And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain.
—King Richard, in Richard III

Vilified by William Shakespeare (1564–1616) and many others, the historical figure of Richard III (1452–1485) is sometimes overshadowed by his fictional counterpart. Shakespeare’s Richard III was a murderous, hunchbacked tyrant. The real Richard was not quite so evil—though he is still widely considered one of the least-successful English monarchs.

Richard was the youngest son of the Duke of York (1411–1460) and grew up during the War of the Roses, a dynastic struggle between the House of York and a rival family, the House of Lancaster. King Henry VI (1421–1471) and later Henry Tudor (1457–1509) led the House of Lancaster. Both houses had a claim to the throne as a result of their descent from King Edward III (1312–1377). (The war’s name comes from the colors of the badges worn by the two armies—white for York and red for Lancaster.)

As the duke’s eighth child, Richard was not expected to figure in the line of succession. His older brother, Edward IV (1442–1483), became king in 1461 after deposing the Lancastrians. For much of the next two decades, Richard ruled northern England on his brother’s behalf. Edward died in 1483, leaving the crown to his teenaged son, Edward V (1470–c. 1483)—Richard’s nephew.

But the new king ruled for only a few weeks before his uncle seized power in a coup d’état. Edward, along with his half-brother, was then imprisoned in the Tower of London, where the two princes were probably murdered on Richard’s orders.

Richard’s coronation, however, ended up dooming York’s fortunes in the war. Led by Henry Tudor, the Lancastrians landed in England and defeated Richard at the two-hour Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Richard was unhorsed and killed in the fighting. (In Shakespeare’s Richard III, he famously offers “My kingdom for a horse!” before he is slain.) After the battle, Tudor became King Henry VII, effectively ending the War of the Roses.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. The fate of the two princes imprisoned in the tower has never been conclusively determined. They were probably murdered, either by Richard or by Henry VII. In 1674, two bodies thought to be those of the boys were found and reburied at Westminster Abbey.
  2. Numerous adaptations of Shakespeare’s Richard III have been filmed. Among the many actors to fill the lead role are John Barrymore (1882–1942), Laurence Olivier (1907–1989), Ian McKellen (1939–), and Al Pacino (1940–). One of the best-known stage actors to play Richard III was John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865)—later the assassin of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).
  3. The Richard III Society, a group dedicated to rehabilitating the king’s reputation, was founded in 1924.

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