Reign of King Richard III

Historical Context Note

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Richard III was the younger brother of Edward IV, and part of the Yorkist party that had appeared to triumph in the Wars of the Roses against the Lancastrian branch of the Plantagenet family. When Edward IV died in 1483, his throne had initially passed to his son, Edward V, but within two months, Richard (then Duke of Gloucester), who had been appointed Protector to the twelve-year-old king, had manoeuvred himself into a position of dominance, declared Edward V to be illegitimate, and installed himself as king. His reign, however, would prove to be short-lived. He faced a rebellion almost immediately from his erstwhile ally the Duke of Buckingham, who attempted to claim the throne for Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian claimant. Although this rebellion was unsuccessful, in 1485 Henry Tudor…

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650 Reign of King Richard III 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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