Richard III 'Plantagenet' King Of ENGLAND

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• Reigned: Between 1483 and 1485

Notes:

Name:
Richard III Plantagenet, youngest son, born 2 Oct 1452, created Duke of Gloucester by his brother King Edward IV 1 Nov. 1461, Lord Protector 1483, deposed his nephew Edward V and usurped the throne 26 June 1483, crowned King of England 6 July 1483, slain at the Battle of Bosworth 22 Aug. 1485 fighting against the invader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond.

Richard III was king for barely two years, but once he was dead, historians, clerics and even playwrights fell over themselves to blacken his name. Most of the propaganda was designed to serve the Tudor dynasty, which began when Henry VII's army defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. However, in more recent time,s historians have questioned whether Richard III really deserves his evil reputation.

Tall, lean, and with slender limbs. Richard was a handsome man. Contrary to William Shakespeare's portrayal of the King in 'The Life and Death of King Richard III', there is no evidence that Richard was a hunchback, although he might have had one shoulder slightly higher than the other. Devoted to his brother Edward, and reliable in all the many tasks Edward asked him to do, Richard was undoubtedly courageous and proved in his very short reign to be an energetic, painstaking, and just ruler.

On 22 August 1485, the 8,000-strong army of Henry Tudor faced Richard's 12,000-strong army in fields just outside the town of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire. Richard's support soon ebbed away, but he himself dived courageously into the thick of battle, coming within a sword's length of Henry Tudor before he was cut down.

Richard married Anne NEVILLE on 12 Jul 1472 in Westminster. Anne (daughter of Richard NEVILLE and Anne DE BEAUCHAMP) was born on 11 Jun 1456 in Warwick Castle, England; died on 16 Mar 1485 in Westminster Palace; was buried in Westminster Abbey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Prince of Wales