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Quick Links:On The Trail of King Richard III. The book that started it all. The Virtual tour of Medieval England based on the book. The Visitor Centre - Facts and Information about Medieval life and times. The New Zealand Society:
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Little known factsFrom John Timbs' Ancestral Stories and Traditions of Great Familites (1869). Richard III lost nothing of his vigilance or unrelenting sternness in his last hours. Going the rounds at Bosworth, he found a sentinel asleep and stabbed him with the remark: 'I found him asleep, and have left him as I found him.' King Richard, before the Battle of Bosworth, rode through the South Gage (of Leicester) - a poor blind man sat begging and, hearing his approach, said, that if the Moon changed twice that day, having by her ordinary course changed in the morning, King Richard would lose his crown, and be slain. And a nobleman that carried the Moon for his colours did change sides, thereby he lost his life and his kingdom. ["Tenne strange prophecies," etc. 1644] In the 17th Century Sir George Buke claimed to have seen a letter written by Elizabeth of York to the Duke of Norfolk urging him to intercede on her behalf with King Richard. Elizabeth speaks specifically of the marriage propounded with her uncle and then refers to him as "her onely joy and maker in this world" and that she was his in heart and thought. This letter was reputed to have been written before Queen Anne's death. It seems apparent that there was at least a close personal bond between Richard and his niece. If an incestuous relationship existed, no proof has been offered beyond court gossip although Richard was finally forced into issuing a public statement, denying any intent on his part to marry her. Shortly afterwards however, Elizabeth was sent north to Sheriff Hutton. She was there when news of her uncle's death arrived. Ian McKellen, Al Pacino - both these actors are much too old to play Richard. Even Laurence Olivier in his splendid performance of the film version of Shakespeare's play (1955) was forty-seven years old at the time. How old was King Richard when he died? He was thirty-two. Saint George's Chapel, Windsor - Choir stall number nine, south side - Misericords: A. Two men wrestle in a cabbage garden. B. Craftsmen with hammer and graver, a large cup between them. Richard was made a Knight of the Garter in 1465 - age 13. After his death the stall was occupied by John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. Just to add to the level of trivia, Kaiser William II of Prussia occupied the very same stall although his banner was removed during WWI. Richard was the only surviving son born in England. Edward and Edmund were both born in France; George entered the world in Ireland. Richard may have made use of the fact that he was English-born to augment his claim to the throne. Richard was born on a Monday and he died on a Monday. Richard was the first monarch to receive unction (anointing) while kneeling instead of lying prostrate before the altar. Anne Neville was the first queen-consort to be delivered of a sceptre and rod in addition to the usual crown and ring. Reference: The Little Device, compiled in English for the coronation of Richard III and his Queen. Both of Richard's bastard children (Katharine and John) were undoubtedly born before his marriage to Anne Neville. His daughter Katharine was old enough in 1484 to marry William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon. 'Old enough' in those days can mean anything really; even small children were forced to go through a betrothal ceremony so that ambitious parents could gain wealth, power and property. Lady Margaret Beaufort, was thirteen and pregnant with the future King Henry VII when her husband Edmund Tudor was slain fighting for the Lancastrian cause at Carmarthen Castle in 1456. Richard had a clause inserted in the marriage contract which stated that he would continue to enjoy his wife's estates even if the marriage ended in divorce (more likely an annulment). This was a distinct possibility since without the papal dispensation (Anne and Richard were cousins), the marriage was technically illegal. King Richard III put Buckingham in charge of Hastings' execution. It is likely that Richard was not even in attendance but may have watched from a window in the White Tower. Hastings died on Friday the 13th. Buckingham was executed on a Sunday. Why didn't Richard wait a day and why would he risk severe censure by the Church for such an unprecedented act ... a mystery. The Battle of Bosworth was fought on land that at one time formed a portion of Lord Hastings' estates. When William Brandon, Henry Tudor's standard-bearer at Bosworth, was killed by Richard III on the field, he left an infant son, Charles. This child was taken into the royal household. When Henry VIII became king, Charles was created the first Duke of Suffolk and eventually married Henry VIII's strikingly beautiful sister, Mary. From this line comes Lady Jane Grey. Description of King Richard III's 'marvellously rich' coronation attire: 'A doublet [close-fitting jacket] of blue cloth of gold, wrought with netts and pyneapples, with a stomacher [waistcoat] of the same, lined (with) oon ell [45"] of Holland clothe [white linen], and oon ell of busk [linen] ... and a longe gown for to ryde in, made of eight yards of p'pul velvet, furred with eight tymbres [timber - quanity of furs - package contains 40 skins - ermine, sable and marten] and a half and thirteen bakks [backs] of ermyn, and four tymbres, seventeen coombes of ermyns, powdered with 3300 of powderings made of boggy shanks [fur from the legs of sheep, goat, kid] and a payre of short spurs with gilt.' * The Tower of London by R.J. MINNEY Queen Anne ordered sixteen yards of the finest lace of Venice for her coronation robes. Sir Thomas More was the only person who was able to describe in any detail where the bodies of the two Princes' lay. Where did he get his information? Buckingham may have told Morton who, years later, told More.
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