
I happened to see a link to an article titled as above and thought it looked interesting. At first, I was appalled by the introduction, which included the following:
….His reputation has taken a number of beatings over the centuries due to a series of unfortunate incidents in which he played a central role. The misfortune began in 1483, following the death of Richard’s illegitimate brother King Edward IV. Edward’s sons were too young to take the throne, so Richard became their protector. However, in the same year, Richard was crowned King after both of the young princes died under mysterious circumstances. Many believe that Richard played some part in their death. Shortly after, in 1484, Richard’s own son died, followed by his wife. Many suspected that Richard had poisoned her as she was too old to bear another child. It has been suggested that he wanted to marry his niece, who was still of childbearing age. In so doing, he would have been able to father another heir. Indeed, considerable conflict surrounded the issue of whether Richard should become King, with Henry Tudor claiming he was the rightful heir. This led to civil war in 1485, which was resolved by the Battle of Bosworth. This battle claimed the life of 33-year-old Richard and led to multiple assaults on his reputation during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs.
As you can see, this is very inaccurate, and I was just getting ready to complain, when I noticed the date. This was published in 2009, well before Richard’s remains were discovered, and I think it shows how far we have come in re-assessing his character. The bulk of the article, discusses how he was portrayed in records, and especially in portraits and how accurate they were. It concludes that he was probably maligned. Some of the theories of possible disabilities are, of course, way off the mark, but still interesting. If you would like to read these, the link is below.
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