Richards usurpation of the throne was not the only reason why people did not like or trust him however. Richard, Duke of Gloucester arrested Hastings on a false charge of treason on the 13th June 1483 and had him beheaded without trial (beheading for treason was common for nobility). This alarmed other nobles who were shocked at the speed which Richard was prepared to dispatch people who he though could possible oppose him. Hastings was a well liked noble who had got on incredibly well with Richards brother Edward. This infuriated many nobles as the execution without trial was again unjust.
Another cause for his unpopularity was the question of benevolences. When he was crowned Richard promised to stop the use of benevolences as this was particularly disliked by the nobles. However because of the war with Scotland , the threat of Henry and rebellions Richard had to later ask for benevolences once again. This made him even more unpopular and proved that he could not keep his word.
There is then the question of Richards foreign policy. Richard did not make himself popular with two countries in particular. Under his brother Edwards rule Richard had been Warden of the West Marches. This meant guarding England’s border against the Scottish was his responsibility. He took this role seriously and stopped many raids. Towards the latter stages of Edwards reign he then attacked Scotland marching up to Edinburgh. There he captured James III. Much to Richards annoyance he then had to retreat because a replacement for James couldn’t be found and because of a lack of recourses and funding. This put him out of favour with the Scots which would have serious repercussions at the battle of Bosworth.
All of these problems came to a head however when Henry Tudor appeared on the scene. Henry had a reasonable claim to the throne through his mother Margaret Beaufort Up to then Richard had been disliked by many but they were not strong enough to threaten him. However Henry provided the people with a figurehead with which they could rally around. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV. This put him in a strong position as he now had the few Lancastrians that were left on his side. Richard knew this and tried to capture Henry while he was in Burgundy. He made a deal with the Burgundians, he offered them 2000 archers in return for Henry. However Henry got word of this (probably through his mother) and fled to France in a daring escape. This put Richard out of favour with the French who were currently engaged in a conflict against Burgundy. As a result the French provided Henry with men and ships in which to cross the channel. Henry landed in Milford Haven in Wales and advanced towards London. Here he was met by Richard at Bosworth.
It is here however that it becomes evident that Richard lost the throne. The army that Henry had gathered had been created in effect by Richard through his unpopularity. His isolation of key nobles meant Richard had few supporters and an incredibly small power base. This meant that when the time of the battle arrived he had very few people to call on for aid. Richards only true supporter was John Howard, Duke of Norfolk who was unfortunately for Richard killed in the initial skirmish. Richards other mistakes were tactically. Richard did have a considerably larger army, on the high ground against a commander who had no combat experience. Statistically Richard should have won the battle easily. However he made a few key mistakes. He aligned himself on ambient hill which was very narrow. This meant that Richard could not bring his superior numbers to bear as they were fighting across a narrow front. He then left his good defensive position.
It is then that the mistrust which Richard had created became apparent when the Stanley’s changed sides. This resulted in Richard having to make a daring charge in an attempt to win the battle by killing Henry. This however ultimately got him killed and resulted in Henry taking the throne for himself. In defensive of Richard he did come very close to killing Henry (he did kill his standard bearer) and it is easy to criticise in hindsight.
Richards downfall was not all brought on by himself however Henry did have a large part to play in winning the crown. He successfully escaped capture and managed to gather a large amount of supporters. He then fought well at the battle of Bosworth despite having no previous combat experienced (though he was helped greatly by the desertion of Richards stepfather Lord Stanley). It is likely that without Henry as a rallying point Richard would have carried on being King despite his unpopularity as there was no one strong enough to oppose him.
