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Richard III ( October 2, 1452 - August 22, 1485) was the King of England from 1483 until his death and the last king from the House of York. After the death of his brother Edward IV, Richard briefly governed as a regent for Edward's son Edward V, but he imprisoned Edward and his brother Richard in the Tower and acquired the throne for himself (crowned on July 6, 1483). A rebellion rose against Richard and he fell in the Battle of Bosworth Field, where he faced the Earl of Richmond (later Henry VII). Shakespeare's play Richard IIIThe Tragedy of Richard III is a play by William Shakespeare, in which the monarch Richard III of England is unflatteringly depicted. Synopsis The play opens with Richard standing in "a street, delivering the beginning, : Now is the winter of our disconten has made his name particularly famous.1 Childhood
Richard was born at Fotheringay CastleFotheringhay (or Fotheringay) Castle in Northamptonshire, England was razed in 1627, and there is nothing left of it to be seen today. It was traditionally the home of the Dukes of York. Richard III of England was born there in 1452, and his father, Richa, the fourth son of Richard, Duke of YorkThis article is about Richard, Duke of York, father of King Edward IV. For the article about Edward IV's son who was imprisoned in the Tower of London see: Richard, Duke of York (Prince in the Tower . Richard (Plantagenet), Duke of York ( 21 September 141 (who had been a strong claimant to the throne of King Henry VIThis article is about the English king. For Shakespeare's plays about his life, see Henry VI, part 1, Henry VI, part 2, and Henry VI, part 3. Henry VI ( December 6, 1421 May 21/ 22 May, 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 (though with a Regent unt) and Cecily NevilleThe most notable woman named Cecily Neville was the mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England see below , but she was not the only one to bear that name. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (known as "the Kingmaker") had a sister named Cecily. Richard spent much of his childhood at Middleham CastleMiddleham Castle now in the county of North Yorkshire, was build during the 12th century and later came into the hands of the Neville family, the most famous member of which was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick the "Kingmaker". Under his ownership, improv, where he later made his married home. He was involved in ongoing battles between different alliances of the House of LancasterThe House of Lancaster is a dynasty of English kings. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century. The House is named Lancaster, because its memb and the House of York factions during the last half of the 15th Century. At the time of his father's death at the Battle of Wakefield, Richard was still a boy, and was taken into the care of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known to history as "The Kingmaker" because of his strong influence on the course of the Wars of the Roses. Warwick was instrumental in deposing Henry VI and replacing him with Richard's eldest brother, Edward.
2 Reign of Edward IV
During the reign of his brother, Edward IV, Richard demonstrated his loyalty, as well as his prodigious skill as a military commander, and was rewarded with large estates in the North of England, given the title Duke of Gloucester and the position of Governor of the North, becoming the richest and most powerful noble in England and a loyal aide to Edward IV. (By contrast the other surviving brother, George, Duke of Clarence, was executed by Edward for treason.)
Richard continued to control the north of England until Edward's death. In 1482 Richard recaptured Berwick-upon-Tweed from the Scots, and was noted as being fair and just, endowing universities and making grants to the church.
