Statement to the members of the Richard III Society

In February 2026, as you may recall, several of us resigned our directorships of the Richard III Society. A panel was convened by the Board to investigate our complaints, but the process has proved ineffectual, and after three months we have decided to withdraw from the attempt to make our concerns understood. Whilst we are withdrawing from the procedure of the investigation, we are not withdrawing our complaint. 

Perhaps predictably, in this unprecedented situation the procedure the Society put in place proved inflexible and unfit for purpose. Being a complaint by Directors concerning the behaviour of other Directors, an arbitration process would have been desirable but the Rules didn’t allow for this.

It has been the greatest honour and privilege to have served you all as Directors and Officers of the Society. As many of you know, the six of us have a long history of active membership and contribution to the Society: in fact our combined membership years amount to some 193, of which we are all incredibly proud. There are many lessons to be learned from the breakdown in the present procedure, and we have offered a number of important recommendations, which we are requesting be published in the forthcoming September Bulletin. We very much hope that these important recommendations will be given careful consideration and implemented by the Board of the Society.

With thanks to everyone for your incredibly kind wishes and most generous support during this difficult time; it has meant a very great deal to all of us.

Amanda Geary (former Chair, Communications Manager and member of the Communications Policy Working Party (CPWP)), Philippa Langley MBE (former Deputy Chair, Marketing & PR Officer and member of the CPWP), Kim Harding (former Director and Safeguarding Officer), Joanne Larner (former Director and Facebook Page Administrator), Janine Lawrence (former Director and member of the Bulletin Committee), Cris Reay Connor (former Director).


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8 responses to “Statement to the members of the Richard III Society”

  1. Very sorry to hear this Amanda. Its very sad after all the good work you have put in. Try as hard as you did sometimes its best to walk away. Your health is the most important factor in this. Bestest wishes Eileen xxx

    Liked by 1 person

  2. harmonyinsightfulaf82ba1c2b Avatar
    harmonyinsightfulaf82ba1c2b

    All the best to everyone in these difficult times!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. inquisitively93ba43b0f2 Avatar
    inquisitively93ba43b0f2

    this is a shocking state of affairs and needs sorting out asap. I believe there to be at least two members on the board who actively believe and share elsewhere on the world wide web, their anti-Richard convictions and thoughts. They are basically using the society’s vast database to further there own anti-Richard thoughts. Indeed one member has had his degree course paid for by the society! This is akin to the lunatics taking over the society. These people must either resign or be kicked out of the society altogether!
    I would like to thank the members who have resigned recently, Amanda Geary, Philippa Langley, Kim Harding, Joanne Larner, Janine Lawrence, and Cris Reay Connor for their hard work and dedication to the values of the RIII Society.

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  4. Irene Peter Lloyd Avatar
    Irene Peter Lloyd

    it is sad to see this state of affairs,I joined to help my wife to help with her dementia and my self being life long Richard buffs but this has left a bitter taste ln are mouths and will not be renewing are membership.a very sad state of affairs

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  5. the society belongs to its members (shareholders). members who are dissatisfied with how this has been handled have the right to make their views known to the board.. we should take the opportunity to speak out – otherwise things will not change and this could happen again.

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  6. Sorry to hear this.
    Thank you all for your work, time and dedication in support of our King Richard III.
    All best wishes and good luck for the future.
    Cristina x

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  7. I am a bit confused but that happens often. I’ve recently received the Bulletin and it just appears to be “business as usual” except of course for the the glaringly obvious loss of such loyal and valued board members on page 1. I only joined recently so I could have a shared interest with my mum but certainly won’t be renewing my membership as I would deem this to be “enabling disruptive behaviour”. I am sure I won’t be alone in the “non-renewal” but that is my response. It is very clear to me that when there is such an “Exodus” of leading lights in such a well established, well run and well subscribed organisation, then something intolerable has gone down. Very sad indeed and will have far reaching ripples in my opinion. A big thank you to the said members for their loyalty, service, knowledge and education in all things “Richard” and wish them well for the future. Courage before compromise has just come to mind.

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  8. It was my understanding that Amanda & Philippa were part of the team that set up this new procedure after they came back, having left before. What aspect of it is not working? It was clear from the start that it would take as long as it would take!

    In anycase, it is always sad to see enthusiastic people leave.

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