Richard III

Born 1452, died 1485. "Duke of Gloucester". King of England 1483-1485. Son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his wife Cecily Neville. Member of the House of York. In 1461 he helped his older brother Edward IV to dispossess king Henry VI to make his brother the next king. With the sudden death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483 his 12-year-old son Edward V (*1470) became the new king. Richard, as the uncle of Edward lead the government as "Lord protector of the realm". On 26 June 1483 he disposed his nephew from the throne to rule the country by himself, and to keep Edward's guardians away from too much power. King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville were crowned on 6 July at Westminster Abbey. Together they had one son, Edward of Middleham, who died with the age of 11 years. Richard III was a man with strong personality, and excellent political, military and administrative skills.

There are rumours that he had murdered or connived at the murder of his nephews Edward V and his younger brother Richard in the Tower of London in October 1483. Whether this was true or not, with the death of the two boys the tide began to turn against him.There were two major rebellions against Richard III. One in 1483, was headed by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, which ended with the execution of Henry Stafford. The other rebellion was in 1485 led by Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (later King Henry VII) and his uncle Jasper. On 22 August 1485 Richard III was beaten in the battle of Bosworth Field by Henry Tudor, because three of his best followers abandoned him. With his death the era of the "War of Roses" ended. In the course of the Tudor Myth, he was vilified as tyrant and monster.

Sources:

Schmidt Liebich. Daten der englischen Geschichte. München: dtv, 1977.

Paul Murray Kendall. Richard III. -König von England Mythos und Wirklichkeit. München: Diederichs, 1980.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615557/United-Kingdom/44829/Richard-III-1483-85#ref=ref482905