Richard, the future King of England, was born in Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. His father was Richard Duke of York and his mother was Cecily Neville. Richard was their fourth son.

Edward IV with a large army left London to march north and face the Lancastrians. Richard and George, the young sons of the late Duke of York were put on a ship and sent to Burgundy where they would be safe from Lancastrian hands.

The Yorkists were in control after the battle of Towton and Richard and George were brought back to England where they were made Knights of the Order of the Bath. Edward took part in the crown-wearing ceremonies at Westminster Abbey and became King of England. Shortly afterwards his younger brother George was given the title of Duke of Clarence.

Richard (III) was give the title of Duke of Gloucester.

Edward and the Duke of Gloucester took a small army in search of the rebels in the North.

Richard (III) was given the role of Constable of England and was given Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire. ^[1]

Warwick did not need to fight the King. Edward was outnumbered and was almost captured by John Neville at Doncaster. Along with his brother Richard and a small party of followers, Edward travelled to Lynn in Norfolk where he sailed to Burgundy and refuge. ^[1]

George, Duke of Clarence deserted the Earl of Warwick and joined his brothers Edward and Richard. Importantly for the Yorkist cause, he brought with him a sizable army. ^[1]

The Earl of Warwick was in Coventry and apparently unwilling to confront Edward, so Edward and Richard marched south to London. London was under the control of Warwick's brother, George Neville the Archbishop of York, but the Londoners were Yorkists and they welcomed the return of their true king. Once inside the city Edward had the Archbishop arrested and along with King Henry VI put in the Tower of London.

The Earl of Warwick had left Coventry to confront Edward. The armies met at Barnet just north of London in thick fog. The two battle lines overlapped and Warwick's Lancastrian men commanded by the Earl of Oxford were able to get around the Yorkists commanded by Lord Hastings. Hastings' men fled back to London with Oxford's men in hot pursuit. On the other side of the battle the Yorkists, led by Richard, were outflanking the Lancastrians and took the advantage pushing their enemy back. When Oxford's men returned to the battle they were mistakenly fired upon by their fellow Lancastrians and fled. By early evening Lord Montague and the Earl of Warwick were dead. The Lancastrians were defeated.

The Yorkists led by King Edward IV and his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester met the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury. Richard was able to outflank the Lancastrians led by Edmund Beaufort, the self-proclaimed Duke of Somerset. Once Somerset's men had been dealt with, Richard attacked the rear of the Lancastrian line which broke apart and fled. Many of the Lancastrian leaders were caught and killed including Edward the Prince of Wales. Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, was also captured.

Richard (III) was given the task of bringing the north of the country under control. The conflicts between the Lancastrians and Yorkists over the previous few years had left the northern counties without any effective rulers resulting in lawlessness and unopposed Scottish raids. Richard was given the lands that the Earl of Warwick had previously possessed and he made his base at Middleham Castle.

King Richard III married Anne the widow of Edward Prince of Wales who died in 1471 at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Anne was the daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick the 'Kingmaker', and had grown up with Richard III at Middleham Castle when he had been placed their for his education. Marrying Anne gave Richard III rights to the Earl of Warwick's northern estates.

Edward, the son of Richard III and Anne Neville was born at Middleham Castle.

The health of King Edward IV was in decline and he declared that his brother Richard, Earl of Gloucester should be made Protector of England as the Prince of Wales was only twelve and too young to rule. Edward did not want the Queen and the Woodville family to have complete control of the country and by making Richard Protector of England, the King hoped to prevent a civil war.

The 4th of May had been set as the coronation date for Edward V, the new king. The Woodvilles wanted Edward crowned as soon as possible and they wanted The Duke of Gloucester's role as Protector changed so that he didn't command so much power. The Woodvilles were concerned that with the death of Edward IV who had been their protector, old rivalries would resurface and their grip on power may fail. The King was at Ludlow and the Woodvilles escorted him to London via Northampton where it was agreed that they should meet Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. When Richard reached Northampton, he discovered that the Woodvilles had already left and were at Stony Stratford.

Richard of Gloucester, assisted by the Duke of Buckingham rode to Stony Stratford where they met with the young Prince Edward under the pretence of offering their condolences for the death of his father. Instead, they captured Edward and took him directly to London and safe keeping in the Tower. Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers was arrested and imprisoned at Sherriff Hutton Castle, near York. ^[1]

Lord Hastings had supported Richard against the Woodvilles and had hoped to gain some reward for his loyalty, but the Duke of Buckingham seemed more likely to be rewarded at his expense. Hastings' loyalties swayed towards the Woodvilles and when Richard found out, Hastings was arrested and executed. ^[1]

To become king Richard Earl of Gloucester had to remove the young Edward V. Richard declared that his father Edward IV was already married when he married Elizabeth Woodville which meant that the marriage to Elizabeth was invalid. This also meant that Edward V was born out of wedlock and not able to become king. At this time Richard also arranged that the King's brother was moved to the Tower of London from Westminster Abbey where he had been looked after by his mother Elizabeth.

After the children of Edward IV were declared illegitimate, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester was nominated as the next King of England. He became King Richard III.

To secure his position, Richard Duke of Gloucester had several members of Elizabeth Woodville's family arrested, including Anthony Woodville, her brother and Richard Grey, a son from her previous marriage to Sir John Grey. Both were taken to Pontefract Castle where they were executed.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was declared the true heir to the English throne after the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was deemed unlawful and their sons illegitimate. Richard III and Anne Neville, his wife, were crowned at Westminster Abbey.

By the end of July, Richard was travelling around the country meeting his new subjects. ^[1]

Henry, the second Duke of Buckingham, took part in a rebellion called Buckingham's rebellion against King Richard III. Involved also in the plot was John Morton, the Bishop of Ely at the time. Morton was an enemy of the King and was held captive in Buckingham's castle at Brecknock. The plan was to remove Richard and place Henry Tudor on the throne. An army was raised in Wales but due to bad weather the plot ended in failure. Buckingham was captured and executed on November 2nd. Many of the other rebels were later pardoned. ^[1]

Richard's only son died at Middleham Castle aged only ten or eleven. Anne was unable to have any more children and she would die in the following year. This left Richard with the problem of who should succeed him after his death.

A three year truce was signed at Nottingham Castle by Richard and the Scottish king James III. ^[1]

Richard was welcomed into London by the Mayor and a procession led him to Blackfriars. Christmas was spent celebrating. ^[1]

Anne Neville, the queen of England died at the age of 29. There were rumours that Richard, her husband, had poisoned her so that he could marry his niece, Elizabeth of York.

A total eclipse of the sun occurred on the same day as the death of Queen Anne. This was seen as a bad omen for King Richard. The track of total eclipse being in Scoctland and the north of England.

King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor was proclaimed King of England. ^[2]