Plantagenets - King Richard III

House of York - King Richard III

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Name: King Richard III
Father: Richard, Duke of York
Mother: Cecily Neville
Born: October 2, 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire
Ascended to the throne: June 26, 1483 aged 30 years
Crowned: July 6, 1483 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Anne Neville, widow of Edward, Prince of Wales and daughter of Earl of Warwick
Children: One son, plus several illegitimate children before his marriage
Died: August 22, 1485 at Battle of Bosworth, Leicestershire, aged 32 years, 10 months, and 19 days
Buried at: Leicester

King of England from 1483. The son of Richard, Duke of York, he was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother Edward IV, and distinguished himself in the Wars of the Roses. On Edward's death 1483 he became protector to his nephew Edward V, and soon secured the crown for himself on the plea that Edward IV's sons were illegitimate. He proved a capable ruler, but the suspicion that he had murdered Edward V and his brother undermined his popularity. In 1485 Henry, Earl of Richmond (later Henry VII), raised a rebellion, and Richard III was defeated and killed at Bosworth.

View Movie Trailer
Title: Shakespeare's Richard III
Starring: Laurence Olivier as King Richard III,
and Ralph Richardson as the Duke of Buckingham
Released: 1955
Production: London Film Productions

Timeline

1483	Richard III declares himself King after confining and possibly ordering the murder of his two nephews, Edward V and Richard Duke of York, in the Tower of London
1483	The Duke of Buckingham is appointed Constable and Great Chamberlain of England
1483	In October Richard crushes a rebellion led by his former supporter, the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham is captured, tried, and put to death.
1483	At the cathedral of Rheims, Henry Tudor swears a solemn oath to marry Elizabeth of York in the presence of the Lancastrian Court in exile.
1484	Richard establishes his military headquarters behind the battlements of Nottingham Castle.
1484	Death of Richard’s only son and heir, Edward, aged 9 years.
1484	A Papal Bull is issued against witchcraft.
1484	Parliamentary statutes are written down in English for the first time and printed.
1485	Death of Richard’s wife, Queen Anne.
1485	Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, lands at Milford Haven in West Wales in early August and gathers support as the Lancastrian claimant to the Yorkist-held throne.
1485	Richard is defeated and killed by Henry Tudor’s army at Bosworth Field. The Wars of the Roses come to an end.

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