Richard III – Why He Took the Crown
23rd February 2026 by | Uncategorized
Richard III – Why He Took the Crown
He did not ride into London seeking a crown.
He rode as Protector of the Realm.
Richard of Gloucester was not a boy king. He was thirty years of age, battle-hardened, of proven loyalty, and of undisputed royal blood.
When evidence emerged that Edward IV’s marriage may have been invalid, due to a precontract with one Eleanor Butler, the consequences were seismic. If the marriage was unlawful, then Edward V — however loved — could not lawfully inherit the crown.
This was not Richard’s claim alone.
It was the conclusion placed before the Privy Council, based on evidence from the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
The realm stood on a knife-edge. A child king meant faction, instability, and civil war renewed. The kingdom had lived this before — and paid for it dearly.
Richard was asked to take the crown because he represented continuity:
A crowned adult.
A known quantity.
A legitimate Plantagenet prince with a lawful male heir. Succession was everything.
Once accepted, the crown could not be half-worn.
Kingship was absolute, or it was nothing.
Richard would be the last English king to fight — and die — for his crown on the battlefield.
The standard fell in the mud of Bosworth, but the question did not die with him.
Why did he take the crown?
Because the realm believed he must.
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Gemma
The past is never silent.
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Author of The Reflection in the Mirror & The Wolf of Whitehall