The Story of King Richard III And The Daughter of Time By Josephine Tey

Shakespeare's great royal drama Richard III is based on the history of England during the time of the War of the Roses. The play depicts the rise and fall of both Shakespeare’s and England’s greatest known villain: King Richard III The following are the historical facts of which the play, Richard III, is based on:

York Vs. Lancaster: The Wars of the Roses The York Family (symbolized by a white rose) The Lancaster Family (symbolized by a red rose) For several decades near the end of the 15th Century, England's royal family was involved in a power struggle over possession of the throne of England, which regularly erupted into violence. This period is known as 'The Wars of the Roses', after the family symbols of the two contending groups.

Not a Good Time to Be King King Edward III died near the end of the 14th Century, leaving seven sons, the third and fourth of which became fathers of two separate dynasties: Lancaster and York. The two families would fight over the throne for decades! Richard II, descended from Edward III's oldest son, ruled for several years after the death of Edward III. However, his rule was overturned by a Lancastrian, Henry IV and Richard II died in prison in 1399. Henry IV was succeeded by his son, Henry V, who in turn was succeeded by his son Henry VI.

Lots of Henrys and Richards So Pay Attention! The Patriarchs of the two Families: York Family: Lancaster Family: Richard, Duke of York Henry VI They are Cousins

The Richards Tend to be from the House of York… Richard, Duke of York, had many children, but only 3 sons survive the War of the Roses: Edward IV George, Duke of Clarence Richard III Please note that if any family member has a Roman numeral after their name: They will at some point in their lives, become King or Queen of England.

The Henrys Tend to be from the House of Lancaster…. Henry VI is married to Queen Margret They have one son, Edward, Prince of Wales Henry VI is captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London by his cousin, Richard the Duke of York. Henry VI briefly regains power in 1471, has Richard, the Duke of York and his son Edmund, the Earl of Rutland beheaded- their heads put on pikes and mounted outside the City of London.

Revenge of the York Family… Edward IV (son of Richard, Duke of York) goes to war and kills the King’s son, Edward, the Prince of Wales in battle. The next day Edward IV executes King Henry VI. The Crown passes to the York Family. Edward IV, as the oldest, lays claim to the throne, and becomes King Edward IV.

Long Live King Edward IV- almost… King Edward IV marries Lady Elizabeth Woodville (She is older than him, comes from common blood, and is of the house of Lancaster – how scandalous!) She is a widow, and already has two sons, both of the family name Grey. Edward and Elizabeth Woodville have 7 additional children together, the youngest two being boys: Edward the V who is 12 years old His younger brother Richard, the current Duke of York who is about 10.

Edward IV dies of illness in his 40’s His eldest son, Edward V is crowned at the age of 12, but he is too young to actually rule. The boy’s Uncle, Richard III rules as regent until his oldest nephew can turn18 and can rule on his own. The 2 boys and their 5 sisters live with their Uncle and their mother in the Tower of London, which is at the time both a prison and a royal residence. Eventually Richard III has his nephews declared “illegitimate” and claims the throne for himself.

Long Live King Richard III…not really Richard III rules for 3 years. He is defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth by the forces of Henry VII of the House of Lancaster. Henry VII takes no chances and has every male descendent of the House of York executed.

What happened to the children of Edward IV? Noble woman are not killed during the War of the Roses. All wives, daughters, and even the former Queen are absorbed by the new family in power. After all- they are all related anyway. Henry VII marries Elizabeth of York (eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. He marries off her sisters as they become of age to suitable nobles. Some time between Richard III’s coronation and Henry VII’s coronation- the two boys mysteriously disappear.

So what happened to the little princes in the Tower? There were many rumors that Richard III had his nephews secretly executed. In the 17th century workmen repairing a stairwell at the Tower found the bodies of two boys of about the right ages sealed inside a wall, upon the order of Charles II, they were buried in Westminster Abby. Were these the two missing Princes?

Long Live the House of Tutor… The most powerful dynasty England has ever known…. By taking a York bride, Henry unites the two houses and brings an end to the War of the Roses. He declares that his house will bear a new name, the House of Tutor. Bringing peace to the land, Henry VII is a celebrated national hero. He declares his slain enemy Richard III to be evil, even associating him with the devil. No other English King has ever been named Richard as a result.

Shakespeare's Richard III Immortalized in Shakespeare's play, Richard III is often presented as the ultimate embodiment of treachery and corruption at the highest levels of power. Betrays and kills even the noblemen who support and help him. Plots to destroy his family, kills his brother and his wife. Presented as a hunchback and a monster. Takes credit in the play for killing his nephews. The audience cheers when he dies at the end of the play.

Now it’s Your Turn to Cheer Read the play or Richard III will come and get you!!!! (I told him where you lived)

What’s the point of The Daughter of Time? Is a work of Historical Fiction Murder Mystery- Did Richard III really have his nephews murdered? The novel is heavily researched and forces the reader to draw conclusions about the true perpetrator of the crime. The author presents you with several suspects:

The most obvious suspect: King Richard III Eliminated the princes from succession by declaring them illegitimate. However, his hold on the monarchy was not secure, and the existence of the princes remained a threat as long as they were alive. Rumors of their death were in wide circulation by late 1483, but Richard never attempted to prove that they were alive by having them seen in public, which strongly suggests that they were dead by then. Richard III remained completely silent on the matter. At the very least, it would have been in his political interest to order an investigation into the disappearance of the princes if they had simply vanished. Shakespeare says he did it- and he’s never wrong…

Henry VII of England Henry Tudor killed Richard III Henry was not a direct descendant of Edward III and had a very weak claim to the throne. He married the princes' eldest sister, Elizabeth of York to strengthen his claim to the throne. She had no claim as long as her brothers were alive. He had all of his wife’s male family members killed. Accused Richard III of many crimes after his death but never formally accused him of murdering his wife’s brothers.

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Richard's right-hand man and sought personal advantage through the new king. Some regard Buckingham as the likeliest suspect: his execution, after he had rebelled against Richard in October 1483, might signify that he and the king had fallen out because Buckingham had taken it on himself for whatever reason to dispose of Richard's rival claimants (his nephews). Buckingham was also a descendant of Edward III through John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and may have hoped to ascend the throne himself.

John Howard, Duke of Norfolk He was given custody of the Tower of London under less than regular circumstances the night the Princes are supposed to have disappeared from the Tower. He had opportunity and motive— and had much to gain from their deaths as he desired favor from the King- Richard III.

James Tyrrell An English knight who fought for the House of York on many occasions. Tyrrell was arrested by Henry VII's forces in 1501 for supporting yet another Yorkist claimant to the throne. Shortly before his execution, Tyrrell admitted to having murdered the princes at the behest of Richard III. However, as his confession was extracted under torture, its reliability is dubious.

STOP! SPOILERS AHEAD! You will just have to read the book to know who the true murderer of the Little Princes in the Tower is…

So What Really Happened? Richard III remains to this day one of the most misunderstood of England's kings. Richard III did not kill his nephews Richard was an excellent King *Some of his accomplishments while he was king have affected major aspects of modern society for the better. *Like the right to bail when imprisoned and the protection against the intimidation of juries.

The Probable Truth Rumors that Richard killed his nephews didn’t start until well after his death. Historians believe that it was Henry VII who started them to cover up the fact that HE was the one who killed them after Richard III was already dead. There is even evidence that Henry VII had an exaggerated hunchback painted on a portrait of Richard III to make him seem more monster-like with deformity. *Because Henry VII became King and from then on all of the Historians worked for him, including William Shakespeare, we will never know what really happened for sure.

The main arguments presented in the book in defense of King Richard III: There was no political advantage for Richard III in killing the young princes. He was legitimately made king. There is no evidence that the princes were missing from the Tower when Henry VII took over. Although a Bill of Attainder was brought by Henry VII against Richard it made no mention of the princes. There never was any formal accusation, much less a verdict of guilt. Henry never produced the bodies of the dead princes for public mourning and a state funeral. The mother of the Princes, Elizabeth Woodville, remained on good terms with Richard. The Princes were more of a threat to Henry VII as the foundation of his claim to the crown was significantly more remote than theirs.

What exactly does the title of the novel mean? The title is ironic, for the daughter of time is truth. Usually, over time, the truth eventually comes out. But time has tended to blacken Richard's reputation rather than reveal what many believe to be the truth. Perhaps if Shakespeare's play had never been written, it would have proved easier for campaigners to re-establish his reputation.