html |website=[[canada.com]] |location=Don Mills, Ontario |publisher=Postmedia News |access-date=30 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831071828/http://www.canada.com/technology/Canadian+family+holds+genetic+Richard+puzzle/7151179/story.html |archive-date=31 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Results of the DNA Analysis |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/resultsofdna.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Geneticist Dr Turi King and Genealogist Professor Kevin Schürer Give Key Evidence on the DNA Testing |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii/press-conference-4-february/presentations-by-speakers-at-the-press-conference-monday-4-february-1/geneticist-dr-turi-king-and-genealogist-professor-kevin-schurer-give-key-evidence-on-the-dna-testing |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206181504/http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii/press-conference-4-february/presentations-by-speakers-at-the-press-conference-monday-4-february-1/geneticist-dr-turi-king-and-genealogist-professor-kevin-schurer-give-key-evidence-on-the-dna-testing |archive-date=6 February 2013 |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John Fisher Burns |date=4 February 2013 |title=Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/europe/richard-the-third-bones.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

On 4 February 2013, the University of Leicester confirmed that the skeleton was beyond reasonable doubt that of King Richard III. This conclusion was based on mitochondrial DNA evidence,<ref name="LU-results-announced"/> soil analysis, and dental tests (there were some molars missing as a result of [[Dental caries|caries]]), as well as physical characteristics of the skeleton which are highly consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance.<ref>{{cite web |title=What the Bones Can and Can't Tell Us |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/whattheonesdontsay.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> The team announced that the "arrowhead" discovered with the body was a Roman-era nail, probably disturbed when the body was first interred. However, there were numerous perimortem wounds on the body, and part of the skull had been sliced off with a bladed weapon;<ref name="mackintosh-20130204"/> this would have caused rapid death. The team concluded that it is unlikely the king was wearing a helmet in his last moments. Soil taken from the remains was found to contain microscopic [[Ascaris lumbricoides|roundworm]] eggs. Several eggs were found in samples taken from the pelvis, where the king's intestines were, but not from the skull, and only very small numbers were identified in soil surrounding the grave. The findings suggest that the higher concentration of eggs in the pelvic area probably arose from a roundworm infection the king suffered in his life, rather than from human waste dumped in the area at a later date, researchers said. The mayor of Leicester announced that the king's skeleton would be re-interred at [[Leicester Cathedral]] in early 2014, but a judicial review of that decision delayed the reinterment for a year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=23 May 2014 |title=Richard III: Leicester wins the battle of the bones |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Leicester-win-battle-bones/story-21132993-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524043912/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Leicester-win-battle-bones/story-21132993-detail/story.html |archive-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref> [[King Richard III Visitor Centre|A museum to Richard III]] was opened in July 2014 in the Victorian school buildings next to the Greyfriars grave site.<ref name="BBC DNA"/><ref name="LU-results-announced">{{cite web|title=Richard III DNA results announced – Leicester University reveals identity of human remains found in car park|url=http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/LIVE-UPDATES-Richard-III-DNA-results-announced/story-18041484-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|work=[[Leicester Mercury]] |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kriii.com/january-opening/ |title=News: January Opening |publisher=King Richard III Visitor Centre |date=29 December 2014 |access-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204215709/http://kriii.com/january-opening/ |archive-date=4 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 5 February 2013 [[Caroline Wilkinson]] of the [[University of Dundee]] conducted a [[forensic facial reconstruction|facial reconstruction]] of Richard III, commissioned by the Richard III Society, based on 3D mappings of his skull.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Richard III: Facial reconstruction shows king's features |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21328380 |work= [[BBC News Online]]|date= 5 February 2013 |access-date=12 April 2019 }}</ref> The face is described as "warm, young, earnest and rather serious".<ref name="Dundee">{{cite press release |title=Dundee experts reconstruct face of Richard III 528 years after his death |url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2013/february13/richard.htm |publisher=[[University of Dundee]] |date=5 February 2013 |access-date=7 February 2013 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208170446/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2013/february13/richard.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 11 February 2014 the University of Leicester announced the project to sequence the entire genome of Richard III and one of his living relatives, Michael Ibsen, whose mitochondrial DNA confirmed the identification of the excavated remains. Richard III thus became the first ancient person of known historical identity whose genome has been sequenced.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Genomes of Richard III and his proven relative to be sequenced |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2014/february/genomes-of-richard-iii-and-his-proven-relative-to-be-sequenced |publisher=[[University of Leicester]], [[Wellcome Trust]] and [[Leverhulme Trust]] |date=11 February 2014 |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722232620/https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2014/february/genomes-of-richard-iii-and-his-proven-relative-to-be-sequenced/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2014, the results of the DNA testing were published, confirming that the maternal side was as previously thought.{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}} The paternal side, however, demonstrated some variance from what had been expected, with the DNA showing no links between Richard (YDNA Haplogroup G-PF3293, possibly clade G-S11415 under G-L30) and [[Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort]] (YDNA Haplogroup R1b-U152),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Turi E. |last2=Fortes |first2=Gloria Gonzalez |last3=Balaresque |first3=Patricia |last4=Thomas |first4=Mark G. |last5=Balding |first5=David |last6=Delser |first6=Pierpaolo Maisano |last7=Neumann |first7=Rita |last8=Parson |first8=Walther |last9=Knapp |first9=Michael |last10=Walsh |first10=Susan |last11=Tonasso |first11=Laure |last12=Holt |first12=John |last13=Kayser |first13=Manfred |last14=Appleby |first14=Jo |last15=Forster |first15=Peter |date=2014-12-02 |title=Identification of the remains of King Richard III |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6631 |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=5631 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6631 |issn=2041-1723}}</ref> a purported descendant of Richard's great-great-grandfather [[Edward III|Edward III of England]]. This could be the result of covert [[illegitimacy]] that does not reflect the accepted genealogies between Edward III and either Richard III or the 5th Duke of Beaufort.{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}}<ref name="infidelity">{{cite news |last=Rincon |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Rincon |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30281333 |title=Richard III's DNA throws up infidelity surprise |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=2 December 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III DNA study raises doubts about royal claims of centuries of British monarchs, researchers say |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/richard-iii-dna-study-uncovers-illegitmate-child-mystery/5935892 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Sydney |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2 December 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014 }}</ref>
<!-- NOTE: could editors please use Exhumation of Richard III of England to add further material rather than increasing the length of this section. Thanks! -->

===Reburial and tomb===
[[File:Picture of Richard III's new tomb (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modern tomb  of Richard III in [[Leicester Cathedral]], with his motto ''Loyaulte me lie'' (loyalty binds me) at right]]
[[File:Memorial stone dedicated to Richard III.jpg|thumb|The ledger stone memorial from Leicester Cathedral now resides in the [[King Richard III Visitor Centre]].]]
After his death in battle in 1485, Richard III's body was buried in Greyfriars Church in Leicester.{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}} Following the discoveries of Richard's remains in 2012, it was decided that they should be reburied at Leicester Cathedral,<ref name="bbcnews-20180322">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: Leicester welcomes king's remains |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31990721 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163142/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31990721 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |url-status=live |date=22 March 2015 |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> despite feelings in some quarters that he should have been reburied in York Minster.<ref name="bbcnews-20130207">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=York Minster says Richard III should be buried in Leicester |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-21373538 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=7 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110142632/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-21373538 |archive-date=10 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> Those who challenged the decision included fifteen "collateral [non-direct] descendants of Richard III",<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance">{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Greig |date=13 September 2013 |title=The Plantagenet Alliance: Who do they think they are? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-23929989 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> represented by the [[Plantagenet Alliance]], who believed that the body should be reburied in York, as they claim the king wished.<ref name="bbcnews-reburialrow">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: King's reburial row goes to judicial review |date=16 August 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23726011 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> In August 2013, they filed a court case in order to contest Leicester's claim to re-inter the body within its cathedral, and propose the body be buried in York instead. However, Michael Ibsen, who gave the DNA sample that identified the king, gave his support to Leicester's claim to re-inter the body in their cathedral.<ref name="bbcnews-reburialrow" /> On 20 August, a judge ruled that the opponents had the legal standing to contest his burial in Leicester Cathedral, despite a clause in the contract which had authorized the excavations requiring his burial there. He urged the parties, though, to settle out of court in order to "avoid embarking on the [[Wars of the Roses]], Part Two".<ref name="[2013]EWHCB13(Admin)"/><ref>{{cite episode |last1=Greene |first1=David |author1-link=David Greene (journalist) |last2=Montagne | first2=Renée |author2-link=Renée Montagne |title=English Debate What To Do With Richard III's Remains |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/08/20/213728243/english-debate-what-to-do-with-richard-iiis-remains |medium=Radio programme, with transcript |series=[[Morning Edition]] |network=[[National Public Radio]] |location=Washington, DC |date=20 August 2013 |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> The Plantagenet Alliance, and the supporting fifteen collateral descendants, also faced the challenge that "Basic maths shows Richard, who had no surviving children but five siblings, could have millions of 'collateral' descendants"<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance"/> undermining the group's claim to represent "the only people who can speak on behalf of him".<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance"/> A ruling in May 2014 decreed that there are "no public law grounds for the Court interfering with the decisions in question".<ref name="[2014]EWHC1662(QB)"/> The remains were taken to Leicester Cathedral on 22 March 2015 and reinterred on 26 March.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III reburial court bid fails |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27537836 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=23 May 2014 |access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

His remains were carried in procession to the cathedral on 22 March 2015, and reburied on 26 March 2015<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Richard III: Leicester Cathedral reburial service for king |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-32052800 |work= [[BBC News Online]]|date= 26 March 2015 |access-date= 12 April 2019}}</ref> at a religious re-burial service at which both [[Tim Stevens]], the [[Bishop of Leicester]], and [[Justin Welby]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. Also present at the ceremony was [[Archbishop of Westminster]] and Roman Catholic Primate of England, Cardinal [[Vincent Nichols]], as Richard III professed Catholicism.<ref>[https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/when-was-a-catholic-monarch-last-buried-in-england "When Was a Catholic Monarch Last Buried in England?"] (13 September 2022). ''[[The Pillar]]''. Retrieved 10 July 2023.</ref> The [[British royal family]] was represented by the [[Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester|Duke]] and [[Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester|Duchess of Gloucester]] and the [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh|Countess of Wessex]]. The actor [[Benedict Cumberbatch]], who later portrayed him in ''[[The Hollow Crown (TV series)|The Hollow Crown]]'' television series, read a poem by [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|poet laureate]] [[Carol Ann Duffy]].<ref name="guardian-cumberbatchproves"/><ref name="guardian-20150326">{{cite news |last=Duffy |first=Carol Ann |author-link1=Carol Ann Duffy |date=26 March 2015 |title=Richard by Carol Ann Duffy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/26/richard-iii-by-carol-ann-duffy |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116111612/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/26/richard-iii-by-carol-ann-duffy |archive-date=16 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref>

Richard's cathedral tomb was designed by the architects [[van Heyningen and Haward]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Withstandley |first=Kate |date=27 March 2015 |title=Our Tomb for Richard III is Revealed |url=http://www.vhh.co.uk/news-press/richard-iii-tomb-revealed |publisher=[[van Heyningen and Haward Architects]] |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065742/http://www.vhh.co.uk/news-press/richard-iii-tomb-revealed |url-status=dead }}</ref> The tombstone is deeply incised with a cross, and consists of a rectangular block of white [[Swaledale]] fossil stone, quarried in [[North Yorkshire]]. It sits on a low plinth made of dark [[Kilkenny marble]], incised with Richard's name, dates and motto (''Loyaulte me lie'' – loyalty binds me). The plinth also carries his coat of arms in ''[[pietra dura]]''.<ref name=tomb>{{cite web |title=Richard III Tomb and Burial |url=http://leicestercathedral.org/learn/richard-iii/richard-iii-tomb-and-burial/ |publisher=[[Leicester Cathedral]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206203705/http://leicestercathedral.org/learn/richard-iii/richard-iii-tomb-and-burial/ |archive-date=6 December 2018 |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> On top is a funeral crown commissioned specifically for the reinterment, and made by George Easton.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film and Heritage |url=https://www.danegeld.co.uk/film-and-heritage.html |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=Viking, Saxon and Medieval jewellery reproductions from Danegeld |language=en}}</ref> The remains of Richard III are in a lead-lined inner casket,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31911490|title=Richard III's remains sealed inside coffin at Leicester University|date=16 March 2015|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> inside an outer [[English oak]] coffin crafted by Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard's sister Anne, and laid in a brick-lined vault below the floor, and below the plinth and tombstone.<ref name=tomb/> The original 2010 raised tomb design had been proposed by Langley's "Looking For Richard Project" and fully funded by members of the Richard III Society. The proposal was publicly launched by the Society on 13 February 2013 but rejected by Leicester Cathedral in favour of a memorial slab.<ref name="bbcnews-20130213">{{cite news |last=Hubball |first=Louise |date=13 February 2013 |title=A tomb fit for a king has been designed for Richard III |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21447210 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023234117/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21447210/a-tomb-fit-for-a-king-has-been-designed-for-richard-iii |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="telegraph-20130313">{{cite news |last=Britten |first=Nick |date=13 March 2013 |title=Cathedral criticised for being 'out of touch' over King Richard III's resting place |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9927564/Cathedral-criticised-for-being-out-of-touch-over-King-Richard-IIIs-resting-place.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206200956/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9927564/Cathedral-criticised-for-being-out-of-touch-over-King-Richard-IIIs-resting-place.html |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="leicestermercury-20130314-slab">{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=14 March 2013 |title=Richard III: Stone slab to mark final resting place of king, says Leicester Cathedral |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Stone-slab-mark-final-resting-place/story-18402860-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328221916/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Stone-slab-mark-final-resting-place/story-18402860-detail/story.html |archive-date=28 March 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref> However, following a public outcry, the Cathedral changed its position and on 18 July 2013 announced its agreement to give King Richard III a raised tomb monument.<ref name="leicestermercury-20130314-poll">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: Give king tomb, not slab, says online poll |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-king-tomb-slab-says-online-poll/story-18422157-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |date=14 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329090420/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-king-tomb-slab-says-online-poll/story-18422157-detail/story.html |archive-date=29 March 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 May 2016 }}</ref><ref name="leicestermercury-20130718">{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=18 July 2013 |title=Richard III will be buried in a raised tomb not slab, says Leicester Cathedral |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-buried-tomb-says-Leicester-Cathedral/story-19536774-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721071924/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-buried-tomb-says-Leicester-Cathedral/story-19536774-detail/story.html |archive-date=21 July 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 July 2013}}</ref>

==Issue==
Richard and Anne had one son, [[Edward of Middleham]], who was born between 1474 and 1476.{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=29|ps=, n. 2. "1476".}}<ref>{{harvp|Pollard|2004|ps=. "Although [Edward's date of birth] is usually attributed to 1474, the Tewkesbury chronicle records the birth of an unnamed son at Middleham in 1476."}}</ref> He was created [[Earl of Salisbury]] on 15 February 1478,{{sfnp|Ross|1981|p=33}} and [[Prince of Wales]] on 24 August 1483, and died on 9 April 1484, less than two months after he had been formally declared [[heir apparent]].<ref>{{harvp|Pollard|2004|ps=. "The child Edward ... was created prince of Wales on 24 August [1483]. ... He was formally declared heir apparent to the throne in parliament in February 1484. ... by the end of March 1484 the prince was dead."}}</ref> After the death of his son, Richard appointed his nephew [[John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln]], as [[List of chief governors of Ireland|Lieutenant of Ireland]], an office previously held by his son Edward.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=349–350, 563}} Lincoln was the son of Richard's older sister, [[Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk]]. After his wife's death, Richard commenced negotiations with [[John II of Portugal]] to marry John's sister [[Joanna, Princess of Portugal|Joanna]]. The pious princess had already turned down several suitors because of her preference for the religious life.{{sfnp|Williams|1983}}

Richard had two acknowledged illegitimate children, [[John of Gloucester]] and Katherine Plantagenet. Also known as 'John of Pontefract', John of Gloucester was appointed Captain of Calais in 1485. Katherine married [[William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke]], in 1484. Neither the birth dates nor the names of the mothers of either of the children are known. Katherine was old enough to be wedded in 1484, when the age of consent was twelve, and John was knighted in September 1483 in [[York Minster]], and so most historians agree that they were both fathered when Richard was a teenager.{{Sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}{{sfnp|Baldwin|2013|p=42}} There is no evidence of infidelity on Richard's part after his marriage to Anne Neville in 1472 when he was around 20.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=387}} This has led to a suggestion by the historian [[A. L. Rowse]] that Richard "had no interest in sex".{{sfnp|Rowse|1966|p=190}}

Michael Hicks and Josephine Wilkinson have suggested that Katherine's mother may have been Katherine Haute, on the basis of the grant of an annual payment of 100 shillings made to her in 1477. The Haute family was related to the Woodvilles through the marriage of Elizabeth Woodville's aunt, Joan Wydeville, to [[William Haute (MP)|William Haute]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/haute-william-1462|title=Haute, William (d.1462), of Bishopsbourne, Kent|website=History of Parliament Online|access-date=12 June 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219203436/https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/haute-william-1462|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of their children was Richard Haute, Comptroller of the Prince's Household. Their daughter, Alice, married [[Sir John Fogge]]; they were ancestors to [[Catherine Parr]], sixth wife of King Henry VIII.{{sfnp|Paget|1977}}

Hicks and Wilkinson also suggest that John's mother may have been Alice Burgh. Richard visited Pontefract from 1471, in April and October 1473, and in early March 1474, for a week. On 1 March 1474, he granted Alice Burgh 20 pounds a year for life "for certain special causes and considerations". She later received another allowance, apparently for being engaged as a nurse for his brother George's son, [[Edward of Warwick]]. Richard continued her annuity when he became king.{{sfnp|Hicks|2009|pp=156–158}}{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2008|pp=228–229, 235–254}} [[John Ashdown-Hill]] has suggested that John was conceived during Richard's first solo expedition to the eastern counties in the summer of 1467 at the invitation of John Howard and that the boy was born in 1468 and named after his friend and supporter. Richard himself noted John was still a minor (not being yet 21) when he issued the royal patent appointing him Captain of Calais on 11 March 1485, possibly on his seventeenth birthday.{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}

Both of Richard's illegitimate children survived him, but they seem to have died without issue and their fate after Richard's demise at Bosworth is not certain. John received a 20-pound [[Life annuity|annuity]] from Henry VII, but there are no mentions of him in contemporary records after 1487 (the year of the [[Battle of Stoke Field]]). He may have been executed in 1499, though no record of this exists beyond an assertion by [[George Buck]] over a century later.{{sfnp|Given-Wilson|Curteis|1984|p=161}} Katherine apparently died before her cousin Elizabeth of York's coronation on 25 November 1487, since her husband Sir William Herbert is described as a widower by that time.{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}} Katherine's burial place was located in the London parish church of St James Garlickhithe,{{refn|Specifically, in the Vinter's Hall, Thameside.{{sfnp|Barron|2004|p=420}}|group=note}} between Skinner's Lane and Upper Thames Street.{{sfnp|Steer|2014}}

The mysterious [[Richard Plantagenet (Richard of Eastwell)|Richard Plantagenet]], who was first mentioned in [[Francis Peck]]'s ''[[Desiderata Curiosa]]'' (a two-volume miscellany published 1732–1735) was said to be a possible illegitimate child of Richard III and is sometimes referred to as "Richard the Master-Builder" or "Richard of Eastwell", but it has also been suggested he could have been Richard, Duke of York, one of the missing Princes in the Tower.{{sfnp|Baldwin|2007}} He died in 1550.{{sfnp|Andrews|2000|p=90}}

==Titles, styles, honours and arms==
{{multiple image
| footer    =
| align     = right
| image1    = Copper-alloy boar mount from the Thames foreshore (London).jpg
| width1    = 275
| caption1  = [[Bronze]] [[boar]] mount found on the Thames foreshore, and thought to have been worn by a supporter of Richard III.<ref name="telegraph-20121203">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Boar mount belonging to Richard III detected |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9718849/Boar-mount-belonging-to-Richard-III-detected.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919111854/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9718849/Boar-mount-belonging-to-Richard-III-detected.html |archive-date= 19 September 2018 |url-status=dead |date=3 December 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
| image2    = Arms of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence.svg
| width2    = 180
| caption2  = Coat of arms of Richard as Duke of Gloucester
}}

On 1 November 1461, Richard gained the title of Duke of Gloucester; in late 1461, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter.{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|p=44|ps=. "By early February 1462 a helm, crest and sword marked his stall&nbsp;... in the Chapel of St. George."}} Following the death of King Edward IV, he was made [[Lord Protector]] of England. Richard held this office from 30 April to 26 June 1483, when he became king. During his reign, Richard was styled ''Dei Gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae et Dominus Hiberniae'' ([[by the Grace of God]], King of England and France and Lord of Ireland).

Informally, he may have been known as "Dickon", according to a sixteenth-century legend of a note, warning of treachery, that was sent to the Duke of Norfolk on the eve of Bosworth:
{{poemquote|Jack of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold.{{sfnp|Grant|1972|p=15}}}}

===Arms===
As Duke of Gloucester, Richard used the [[Royal Arms of France]] [[Quartering (heraldry)|quartered]] with the [[Royal Arms of England]], [[Cadency|differenced]] by a [[Label (heraldry)|label]] [[argent]] of three points [[Ermine (heraldry)|ermine]], on each point a [[Canton (heraldry)|canton]] [[gules]], supported by a blue boar.<ref name="heraldica-cadency">{{cite web |last=Velde |first=François R. |date=5 August 2013 |url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm |title=Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family |website=Heraldica.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614121531/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm |archive-date=14 June 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2012}}</ref>{{sfnp|Brunet|1889|p=202}} As sovereign, he used the arms of the kingdom undifferenced, supported by a white boar and a lion.{{sfnp|Brunet|1889|p=202}} His motto was ''Loyaulte me lie'', "Loyalty binds me"; and his [[Heraldic badge|personal device]] was a [[white boar]].{{sfnp|Kendall|1956|pp=132–133}}

== Family trees ==
{{Dukes of Gloucester and Edinburgh family tree}}
{{Wars of the Roses family tree}}

==See also==
* [[King Richard III Visitor Centre]], Leicester
* [[Richard III Experience at Monk Bar]], York
* [[Richard III Society]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
<references>
<ref name="[2013]EWHCB13(Admin)">{{cite court |litigants=R (on the application of Plantagenet Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Justice & Anor |reporter=&#91;2013&#93; EWHC B13 (Admin) |date=15 August 2013 |url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2013/B13.html |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="[2014]EWHC1662(QB)">{{cite court |litigants=R (on the application of Plantagenet Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Justice & Ors |reporter=&#91;2014&#93; EWHC 1662 (QB) |date=23 May 2014 |url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2014/1662.html |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref>
</references>

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* {{Cite book |last=Brunet |first=Alexander |title=The Regal Armorie of Great Britain |date=1889 |publisher=Henry Kent |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Buck |first=George |ol=7187118M |title=The history of the life and reigne of Richard the Third |date=1647 |publisher=W. Wilson |location=London |isbn=0-9043-8726-7 |oclc=1126494788 |author-link=George Buck}}
* {{Cite book |last=Camden |first=William |url=https://archive.org/details/remainsconcerni02camdgoog |title=Remains Concerning Britain |date=1870 |publisher=John Russel Smith |isbn=978-0-802-02457-2 |location=London |oclc=11717457 |author-link=William Camden |via=[[Internet Archive]] |orig-year=reprint of 1674 ed. }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cheetham |first1=Anthony |title=The Life and Times of Richard III |last2=Fraser |first2=Antonia |date=1972 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-1566490382 |location=London |author-link2=Antonia Fraser}}
* {{Cite book |last=Chrimes |first=S. B. |title=Henry VII |date=1999 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0300078831 |location=New Haven, Connecticut |author-link=Stanley Bertram Chrimes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Churchill |first=George B. |title=Richard the Third up to Shakespeare |date=1976 |publisher=Alan Sutton and Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-874-71773-0 |location=Dursley, England and Totowa, New Jersey |oclc=3069413 |ol=4599416M |author-link=George B. Churchill |orig-year=reprint of 1900 ed.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Churchill |first=Winston S. |title=A History of the English-Speaking Peoples |date=1956 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=0-304-341010 |volume=1. The Birth of Britain |ol=14989146M |location=New York |author-link=Winston Churchill}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Clarke |first=Peter D. |date=2005 |title=English Royal Marriages and the Papal Penitentiary in the Fifteenth Century |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=120 |issue=488 |pages=1014–1029 |doi=10.1093/ehr/cei244 |jstor=3489227}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clemen |first=Wolfgang |title=Development of Shakespeare's Imagery |date=1977 |publisher=Methuen |isbn=0-416-85740-X |edition=2nd |location=London |chapter=Richard III: 'Foul Hunch-Back'd Toad' |author-link=Wolfgang Clemen |ol=4281207M}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cobbett |first=William |url=https://archive.org/details/parliamentaryhi09parlgoog |title=The Parliamentary History of England, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803 |date=1807 |publisher=[[Thomas Curson Hansard|T. C. (Thomas Curson) Hansard]] |volume=2 |location=London |oclc=2190940 |author-link=William Cobbett |access-date=5 December 2018 |via=[[Internet Archive]] }}
* {{Cite book |last=Costello |first=Louisa Stuart |title=Memoirs of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Twice Queen of France |date=1855 |publisher=W. & F. G. Cash |location=London |author-link=Louisa Stuart Costello}}
* {{cite ODNB |last=Davies |first=C. S. L. |date=2011 |title=Stafford, Henry, second duke of Buckingham |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-26204 |id=26204}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Richard S. |title=A History of Cumberland |date=1890 |publisher=Elliot Stock |location=London |oclc=4876036 |ol=6930115M |author-link=Richard Saul Ferguson}}
* {{cite DNB |wstitle= Richard III |volume= 48 |last= Gairdner |first= James  |author-link= James Gairdner |pages= 158-165 |year=1896|short= }}
* {{Cite book |last=Gairdner |first=James |title=History of the Life and Reign of Richard the Third, to Which is Added the Story of Perkin Warbeck from Original Documents |date=1898 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |ol=7193498M |author-mask=2 |author-link=James Gairdner}}
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* {{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-rolls-medieval |title=Parliament Rolls of Medieval England |date=2005 |publisher=Boydell |editor1-last=Given-Wilson |editor1-first=Chris |editor1-link=Chris Given-Wilson |location=Woodbridge, England |access-date=7 December 2018 |editor-last2=Brand |editor-first2=Paul |editor-link2=Paul Brand (historian) |editor-last3=Phillips |editor-first3=Seymour |editor-link3=J. R. S. Phillips |editor-last4=Ormrod |editor-first4=Mark |editor-link4=Mark Ormrod (historian) |editor-last5=Martin |editor-first5=Geoffrey |editor-link5=Geoffrey Martin (historian) |editor-last6=Curry |editor-first6=Anne |editor-link6=Anne Curry |editor-last7=Horrox |editor-first7=Rosemary |editor-link7=Rosemary Horrox |url-access=subscription |via=[[British History Online]] }}
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* {{Cite book |last=Grant |first=A. |title=Richard III: A Medieval Kingship |date=1993 |publisher=Collins & Brown |isbn=978-1-85585-100-9 |editor-last=John Gillingham |location=London |chapter=Foreign Affairs Under Richard III}}
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* {{Cite journal |last=Griffin |first=Alice V. |date=1966 |title=Shakespeare through the Camera's Eye: IV |journal=[[Shakespeare Quarterly]] |volume=17 |pages=383–387 |doi=10.2307/2867913 |jstor=24407008 |number=4}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Ralph A. |title=Sir Rhys ap Thomas and His Family: A Study in the Wars of the Roses and Early Tudor Politics |date=1993 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=978-0708312186 |location=Cardiff |author-link=Ralph A. Griffiths}}
* {{cite ODNB |last=Griffiths |author-mask=2 |first=Ralph A. |author-link=Ralph A. Griffiths |date=2008 |title=Lancastrians |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-95581 |id=95581}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hampton |first=W. E. |date=1975 |title=Sir Thomas Montgomery, KG |journal=The Ricardian |volume=3 |pages=9–14 |number=51}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hanbury |first=Harold G. |author-link=Harold Hanbury |date=1962 |title=The Legislation of Richard III |journal=[[American Journal of Legal History]] |volume=6 |pages=95–113 |doi=10.2307/844148 |jstor=844148 |number=2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hanham |first=Alison |title=Richard III and his early historians 1483–1535 |date=1975 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-822434-1 |location=Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harrod-Eagles |first=Cynthia |ol=7517496M |title=The Founding |date=1981 |publisher=Sphere |isbn=978-0-751-50382-1 |edition=new |location=London |author-link=Cynthia Harrod-Eagles}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hicks |first=Michael A. |title=False, Fleeting, Perjur'd Clarence: George, Duke of Clarence (1449–1478) |date=1980 |publisher=Alan Sutton |isbn=978-0-904-38744-5 |location=Gloucester, England |author-link=Michael Hicks (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hicks |first=Michael A. |title=Richard III |date=2001 |publisher=Tempus |isbn=978-0752423029 |edition=revised illustrated |location=Stroud, England |author-mask=2 |author-link=Michael Hicks (historian) |orig-year=1991}}
* {{cite ODNB| last=Hicks |author-mask=2 |first=Michael A. |author-link=Michael Hicks (historian) |date=2004 |title=George, duke of Clarence |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10542 |id=10542}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hicks |first=Michael A. |title=Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III |date=2006 |publisher=Tempus |isbn=978-0752436630 |location=Stroud, England |author-mask=2 |author-link=Michael Hicks (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hicks |first=Michael A. |title=Richard III |date=2009 |publisher=History Press |isbn=978-0752425894 |edition=3rd |location=Stroud, England |author-mask=2 |author-link=Michael Hicks (historian) |orig-year=1991}}
* {{Cite book |last=Horrox |first=Rosemary |title=Richard III: A study in service |date=1989 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-33428-0 |author-link=Rosemary Horrox}}
* {{cite ODNB| last=Horrox |author-mask=2 |first=Rosemary |date=2004 |title=Hastings, William, first Baron Hastings |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-12588 |id=12588}}
* {{cite ODNB |last=Horrox |author-mask=2 |date=2013 |first=Rosemary |title=Richard III (1452–1485) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-23500 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190209163208/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-23500 |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 February 2019 |type=online |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/23500 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Hume |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.167509/page/n347 |title=The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the Revolution in 1688 |date=1864 |publisher=Longman |location=London |oclc=165459692 |author-mask=2 |author-link=David Hume |orig-year=First published 1789 }}{{free access}}
* {{cite web |editor-last=Johnston |editor-first=Dafydd |date=2013 |title=Moliant i Syr Rhys ap Tomas o Abermarlais |url=https://www.gutorglyn.net/gutorglyn/poem/?poem-selection=014 |website=Guto'r Glyn.net |location=Aberystwyth |publisher=Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619220912/https://www.gutorglyn.net/gutorglyn/poem/?poem-selection=014|archive-date=19 June 2015}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Michael |title=Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle |date=2014 |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-1848549081 |edition=new |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=R. Gordon |title=The Detective as Historian: History and Art in Historical Crime Fiction |date=2000 |publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press |isbn=978-0-87972-815-1 |editor-last=[[Ray B. Browne]] |volume=1 |location=Bowling Green, Ohio |pages=133–146 |chapter=Josephine Tey and Others: The Case of Richard III |editor-last2=Lawrence A. Kreiser |chapter-url={{google books|pGb9qrbYqOYC|plainurl=yes}} |name-list-style=amp }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kendall |first=Paul M. |ol=7450809M |title=Richard the Third |date=1956 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-00785-5 |location=New York |author-link=Paul Murray Kendall |orig-year=1955}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=Turi E. |author-link=Turi King |last2=Gonzalez Fortes |first2=Gloria |last3=Balaresque |first3=Patricia |last4=Thomas |first4=Mark G. |last5=Balding |first5=David |author-link5=David Balding |last6=Maisano Delser |first6=Pierpaolo |last7=Neumann |first7=Rita |last8=Parson |first8=Walther |last9=Knapp |first9=Michael |last10=Walsh |first10=Susan |last11=Tonasso |first11=Laure |last12=Holt |first12=John |last13=Kayser |first13=Manfred |last14=Appleby |first14=Jo |last15=Forster |first15=Peter |author-link15=Peter Forster (geneticist) |date=2014 |title=Identification of the remains of King Richard III |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=5 |at=Article number: 5631 |bibcode=2014NatCo...5.5631K |doi=10.1038/ncomms6631 |pmc=4268703 |pmid=25463651 |doi-access=free |last16=Ekserdjian |first16=David |author16-link=David Ekserdjian |last17=Hofreiter |first17=Michael |last18=Schürer |first18=Kevin |article-number=5631 |author18-link=Kevin Schürer}}
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* {{Cite journal |last=Kleineke |first=Hannes |date=2007 |title=Richard III and the Origins of the Court of Requests |url=http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2007_vol17_kleineke_court_of_requests.pdf |journal=The Ricardian |volume=17 |pages=22–32 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928050918/http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2007_vol17_kleineke_court_of_requests.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Langley |first1=Philippa |title=The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III |last2=Jones |first2=Michael |date=2013 |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-1-84854-893-0 |location=London |author-link=Philippa Langley |author-link2=Michael Jones (historian) |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{Cite book |last=Legge |first=Alfred O. |ol=24188544M |title=The Unpopular King: The Life and Times of Richard III |date=1885 |publisher=Ward & Downey |volume=1 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Licence |first=Amy |title=Anne Neville: Richard III's Tragic Queen |date=2013 |publisher=Amberley |isbn=978-1445611532 |location=Stroud, England}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lulofs |first=Maaike |date=1974 |title=King Edward in Exile |journal=The Ricardian |volume=3 |pages=9–11 |number=44}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Lysons |first1=Daniel |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol4 |title=Magna Britannia |last2=Lysons |first2=Samuel |date=1816 |publisher=T. Cadell & W. Davies |volume=4, Cumberland |location=London |author-link=Daniel Lysons (antiquarian) |author-link2=Samuel Lysons |access-date=20 November 2014 |via=[[British History Online]] }}
* {{Cite book |last=McEvoy |first=Sean |title=Ben Jonson, Renaissance Dramatist |date=2008 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-2302-0}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Deborah |date=1997 |title=''Richard III'': Tonypandy in the Twentieth Century |journal=Literature/Film Quarterly |volume=25 |pages=133–145 |jstor=43796785 |number=2}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Myers |first=A. R. |date=1968 |title=Richard III and Historical Tradition |journal=[[History (journal)|History]] |volume=53 |issue=178 |pages=181–202 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1968.tb01217.x |jstor=24407008}}
* {{Cite book |last=Paget |first=Gerald |title=The Lineage and Ancestry of H. R. H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales |date=1977 |publisher=Charles Skilton |volume=1 |location=Edinburgh}}
* {{Cite book |last=Penn |first=Thomas |ol=25011793M |title=Winter King: Henry VII and The Dawn of Tudor England |date=2013 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-439-19156-9 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Elizabeth |title=The Murders of Richard III |date=2004 |publisher=Avon Books |isbn=978-0-060-59719-1 |location=New York |author-link=Elizabeth Peters |orig-year=1974}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pollard |first=A. J. |title=Richard III and the Princes in the Tower |date=1991 |publisher=Alan Sutton |isbn=978-0-862-99660-4 |location=Stroud, England |author-link=A. J. Pollard}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pollard |first=A. J. |ol=6794297M |title=The Wars of the Roses |date=2000 |publisher=Palgrave |isbn=978-0333658222 |edition=2nd |location=Basingstoke, England |author-mask=2}}
* {{cite ODNB| last=Pollard |author-mask=2 |first=A. J. |date=2004 |title=Edward [Edward of Middleham], prince of Wales |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-38659 |id=38659}}
* {{cite ODNB |last=Pollard |author-mask=2 |first=A. J. |date=2008 |title=Yorkists |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-95580 |id=95580}}
* {{Cite book |last=Potter |first=Jeremy |title=Good King Richard? An Account of Richard III and his Reputation |date=1994 |publisher=Constable |edition=paperback |location=London |orig-year=1983}}
* {{Cite book |ol=38603586M |title=[[Croyland Chronicle|Ingulph's Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland, with the Continuations by Peter of Blois and Anonymous Writers]] |date=1908 |publisher=George Bell & Sons |location=London |translator-last=Riley |translator-first=Henry T. |ref=CITEREFRiley1908}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Charles D. |title=Edward IV |date=1974 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02781-7 |series=[[English Monarchs series]] |location=Berkeley |author-link=Charles Ross (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Charles D. |title=Richard III |date=1981 |publisher=Eyre Methuen |isbn=978-0-413-29530-9 |series=[[English Monarchs series]] |location=London |author-mask=2 |author-link=Charles Ross (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rous |first=John |title=The Rous Roll |date=1980 |publisher=Alan Sutton |isbn=978-0904387438 |location=Gloucester, England |author-link=John Rous (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rowse |first=Alfred L. |title=Bosworth Field and the Wars of the Roses |date=1966 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scofield |first=Cora L. |author-link=Cora Scofield|title=The Life and Reign of Edward the Fourth: King of England and France and Lord of Ireland |date=2016 |publisher=Fonthill Media |isbn=978-1781554753 |volume=1 |location=London |orig-year=1923}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shipley |first=Joseph T. |title=The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots |date=1984 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-3004-4 |location=Baltimore |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m1UKpE4YEkEC&pg=PA127 127] |author-link=Joseph Twadell Shipley}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Steer |first=Christian |date=2014 |title=The Plantagenet in the Parish: The Burial of Richard III's Daughter in Medieval London |url=https://www.academia.edu/35620745 |journal=The Ricardian |volume=24 |pages=63–73 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Anthony |title=Heralds of England: A History of the Office and College of Arms |date=1967 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-11-700454-2 |location=London |author-link=Anthony Wagner}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walpole |first=Horace |title=The Works of Horatio Walpole, Earl of Orford |date=1798 |publisher=G. G. & J. Robinson and J. Edwards |editor-last=Berry |editor-first=Mary |editor-link=Mary Berry (writer, born 1763) |volume=2 |location=London |oclc=2482675 |ol=OL6570405M |author-link=Horace Walpole}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Josephine |title=Richard the Young King to Be |date=2008 |publisher=Amberley |isbn=978-1-84868-083-8 |location=Stroud, England}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=Barrie |date=1983 |title=The Portuguese Connection and the Significance of 'the Holy Princess' |url=http://www.thericardian.online/downloads/Ricardian/6-80/03.pdf |journal=The Ricardian |volume=6 |issue=80 |pages=138–145 |archive-date=20 June 2019 |access-date=20 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620162949/http://www.thericardian.online/downloads/Ricardian/6-80/03.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wood |first=Charles T. |date=1975 |title=The Deposition of Edward V |journal=Traditio |volume=31 |pages=247–286 |doi=10.1017/S036215290001134X |jstor=27830988 |s2cid=151769515}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bowen |first=Marjorie |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks09/0900531h.html |title=Dickon |date=2014 |publisher=Project Gutenberg Australia |author-link=Marjorie Bowen |access-date=3 December 2014 |orig-year=1st pub. 1929 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carson |first=Annette |title=Richard III: The Maligned King |date=2009 |publisher=History Press |isbn=978-0-752-45208-1 |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carson |first=Annette |title=Richard Duke of Gloucester as Lord Protector and High Constable of England |date=2015 |publisher=Imprimis Imprimatur |isbn=978-0-957-68404-1 |author-mask=2 |location=Horstead, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dockray |first=Keith |title=Richard III: A Sourcebook |date=1997 |publisher=Sutton |isbn=978-0-750-91479-6 |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Dockray |first1=Keith |title=Richard III: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records |last2=Hammond |author-mask=2 |first2=Peter W. |date=2013 |publisher=Fonthill Media |isbn=978-1-781-55313-8 |edition=rev. |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Drewett |first1=Richard |title=The Trial of Richard III |last2=Redhead |first2=Mark |date=1984 |publisher=Sutton |isbn=978-0-862-99198-2 |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |title=Richard III and the North of England |date=1986 |publisher=University of Hull |isbn=978-0-859-58031-1 |editor-last=England |editor-first=Barbara |location=<!--Hull, England (omitted as given by name of publisher)--> |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fields |first=Bertram |ol=7276841M |title=Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes |date=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-060-39269-7 |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Greyfriars Research Team |title=The Bones of a King: Richard III Rediscovered |last2=Kennedy |first2=Maev |last3=Foxhall |first3=Lin |date=2015 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-118-78314-6 |location=Chichester, England |author-link2=Maev Kennedy |author-link3=Lin Foxhall |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=Peter W. |title=Richard III: The Road to Bosworth Field |last2=Sutton |first2=Anne |date=1985 |publisher=Constable |isbn=978-0-094-66160-8 |location=London |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hancock |first=Peter A. |title=Richard III and the Murder in the Tower |date=2011 |publisher=History Press |isbn=978-0-752-45797-0 |edition=reprint |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Horspool |first=David |title=Richard III: A Ruler and his Reputation |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Press |isbn=978-1-620-40509-3 |location=London |author-link=David Horspool |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kendall |first=Paul Murray |title=Richard III: The Great Debate |date=1992 |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=978-0393003109 |location=New York |author-link=Paul Murray Kendall |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lamb |first=V. B. |title=The Betrayal of Richard III |date=2015 |publisher=History Press |others=Revised by Hammond, Peter W. |isbn=978-0-750-96299-5 |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Markham |first=Clements R. |title=Richard III: His Life and Character, Reviewed in the Light of Recent Research |date=1906 |publisher=Smith, Elder |location=London |oclc=3306738 |ol=6982482M |author-link=Clements Markham |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scarisbrick |first=J. J. |title=Henry VIII |date=1968 |publisher=Eyre Methuen |isbn=978-0413368003 |location=London |author-link=Jack Scarisbrick |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Seward |first=Desmond |title=Richard III: England's Black Legend |date=1997 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-140-26634-4 |location=London |ref=none}}
* {{Cite web |last=Sutton |first=Anne |title=Richard III: His Parliament |url=http://www.richardiii.net/2_3_0_riii_leadership.php#parliament |access-date=11 December 2018 |publisher=Richard III Society |ref=none |archive-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206053239/http://www.richardiii.net/2_3_0_riii_leadership.php#parliament |url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Sutton |author-mask=2 |first1=Anne |title=The Coronation of Richard III: The Extant Documents |last2=Hammond |first2=Peter W. |date=1984 |publisher=St Martin's |isbn=978-0-312-16979-4 |location=New York |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Sutton |author-mask=2 |first1=Anne |title=Richard III's Books |last2=Visser-Fuchs |first2=Livia |date=1997 |publisher=Sutton |isbn=978-0-750-91406-2 |location=Stroud, England |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Watson |first=G. W. |title=The Genealogist |date=1896 |publisher=William Pollard & Co. |editor-last=H. W. Forsyth Harwood |series=New Series |volume=12 |location=Exeter |chapter=The Seize Quartiers of the Kings and Queens of England |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/genealogist1218selb/page/n385 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |title=The Princes in the Tower |date=1995 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-39178-0 |location=New York |author-link=Alison Weir |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Charles T. |title=Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages |date=1991 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-195-06951-8 |location=<!--Oxford (omitted as given by publisher name)--> |ref=none}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Richard III of England}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://kriii.com/about-kriii/an-incredible-discovery/ King Richard III Visitor Center - An Incredible Discovery]
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.royal.uk/richard-iii |title=Richard III |via=Official website of the [[British monarchy]]}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://kriii.com |title=King Richard III Visitor Centre, Leicester}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.richardiii.net |title=The Richard III Society}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/greyfriars |title=Information about the discovery of Richard III |via=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=26 August 2012 |archive-date=23 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123061705/http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/greyfriars |url-status=dead }}
* {{NPG name|name=King Richard III}}

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{{Richard III}}
{{Navboxes|list1=
{{English, Scottish and British monarchs}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard 03 Of England}}
[[Category:Richard III of England| ]]
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