RICHARD III, King of England. - B. 2 Oct. 1452 at Fotheringay, d. 22 Aug. 1485. In 1461 he received the title of Duke of Gloucester. He energetically supported his brother Edward IV against Henry VI, but there is no proof of any personal responsibility on his part in the latter's killing. Edward IV, trusting in the loyalty he had shown him until then, on his death in 1483 appointed him guardian of his sons Edward V and Richard of York, still children.
R. had Edward V shut up in the Tower of London and forced the queen mother to hand over her other son to him; then he declared Edward IV a usurper and had himself proclaimed king. Immediately afterwards he ordered the killing of his two nephews. Recognized by the Pope and by Spain, he had France against him, which had given asylum to the exiles, among whom was the Welshman Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, a claimant of the Lancastrians. Despite his attempts to restore the administration of the State, because of his cruelty R. encountered general hostility, which grew when he proposed to marry Elizabeth of York, sister of the two murdered children. The malcontents of the two enemy houses of York and Lancaster made common cause. Henry Tudor, having landed in Aug. 1485 on the coasts of Wales, succeeded with the help of the inhabitants in forming a small army. In the very hard fighting of the 22nd, despite desperate courage, R. was defeated and killed.
The following year Henry Tudor married Elizabeth; thus, with the reconciliation of the Yorks and the Lancastrians, the Wars of the Roses came to an end and the Tudor dynasty began.
Bibliography3 works
Roberto Palmarocchi