Being a monarch deposed on the battlefield by Henry Tudor, Richard III was victim to the propaganda dispersed by Tudor kings who came after him. Henry’s army killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth. Coming from an obscure and largely unknown noble family, Henry had to make a huge effort to prove his legitimacy to take the crown of England. And he (and his successors) did so by reshaping the legacy of the last Plantagenet king by portraying him as a hunchbacked tyrant, along with exaggerating the violence and savagery of the Wars of the Roses. With that in mind, most of the sources after Richard’s death were either from the Tudors or influenced by the Tudors, so we have to take them with a grain of salt.
Richard had always been incredibly loyal to his brother Edward IV, and when Edward died, Richard made it his top priority to protect the legacy of his brother. But that proved to be tricky. Edward IV had married Elizabeth Woodville, formerly a minor noble. While Edward IV’s will was said to instate Richard as Protector of England until Edward V (Ed IV’s son) comes of age, the Woodvilles want Edward V to embrace his kingly title immediately. That posed a threat to Richard’s position, and put him on a collision course with the Woodvilles.
Throughout his road to kingship, Richard made some fateful decisions, his main goal being to eliminate as much opposition as he can before the scheduled coronation of Edward V. First, he arrests Lord Rivers, a Woodville, for treason. While this decision doesn’t mark Richard out as a tyrant, it does set him on a path of no return. To ensure his position as Protector, he imprisons Edward V in the Tower of London for his “protection”. Richard now realizes that once Edward V becomes king, the Woodvilles will be back in power, which may ultimately threaten his life, given what he’s done.
When Richard accuses Lord Rivers of treason once again and sentences him to death, things turn awry. His council begins to suspect him of tyranny, and because of this, Richard grows paranoid. He orders the execution of Lord Hastings, a member of the council who began to show opposition to his decisions. Richard also locks up Edward V’s younger brother in the Tower. He argues that Edward IV’s children are illegitimate due to ancestry from the Woodvilles, and eventually sets his eyes on the crown of England to protect his life and his royal blood.
Shortly after Richard becomes king, the two princes in the Tower disappear. No one knows for sure what happened to them. Sources point to James Tyrell, a man allegedly sent by Richard III to kill them. Although we don’t know for certain who was responsible, the mystery provided the perfect fuel for propaganda and Shakespearean plays.
While we often think of Richard as someone who unrightfully usurped the throne, there is evidence that the position of king was given to him. Once Richard cleared his way to kingship, Parliament issued Titulus Regius, a statute that rightfully gave Richard the title of King of England. The act recognizes that Edward IV’s children were illegitimate, due to his marriage with Elizabeth Woodville. Titulus Regius was repealed under Henry VII, who ordered all copies of the act destroyed.
The most prominent source that documents the events leading up to Richard’s coronation comes from Italian historian Dominic Mancini. Mancini visited England in 1482-83. In his chronicle The Usurpation of Richard III, Mancini actually praises Richard for his disciplined private life and renown on the battlefield, long before his ascent to kingship. Another informative source comes from the Crowland Chronicles, but the part about Richard III was written just about after Henry VII’s victory at Bosworth. The Chronicle noticeably criticizes Richard III and portrays Henry VII as an angel rescuing the people from brutal war and alleged usurpation. However, the Chronicle also mentions Titulus Regius, which is pretty unusual during Henry VII’s reign.
Now, with the recent discovery of Richard III’s skeleton, as well as new attempts to present the English monarch without the influence of propaganda, we can take a more objective approach. Richard III was definitely not the tyrant we all recognize from Shakespearean and Tudor culture. While a typical “tyrant” would have been known for his/her oppressive policies during his/her reign, Richard only reigned for a short time of two years before being killed in battle. Granted he did make some decisive and controversial moves after the death of Edward IV, but if taken in context, that just shows the brutality of trying to secure your throne, and your life, in the medieval times.