Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York

Richard Shrewsbury Duke of York was the second son of King Edward IV. We don’t know a lot about him because he was not the heir to the throne but notwithstanding this, he is one of the most investigated historical characters being him one of the well known “Princes” in the Tower. We have not… Continue reading Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York

Thomas More and the Removal Men

Thomas More’s detailed and heart-wrenching account of the murders of Edward IV’s sons is well known, and is usually either accepted or dismissed in toto so it would probably be useful to pause at this point to remind ourselves exactly what it was that Thomas More claimed had happened to the boys and why opinions… Continue reading Thomas More and the Removal Men

More on More

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”(Marmion, Sir Walter Scott) We all know that there was some deception in Thomas More‘s “History“, but how much? In Cairo, they think that the whole first half of his narrative is the gospel truth but the second half is an invention –… Continue reading More on More

Medieval (sic) Murder Mysteries

This is a six-part series, first shown on “Yesterday” (a UKTV channel) in 2015 but is available to view on their website here. The producers used pathologists, coroners, historians, barristers and other writers to form their conclusions, some of which are more reliable than others. The first episode, which surely misses the mediaeval timescale, is… Continue reading Medieval (sic) Murder Mysteries

Coming Upon the King: My Accidental Path Toward Becoming a Ricardian

I’ll be perfectly honest with you: I was never really that interested in Richard Plantagenet, later Richard III. In school I had avoided the Anglo-Saxons like the plague, and Richard, well, perhaps like a round of the flu. He wasn’t quite as intimidating, despite the double-murder allegation lodged, and I got away with not having… Continue reading Coming Upon the King: My Accidental Path Toward Becoming a Ricardian

Another piece …

… on two of the major rebellions – Simnel and “Perkin” – against Henry VII. This article is from Voyager of History and we may soon be in a better position to know whether Richard of Shrewsbury could have been at Tyburn in 1499. During the same reign, there was also the Stafford-Lovell rebellion starting… Continue reading Another piece …

The “mysterious” disappearance of Edward V….?

  I have a number of beefs about the following extract from this article, which concerns eight unsolved royal mysteries. No, not about the present family, as shown in the above illustration (which is from the article). In the list, the third one is all that is of interest to Ricardians:- “….3. The mysterious disappearance… Continue reading The “mysterious” disappearance of Edward V….?

Spot the deliberate mistakes?

An article in British History Online , as illustrated by this John Zephaniah Bell painting says: “Here [Westminster Abbey/Sanctuary/Cheyneygates] the unhappy queen [Elizabeth Woodville] was induced by the Duke of Buckingham and the Archbishop of York to surrender her little son, Edward V., to his uncle Richard, who carried him to the Tower, where the two… Continue reading Spot the deliberate mistakes?

Terry Jones’ opinion of Richard III….

I am a great fan of Terry Jones’ writing/opinions when it comes to medieval history, and today just happens to be Terry’s birthday. That he supports King Richard II I already knew, but I did not know he also thinks highly of King Richard III. What I write below is taken from a book, which… Continue reading Terry Jones’ opinion of Richard III….

Dear Cairo Dweller,

Science has proved that Edward IV’s more prominent sons are not in his tomb, which was opened a few times but not when anyone could have have been placed there. Science will shortly prove that they are not in that Westminster Abbey urn, as you have maintained for so long. So where are you going… Continue reading Dear Cairo Dweller,