How successful was Richard IIIs reign as King of England?

     Richard’s reputation was built up to be one of an evil usurper. There were scandalous rumours around his succession, such as the murder of the Princes in the Tower, said to be instigated by him. Also, the murder of his wife after his son, Richard Prince of Wales died. The Lancastrians in the country now had a new figure head, Henry Tudor. This lowered Richard’s reputation even more, as people had another possible King in mind for the throne, and preferred him to Richard. On the other hand, Richard was known as renaissance king, interested in the arts and culture. This gave him a positive reputation among the ordinary people. He also donated sums of money to the building of Henry VI's chapel, and gave money to Kings College in Cambridge. He brought Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters out hiding and ensured their safety, too. Although he gave all this money to certain people and projects, the majority of the country still only thought of him as a usurper, not legitimate king.

      Richard did not handle his finances very well. He forced loans off nobles to pay for events and celebrations, such as his sons crowning of the Prince of Wales and a lot of money for Edward VI’s funeral. He carried on the expensive war with Scotland, which ended in defeat. Despite this, Richard handled the finances himself, instead of having a Treasury and employing people to handle the countries economy.

    Richard III did not succeed as a successful king of England, and when he died in battle was not celebrated for his rule 1483 to 1485, and would always be known as a murdering, evil usurper to the majority of his people.