The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA (eBook)

Introduction

There have been innumerable books about Richard III, but this one is unique because it combines the true story of the last five months of Richard’s life with the true story of the fate of the king’s body and DNA after his death.

First and foremost, my study focuses upon a detailed exploration of the last 150 days of the life and reign of England’s most controversial king, examining in detail what Richard did from Friday 25 March 1485 (the first day of the medieval English New Year) up to Monday 22 August that same year. It also considers what thoughts may have preoccupied Richard during those last five months of his life.

It is surely a great mistake – almost bound to lead to errors – to view historical events in the light of hindsight. Yet most accounts of Richard III have been greatly overshadowed by the Battle of Bosworth – an event of which Richard himself never heard. The fact of that final battle cannot, of course, be ignored – but neither should Richard’s unawareness of it. Therefore, this book deliberately seeks to see things as they might have appeared to contemporaries, most of whom must simply have assumed, at the beginning of 1485, that Richard III still had many years of life and reign ahead of him.

It then becomes clear that Richard himself also assumed that he would continue to reign victoriously. Despite the gloomy view presented by previous writers, during what we now know to have been the last months of his life the king was not simply winding down and waiting for his cousin, known as Henry ‘Tudor’, to come and defeat him.1 On the contrary, he was preoccupied with ordinary events and activities, with his own day-to-day life, and with the proper government of his country. At the same time he was also busy with important plans for the future – real plans at the time – even though ultimately destined to come to nothing.

This study also consciously seeks to avoid overshadowing Richard’s actions with reports of the doings of his rival, the so-called Henry ‘Tudor’. Since the latter was ultimately victorious (with the result that he and his supporters were around subsequently to talk to early historians), it is unfortunately the case that most previous books about Richard III actually tell us more about what the future Henry VII was doing between March and August 1485. By contrast, this book concentrates on Richard’s activities.

In order to establish the context for some of the important happenings and concerns of those last 150 days, the account actually opens about ten days earlier, thus encompassing the sickness and death of Richard’s consort, Queen Anne Neville. It also glances back even further, to the death of Richard’s only legitimate son and heir, Edward of Middleham, thereby setting in context the problem of the succession, which was unquestionably one of the principal concerns occupying Richard’s mind during those last few months of his life.

But this book also differs from every other book on Richard III in another respect. Its story does not simply end on Monday 22 August with Richard’s death. The second part of this study goes on to cut through five centuries of persistent mythology and recount the true fate of Richard’s body.

First, we examine the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth: how Richard’s dead body was transported back to Leicester, placed on public view, and subsequently buried in the choir of the Franciscan Priory Church. New insights into the handling of the corpse are offered, based upon a careful consideration of the most contemporary accounts available, and informed by the recorded treatment of the remains of other vanquished leaders, both in England and elsewhere in Europe, at about this period. Detailed evidence of Richard’s burial is drawn from the recent excavations on the Greyfriars site in Leicester – an archaeological project which was principally inspired by the first edition of this very book.

We also examine the subsequent commemoration of Richard’s burial in Leicester. We trace the erection, about ten years after Richard’s death, of his alabaster tomb – exploring when, why and by whom this monument was constructed, and what subsequently became of it. As a result, a new and more subtle interpretation of Henry VII’s attitude to his predecessor emerges. Then we look at the post-Dissolution monument, which was erected in Richard’s honour, and on his grave site, by a former mayor of Leicester after the Greyfriars church had been destroyed.

Finally, the reader is taken on into totally new territory, exploring the ultimate fate of Richard III’s mortal remains, and revealing the fascinating story of how his DNA was found by the author, alive and well, and living in Canada. The penultimate chapter recounts the fascinating history of that key all-female line of descent, which permitted DNA evidence to be used to confirm the identity of the body excavated from the now-famous Greyfriars car park in Leicester.

No previous writer has explored the story of Richard III in these ways. Thus, even those readers who are very familiar with the events of Richard’s short life are sure to find here fascinating new information and fresh insights. For those readers who are new to the field of Ricardian controversy, this book offers a stimulating and thought-provoking introduction to an enigmatic king whose life and death continue to excite widespread interest.

The general background to Richard III’s reign is the dynastic dispute popularly known as ‘The Wars of the Roses’, and the background to that is the deposition of Richard II in 1399, followed by the Lancastrian usurpation of Henry IV. Modern attitudes to the rival claims to the throne of the houses of Lancaster and York are often as partisan as those of the fifteenth century. Thus the attitudes adopted by historians tend to reflect the personal preferences of the writer. Since this probably cannot be avoided, the next best thing is to be honest about it; to admit that, when the facts are open to dispute, the picture presented will reflect the writer’s personal opinion; and to acknowledge that this is not quite the same thing as objective certainty.

Let me begin, therefore, by saying that I believe that the members of the house of York had a good claim to the throne – superior to that of their Lancastrian cousins. I also believe that Richard III personally had a sound claim to the throne in 1483: a claim superior to that of his nephew, Edward V. I set out in detail the reasoning behind this opinion in my earlier book, Eleanor, the secret Queen, and in a number of papers, and it will be reiterated in the appropriate chapter of my forthcoming book on Royal Marriage Secrets (The History Press, 2013).

Briefly, however, the background to Richard III’s reign, as I see it, is that in 1461 – in the person of Richard’s elder brother, Edward IV – the house of York assumed the Crown. Edward’s accession could certainly be called usurpation. The fact that (unlike Richard III’s accession) it is not usually so called is just one of many examples of the curious double standards, which seem to be unthinkingly applied to the events of this period by many writers.

Rather like his grandson, Henry VIII, King Edward IV made a complete muddle of his royal marriage policy. He entered into clandestine and overlapping contracts with at least two English noblewomen, while at the same time also permitting negotiations for a foreign royal bride to be conducted on his behalf. As a result he engendered, by his second and bigamous clandestine marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a family of children who were technically illegitimate. When this fact was brought into the open by the expert canon lawyer Bishop Robert Stillington of Bath and Wells, in the summer of 1483, there was little option but to set those spurious heirs aside. Even though the eldest boy had by then been named Edward V, and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, it became obvious that by reason of bastardy neither was now eligible to hold those titles, and the Crown must pass to the nearest available legitimate heir – Richard III.

Inevitably, this caused a split in the Yorkist ranks. The Woodville family had tried hard to forestall any enquiry by keeping the future Richard III in the background and hastening to get Edward V crowned with all possible speed. When this move failed, some members of the Woodville family fled, ending up in the ‘Tudor’ (soi-disant Lancastrian) camp. Other key Yorkist supporters, like Lord Hastings, while far from sympathetic to the Woodville cause, nevertheless balked at the drastic step of setting aside Edward IV’s Woodville children. In the rather black and white politics of 1483 – and given that the final decision of the royal council went against his opinion – Lord Hastings ultimately had to pay for the uncompromising stance he took on this question with his life.

Nevertheless, through the dramatic events of that key summer of 1483, Richard III was supported by all the living members of the royal house of York, and also by his cousin, the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham’s subsequent defection and betrayal came as a great shock to Richard, who was in some ways politically naïve, and often over-kind and generous.

Despite an inevitable degree of public confusion regarding the complex legal points at issue, Richard’s accession seems generally to have been accepted, and the new royal family was well received on its public appearances around the country. However, yet another break in the anticipated order of succession had now occurred. Such upsets were always liable to cause trouble. Richard’s position was additionally...