The Dawning of the Tudor Sun II

Yet, here is a man with a personal motto of 'Loyalty binds me', who served devotedly his brother Edward IV and clearly loved his wife. Risking a healthy debate on my hands, I take a lot of this propaganda with a grain of salt. I especially don't believe he killed his nephews. In my mind, it is more possible someone did for him, thinking it would please him. Just as Thomas Beckett had been murdered by Henry II's knights because they thought this was his desire. My own personal feeling is that the boys were killed through the machinations of another uncle, the Duke of Buckingham, a man who not only detested the Woodville family, the family of the young Princes' mother, but a man also a self-serving traitor.

Richard, in the short time he wore the crown of England, showed promise of being a very able monarch. He not only passed good laws protecting the common people but also encouraged the printing trade in England. But now, with the loss of his beloved wife and son - perhaps also knowing someone killed his nephews on his behalf- his heart just wasn't in the coming battle. Even though he fought heroically, withstanding the betrayals of trusted men virtually on the battlefield, Richard seemed to know he was destined for death.

After he died with his sword in his hand, Richard's body suffered the indignity of being stripped naked and abused before being strung across a horse. Days would pass before he was even properly buried. I believe the best epitaph for Richard comes from not one person but many. Knowing their beloved King no more, the city of York risked angering England's new monarch, proclaiming: King Richard, late mercifully reigning upon us, was, through great treason of the Duke of Norfolk and many others that turned against him, with many other lords and nobility . . . was piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this city.

Thus, with the Battle of Bosworth unquestionably won, Henry Tudor's army crowned him King on the battlefield, some one placing Richard's gold circlet upon his dark head, and the Tudor era began.

Further reading:

Murph, Roxanne C. Richard III: The Making of a legend. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1977, reprinted 1984

Michalove, Sharon D. The Re-inventing of Richard III- paper presented at the conference 'Reinventing the Middle ages and the Renaissance, 1995.

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