One of the brightest English dynasties in England - Plantagenets originate from one of the branches of the Angevin dynasty (France). The name Plantageneta comes from the name of the planta genista flower, which has long been the emblem of the Count of Anjou.
The Plantagenets ruled Normandy, Gascony, Guienne, and England. Richard's father the Lionheart became the first Plantagenet king of England. It was he who stopped the baronial strife and created a strong centralized power. But the power of the Plantagenets did not last long, by 1399 it faded away and two branches of the descendants of the faded great dynasty - Yorks and Lancaster - began to fight for the throne. The York coat of arms had a white rose, and the Lancaster had a red one. Therefore, the war between them, which lasted thirty years, was called the Wars of the Scarlet and White Rose.
The main support for Lancaster was provided by the barons, and the Yorks were assisted by the nobles, feudal lords and the new nobility. The fighting was fought with varying success for both sides, but in 1461, the Lancaster suffered a massive defeat and ceded the royal throne to the Yorks. Edward IV (1442-1483) became the first King of York in England. Part of his reign fell on the War of the Scarlet and White Rose, but he was considered the king who brought peace to England. After the sudden death of Edward IV, royal power passed to his brother Richard III. But with his actions and decisions, he turned against himself the most influential people of that time and, as a result of the betrayal of his comrades-in-arms, died on the battlefield (the Battle of Bosworth). The marriage of the next king, Henry VII of the Lancaster dynasty, to Elizabeth of York, finally united the Scarlet and White Roses and ended a long-term struggle for power between the two clans. The Thirty Years' War devastated the ranks of the British aristocracy. For the rest of the population, this war did not cause any tangible damage.
But back to the times of King Edward IV. Shakespeare described this monarch as a kind and weak person. But the writer was wrong. King Edward IV adhered to the basic life principle of "Kill or you will be killed!" And on his conscience there are many aristocrats who were close to the throne destroyed by his order. The sudden death of Edward IV was hidden for a long time by his wife, since the question of whom to appoint as regents was being decided until the eldest of the sons of the late king, 12-year-old Edward, reaches adulthood. The youngest son of the king - Richard, at this time, was only ten years old. But the king's brother Richard was not going to give up his position, he understood that he would save his life only in one case - if he himself became king. In June 1483, it was announced that the children of King Edward IV were illegitimate, since the king himself was a bigamist, and, therefore,his children lost the right not only to the English throne, but also to the entire paternal inheritance. Both princes were settled in the Tower.
After the coronation of their uncle, Richard, no one else heard of the boys. How did the fate of these children develop? Some said that the sons of the former king were alive. Even impostors appeared who took the names of Richard and Edward, claiming their rights to the royal throne. There is a testimony from a certain James Tyrrell, commandant of the fortress of Calais. He confessed to killing the children of King Edward IV. Tyrrel claimed that on the orders of King Richard III (the boys' uncle), he and his henchmen killed the children and buried them under the stairs in the Tower, piling a pile of stones on top.
Only in 1676 were the remains of the little princes buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, an examination of these remains was carried out, and she confirmed that they belonged to children of 12-15 years of age, who were in close relationship.
There is a version that the order to kill the brothers was not given by Richard III, but by his successor, Henry VII. By doing this, he solved two problems: ruining the reputation of Richard III and hiding his own crime. This version is confirmed by the fact that if the children died on the orders of Richard III, they would be 10-12 years old, which means that the uncle did not kill his nephews. In this case, the true killer was the Tudor king, Henry.
There are no records of Henry Tudor capable of shedding light on this mysterious and terrible story - the king was famous for his manic secrecy. It was under Tudor that they tried to hide as much information as possible about the short reign of Richard III.
Promotional video:
It is known that Richard III took measures to protect British manufacturers from foreign competitors, patronized trade. I read a lot, which was, however, usually for the monarchs of that time. During his reign, a large library appeared in the royal apartments. The court musicians delighted the guests of the king with wonderful playing. Shakespeare, describing the time of Richard III, was mistaken in many ways. For example, with his wife Anna Neville, he lived 13 long happy years. And although she died shortly before the death of her husband, it was definitely not his fault. Perhaps her life was shortened by the longing for the deceased, at the age of ten, her only son, Eduard.
And although Richard III mercilessly dealt with the lords guilty of a conspiracy against the royal power, Henry Tudor, in comparison with him, was a real monster: he massively sent aristocrats and their families to the block. Henry VII also executed the Duke of Buckingham, whose betrayal elevated him to the throne. It also became more difficult for ordinary people to live under Henry Tudor - the annual increase in taxes, forced resettlement to new lands. Thousands of beggars wandered along the roads of England, who were captured by order of the king and executed. The greedy Tudor stopped giving out bread to his servants in lean years, and also did not reduce taxes in lean years. All this led to the fact that the British began to recall with nostalgia the reign of Richard III of their York dynasty.
Sadly, Shakespeare joined those in slandering the late King Richard III. The famous English philosopher, lawyer and humanist writer Thomas More took part in the creation of the demonic image of Richard of York, from whose pen the book "The Story of Richard III" was published. Thomas More was not a corrupt hack and mixing with the dirt of Richard III he considered it his duty, as a true humanist and fighter against tyrants. Dislike for Richard III Thomas More was instilled in his mentor, Cardinal John Morton, who hated the king. The fact that More was not entirely sure about the rumors spread about Richard III is indicated by the words he wrote: "In those days everything was done in secret, one thing was said, the other was implied, so there was nothing clear and openly proven." Nevertheless,in the work of Thomas More, Richard III looks like a moral monster with great physical disabilities.
Ironically, Thomas More was faced with a fate similar to the king slandered by him - the execution and destruction of his memory. Mora was executed by order of Henry VIII, son of Tudor. His book came under a strict ban for a long time. Some pages from it were rewritten by other English historians. Even Shakespeare used Thomas More's book to write many of his plays, including Richard III. Shakespeare's play found numerous audiences. Richard III was assigned the role of an assassin. Historical studies have shown that Richard III deserved a better fate in the eyes of future generations and, perhaps, the time has come to tell the truth about this monarch.
