On the death of the king, Edward's eldest son, then only 12 years old, was proclaimed king as . Richard knew of the troubles that this could cause. Edward’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville, came from an unpopular and resented family, Richard worried that the Woodville’s would try and take control of the country through the young king. It was due to this, with the aid of Henry , 2nd duke of Buckingham, Richard seized custody of the young king and was able to assume the protectorship.
It is not difficult to understand how Richard seized the throne, he took protectorship of Edward and his younger brother, and then had Lord Hastings and Earl Rivers executed in an undoubtedly aim to reach the throne without objectives.
Richard was crowned king in July 1483 after claiming the illegitimacy of Edward IV’s son’s. He professed that he had been informed, by a Bishop, of how Edward had been betrothed to a woman by the name of Eleanor Boteles, before his marriage to Elizabeth in 1464. This therefore proved the marriage was invalid and the children were bastards. There was no evidence to contradict Richard, as both Edward and Eleanor were dead, she had died a number of years before the story came out. With all other claimants to the throne dead, Richard was the rightful heir.
Richard’s seizure of the throne could also be seen as ambitious, or overly ambitious, and this cost him support. On becoming king, he had shared southern land between his northern supporters, loosing all trust and loyalty from the south.
His loyalty to his brother made him appear loving and willing to help, but perhaps he was always hiding his true meaning in getting close to the throne?
Richard had the two princes taken to the Tower of London, after he had obtained their custody, where they were promptly never seen again. It is unclear as to what happened, or who gave the order for their murders. The Duke of Buckingham, Richard’s right hand man at the time, was blamed for giving the order without Richard’s knowledge, but more realistic ideas suggest that Richard had them removed to make his journey to the throne straightforward.
Due to Richard being crowned king, a rebellion broke out in October 1483, led by Buckingham, in favour of Henry Tudor (later ). This revolt collapsed, and Buckingham was executed. The very fact that Richard’s closest allies were revolting against him was a clear indication that he would have to fight hard to hold onto the throne and his power.
It is probably the suggestion that Richard was responsible for two boys murder that led to many leaving him and supporting the opposition of Henry Tudor who proved to be more than Richard was prepared for. In 1485, Henry landed in Wales, defeated and killed Richard in the battle of , and ascended the throne.
Despite his usurpation of the throne, Richard was not the total villain that tradition has made him, or how his evil reputation, immortalised by Shakespeare's Richard III was portrayed. Richard was the last of the Yorkist kings, and, in retrospect, his death ended the Wars of the .