King Richard III (1483 - 1485)
Name: King Richard III
Born: October 2, 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire
Parents: Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville
Relation to Charles III: 15th great-granduncle
House of: York
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
Reigned for: 2 years, 1 month, 27 days
Succeeded by: his distant cousin Henry VII
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. After Richard's death on the battlefield his rival was crowned King Henry VII and became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty which lasted until 1603.
Richard was the last English king to die in battle. His body was taken to Leicester where it was buried at Greyfriars Church in a Franciscan Friary which was subsequently destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries 1536 to 1541. In September 2012 archeologists uncovered remains of the church buried underneath a car park and found a skeleton of a male showing curvature of the spine, a major head wound, and an arrowhead lodged in his spine. On 4 Feb 2013 experts anounced that DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the kings's family. Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, from the University of Leicester, told a press conference: "Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard." T Bones of King Richard III
His reburial was delayed by claims that as a son of the House of York he should be buried in York cathedral. However his remains were reburied in Leicester Cathedral on Thursday 26 March 2015.
King Richard III's Signature
Timeline for King Richard III
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 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 and the Plantagenet dynasty come to an end. Richard's body is taken to Leicester where it is buried at Greyfriars Church. The grave is rediscovered beneath a car park 527 years later in 2012 and his bones reburied in Leicester Cathedral in March 2015. |