Richard III

Richard III is portrayed as a ruler whose seizure of the throne leaves England’s succession shrouded in fear and uncertainty. Though he appears chiefly in other characters’ accounts of the past, his actions shape the story’s political inheritance: his young nephews vanish in the Tower of London, opposition turns toward Henry Tudor, and a disputed tale casts doubt on the conduct of Elizabeth of York during the same crisis.

Identity and Political Background

In Arthur, Prince of Wales’s account of England’s recent history, Richard III is the brother of Edward IV and uncle to Edward’s sons. He first held the throne in trust, Arthur says, and then claimed it for himself. The distinction marks the central political charge against Richard: a temporary guardianship became a seizure of royal authority, threatening the succession of the dead king’s children.

The novel presents Richard not through a sustained portrait but through the consequences attached to his rule. Arthur calls him the tyrant and the usurper; these are the judgments of characters recounting a contested past, rather than a neutral account of Richard’s motives. His importance lies in the danger his claim creates and in the stories that survive around it.

The Princes in the Tower

After taking the throne, Richard placed Edward IV’s young sons in the Tower of London. Arthur says they went in and never came out, and that no one knows what happened to them. Their fate remains unresolved: the characters fear that they are dead, but the narrative supplies no confirmation of how or when they died. The uncertainty makes the Tower a symbol of the peril facing royal claimants as well as the setting of the princes’ disappearance.

Their absence changes the political balance. Arthur recounts that the people turned against Richard and summoned Henry Tudor from France. In this telling, Richard’s seizure of power and the princes’ disappearance help bring about the opposition that raises Henry to the throne. Henry’s marriage to Elizabeth of York is then remembered as joining the rival families and bringing peace to England, making Richard’s reign a turning point in the story of Tudor legitimacy.

Conflicting Stories About Elizabeth of York

Arthur relates two accounts of Elizabeth of York’s conduct during Richard’s rule. In the public version, she takes sanctuary with her mother and sisters, fearing arrest and the fate of her brothers. Her mother writes to Henry Tudor, offering marriage if he will return to England, claim the throne, and rescue Elizabeth. He comes, marries her, and brings peace. Arthur acknowledges that this is the familiar story, but says it is only one version.

The alternative is presented as rumor, not established fact. According to this darker account, Elizabeth left sanctuary and her family, went to court, and accepted a proposal from Richard after his wife died. Arthur stresses the scandal of the claim: Elizabeth would supposedly have married her uncle, the ruler accused of causing her brothers to disappear. Catalina reacts with shock, but the account remains hearsay; Arthur offers no proof that the proposal occurred. Richard’s legacy therefore includes not only the unresolved fate of the princes, but also a story that unsettles the accepted account of how the Tudor marriage came about.

Narrative Role and Legacy

Richard III functions as the absent center of a history told through competing explanations. Arthur recounts the princes’ disappearance with grief and presents the familiar account of Elizabeth’s sanctuary alongside its scandalous shadow. The uncertainty is consequential: Richard’s rule is defined both by events characters describe as political fact and by allegations they cannot resolve.

The story ultimately connects Richard’s contested authority to the Tudor settlement. His claim to the throne, the disappearance of the princes, and the opposition that summons Henry Tudor form the background to the marriage that Arthur remembers as ending the feud. Richard’s significance is thus less a matter of personal development than of the instability his rule leaves behind: a succession crisis whose human losses are known, but whose central mysteries remain unanswered.