Richard III of England

:For the play Richard III by William Shakespeare, see Richard III (play)

Death

Richard was, at least outwardly, a devout man and an efficient administrator. However, he was a Yorkist and heirless, and had ruthlessly removed the Woodvilles and their allies; he was therefore vulnerable to political opposition. His apparently loyal supporter, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, turned against him and was executed late in 1483.

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Richard's enemies united against him. According to local tradition in Leicester Richard went to see a seer in the town before heading off for the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22 1485 to meet Lancastrian forces led by Henry Tudor. She told him "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 the Bow Bridge; as he was being carried back over the back of a horse his head struck the same stone and was broken open. Tudor succeeded Richard to become Henry VII, and cemented the succession by marrying the Yorkist heir, Elizabeth of York. Legends notwithstanding, Richard was abandoned at Bosworth by the Lords William Stanley and Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, Stanley switching sides, which severely depleted his army's strength.

Related Topics:
Leicester - Seer - Battle of Bosworth Field - August 22 - Henry VII - Elizabeth of York - Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland

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It is said that Richard's body was dragged naked through the streets before being buried at Greyfriars Church, Leicester. According to one tradition, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries his body was thrown into the nearby River Soar, although other evidence suggests that this may not be the case and that his burial site may currently be under a car park in Leicester. There is currently a memorial plaque in the Cathedral where he may have once been buried. A body dragged from Soar and initially believed to be Richard was later found to be an Anglo-Saxon warrior who died nearly 500 years before Richard was killed. This conclusion was made through both carbon dating and the size of the body and the thickness of the bones. Richard is described in contemporary accounts as being rather short and stocky.

Related Topics:
Dissolution of the Monasteries - River Soar

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