Villainous King?

The Croyland Chronicle, written after Henry Tudor's victory over Richard, stated that Richard was forced to deny his plan to marry his niece Elizabeth. In fact he was negotiating to marry Joanna, sister of the king of Portugal. Elizabeth went on to marry Henry VII and was the mother of Henry VIII

Contemporary accounts say that Edward was killed by men under the command of the Duke of Clarence. Tudor histories though, say otherwise. According to Polydore Vergil, Edward Hall and William Shakespeare, Edward was set upon and killed by Edward IV, his brothers George and Richard III, and William, Lord Hastings. This account is most likely propaganda given that it was written long after the event and by Richard's enemies, the Tudors. The original story seems the more likely, but we shall probably never know the truth

Anne was the daughter of the Earl of Warwick. She had met both Richard and George during her childhood. Apparently, Anne escaped from George and hid in a London shop. Richard found her and took her to a place of safety. Whether or not this story is true, the two were married on 12th July 1472. Some believe that Anne was forced to marry Richard but there is no proof to support this theory

They were arrested and taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were accused of planning to assassinate Richard. They received no trial but were judged by Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, who had them executed on 25th June 1483. This is one instance where it seems that Richard could indeed be cruel and merciless

Stanley switched sides during the battle which ultimately cost Richard his life. He is said to have ordered that Stanley's son should be killed on the battlefield but the order was never carried out

Anne is thought to have died of natural causes but rumours were spread that Richard had his wife poisoned so that he would be free to remarry. On the day of Anne's death there was a solar eclipse which some have interpreted as a sign of Richard's guilt

At a meeting of the Royal Council in the Tower of London, the Duke of Buckingham accused Hastings, and other members of the council, of conspiring to kill Richard. All of the alleged conspirators were imprisoned, except for Hastings who was taken outside and beheaded there and then. It is possible that Hastings was plotting against Richard, but it seems more likely that Richard was securing his position on the throne

Wakefield's Chronicle, a contemporary account, gives the date of Henry's death as 23rd May 1471, when Richard was not in the capital. The official accounts say that Henry died of grief after hearing of his son's death, but that seems unlikely. It is reasonable to assume that Henry was indeed murdered, but not at the hands of Richard. His brother, Edward IV, was king at the time and is much more likely to have organised the crime

Richard is thought by many to have murdered the sons of his brother, Edward IV. They were put under Richard's care in the Tower of London but were never seen again. There are many theories about what became of the two princes, most of which suggest that Richard either killed them or had them killed for him, but there is no real evidence to support the claims

Shakespeare also shows Richard intercepting a warrant which pardons his brother. In truth, George was sentenced to death by his other brother, Edward IV, for 'unnatural, loathly treasons'. Richard had no part in either the trial or execution of George