Early Life of Richard III

 

Richard was born in Northamptonshire, England, on October 2, 1452. Richard arrived into this world with little expectation that he would win fame or claim power. He was the youngest surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and his wife, Cecily Neville. Richard spent his early years at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, under the care and tutelage of his cousin Richard Neville Duke of Warwick, also known as the Kingmaker. 

 

Richard was a child when his family, the House of York, engaged in battle against the Lancastrians for control of the country. This long and bloody civil conflict is known as the War of the Roses. Richard lost his father, an uncle and one of his brothers in December 1460 battling for the crown. Another brother, Edward IV, scored an impressive victory against King Henry VI, and his Lancastrian supporters the following February. When Edward IV officially took power in March 1461, young Richard became a prince. He was also granted the title "Duke of Gloucester." When he was old enough, Richard assumed the rights and responsibilities with his noble status. In the early 1480s, Richard III distinguished himself in battle. He helped his brother invade Scotland and received an area of Cumberland and the right to other lands for his efforts.

 

His role in the campaign against Scotland had increased Richard III's prominence and power. Following a decisive Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury, Richard married Anne Neville, the younger daughter of the Earl of Warwick, on 12 July 1472. Richard and Anne only had one child together, a son named Edward, around 1476. Edward IV ruled as King Edward IV from 1461 until 1470 and again from 1471 until his death in 1483, when his 12-year-old son succeeded as Edward V, with Richard named Lord Protector. Young Edward and his brother moved into the Tower of London (which was then a royal palace, not a prison) but in June their parents’ marriage was declared invalid, making the princes illegitimate and hence their uncle became the heir apparent. 

 

On 26 June 1483, Richard became King of England, following a sermon preached outside St. Paul's Cathedral which declared the late King Edward IV's children illegitimate and his brother, Richard, the rightful king. After the citizens of London, nobles, and commons convened, a petition was drawn up that asked Richard to assume the throne. He accepted and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 July 1483, along with his wife. Edward was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in a splended ceremony in York Minster on 8 September 1483, following his parents' Royal Progress across England. In the following month of April, according to a The Croyland Chronicle "Edward was seized with an illness of but short duration, and died at Middleham Castle, in the year of our Lord, 1484, being the first of the reign of the said king Richard. On hearing the news of this, at Nottingham, where they were then residing, you might have seen his father and mother in a state almost bordering on madness, by reason of their sudden grief". 

 

Edward's sudden death left Richard without a legitimate child and heir. Contemporary historian John Rous recorded that Richard declared his nephew Edward, Earl of Warwick, his heir in his place, but there is no firm evidence to prove this was true. Richard's grief was to continue when his Anne died on 16 March 1485, from what we now think was tuberculosis, at Westminster. She was buried in Westminster Abbey in an unmarked grave to the right of the High Altar, next to the door to the Confessor's Chapel.