The New Murrey and Blue blog

                                 Left: Edward II  https://tinyurl.com/mpfzhae6  
                                 Centre: Richard II  https://tinyurl.com/5fr6ekx7  
                                Right: Richard III https://tinyurl.com/5hbyhexv  

There are three medieval kings who consistently get bad press. Now, I’m omitting John, because so far he seems to have deserved his lousy reputation. The three I’m referring to are, in chronological order, Edward II, Richard II and Richard III. 

Edward, of course, is remembered for his favourites, Gaveston and the Despensers, and for his rather foolish treatment of his queen. Isabella of France is in turn remembered as the She-Wolf of France, and for her association with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Who betrayed whom, who deserved what is still argued about, as is whether or not Edward II died horribly at Berkeley Castle. You know, the old “red hot poker” story, which is being increasingly doubted.

Was Edward still alive when his son, Edward III, was put on the throne by Isabella and Mortimer? It’s a fascinating puzzle, with Edward coming out with more and more modern support.

Richard II was Edward’s great-grandson, and he too is usually a target. He didn’t always make the right decisions, I’ll grant you, but was he as bad as claimed by posterity? I think not. He was simply the wrong man for the job. He wasn’t warlike and in the middle of the Hundred Years War he’d have preferred peace with France. He was the victim of ambitious uncles and magnates who tried to keep him down so they could rule in his place. That’s what happens when a child inherits the throne, and Richard was only ten when he became king. He was surrounded by men who wanted him to stay ten forever!

Like Edward II, Richard II too met a questionable end, this time after being deposed, imprisoned and then murdered at Pontefract Castle. And by a curious coincidence, the man who deposed, usurped and murdered him was a Lancastrian named Henry.

The coincidence concerns the third and last of my trio of victimised medieval kings, Richard III. All Ricardians know he was murdered at Bosworth Field in 1485, by deserters who wanted Henry Tudor on the throne instead. They stabbed him in the back at a critical moment, and turned the battle in favour of his miserable foe, Henry Tudor, who’d hidden at the back of the battle behind a shield of guards. What a brave fellow.

Henry was the so-called head of the House of Lancaster at the time….hmm. If descent from an illegitimate (but apparently legitimised) branch of the House of Lancaster can be acceptable. (And also the extremely dodgy sexual activities of Queen Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V.) To my mind his “bloodright” was a very wishy washy affair. As weak as gnats’ p-ss, as my straightforward father would have said . Well, as always seemed to be the case for Henry, everything went his way. He imposed the House of Tudor on our hapless land. Thank you for nothing, Henry. England could have done without you and your descendants, except perhaps Elizabeth I. Tudor = a darkness descending upon our land.

Richard III’s reputation has long lain in tatters thanks to Henry Tudor’s relentless propaganda. After all, Henry had to justify his so-called royal descent (King Arthur included!) and usurpation. The Tudors used the lies of the unholy Bishop John Morton and Sir Thomas More and the clever quill of Shakespeare to destroy Richard III….and thanks to far too many modern historians, they’re still succeeding. Far too much of the world today still thinks of Richard as a vile, deformed, monstrous, child-murdering usurper who’d stop at nothing to have his own way. He was none of these things, and thankfully he has many modern supporters who are working away to clear his name.

So there we have my three misrepresented monarchs, and I’ve been prompted to write this article today by reading https://www.historyhit.com/edward-ii-englands-worst-monarch/, in which Helen Carr speaks up in favour of Edward II.

For previous articles on this blog about Edward II, try https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2024/03/06/a-circumstantial-but-viable-clue-to-the-eventual-death-of-edward-ii/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2019/09/21/how-should-we-consider-edward-iis-private-life/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2018/01/25/were-edward-ii-and-isabella-maligned-too/

And about Richard II, try https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2025/03/14/a-favourite-painting-of-richard-ii-inspecting-his-new-hammerbeam-roof-at-westminster-hall/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2023/10/13/exactly-how-and-to-whom-did-richard-ii-surrender-his-crown/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2022/02/14/when-it-comes-to-kickingsrichard-ii-begins-to-catch-up-with-richard-iii/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2022/05/29/richard-ii-went-berserk-in-salisbury/

And about Richard III: Well, as this blog is primarily about Richard III, there are thousands of posts, but here are a few: https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2025/04/06/what-was-king-richard-iii-really-like/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2024/12/03/richard-iii-and-the-tudor-myth/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2024/11/05/richard-iii-was-brought-to-life-again-by-dom-smee/ and https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2024/09/24/another-dollop-of-balanced-comment-about-richard-iii-and-the-fate-of-his-nephews/

by viscountessw