The New Murrey and Blue blog

Richard was a mysterious medieval bricklayer who turned up at Eastwell in Kent in 1542/43. A lot has been written about him, but in the main his story is usually along the following lines:

“….He [Eastwell] had boarded with a Latin schoolmaster until he was fifteen or sixteen, and a gentleman came once a quarter and paid for his board and see to his needs…. [he was escorted] to Bosworth Field, where he was taken to the tent of Richard III, who embraced him as his son….” 

So, was he Richard III’s son? If so, why hadn’t the king acknowledged him all along? He had acknowledged his other illegitimate children. Why the secrecy of providing for the boy’s board and lodgings? Or might it be that the boy wasn’t Richard III’s son but his nephew? Was the boy one of the lost ‘Princes in the Tower’?

It’s a fascinating mystery that’s at the heart of The Lost Prince: The Survival of Richard of York by the late historian David Baldwin who, sadly, passed away in 2016. He specialised in the medieval and Wars of the Roses period.

This article is a 2013 review of the 2009 book, so many of you will have already read one or both. The in-depth review is excellent and intricately reasoned, and includes a link to a recorded interview with David Baldwin.

There are a number of books about Richard of Eastwell, but this one is published by The History Press and is widely available.

You can read about St Mary’s Church and Richard of Eastwell’s tomb here.