Richard III

Richard III was the King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485, marking the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and the House of York. His reign concluded with his defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which signaled the close of the Middle Ages in England. Richard was appointed Duke of Gloucester following his brother Edward IV’s rise to the throne and was later married to Anne Neville in 1472. He effectively governed northern England and participated in the invasion of Scotland in 1482.

Following Edward IV’s death, Richard became Lord Protector for Edward’s son, Edward V. The young king’s coronation never took place as his parents’ marriage was declared invalid, rendering him and his siblings illegitimate. Richard was proclaimed king by an assembly on 25 June and was crowned on 6 July 1483. The fate of Edward V and his brother, known as the ‘Princes in the Tower’, remains a mystery, with rumors of their murder circulating. Richard faced two significant rebellions, the second of which led by Henry Tudor resulted in Richard’s death in battle, an event that led to the Tudor dynasty’s rise to power.