The coup d’état by Richard of Gloucester

the issue of the Princes in the Tower and Richard III’s position as a usurper

What were the main factors in allowing Richard’s usurpation 1483?

* Sudden Death of Edward IV
* Richard’s Northern power base
* Divisions in Court
* Richard’s ruthless/swift action
* The Weak position of Edward V

How did the sudden death of Edward IV allow for the usurpation of Richard III?

* He died suddenly in 1483, leaving his child Edward V as his heir - however he was only 12
* If Edward had lived until his son was an adult he could have passed his throne onto a strong king, which meant Richard could not usurp the throne
* Richard was able to lean into the public fears of a child king - which the public had recently seen in the figure of Henry VI, and that had not ended well
* It left questions as to who would act as regent (protector) - made worse by the Woodville/Gloucester distrust

How did Richard’s power base in the North allow him to usurp the throne in 1483?

* Richard received the neville lands in the North after Warwick’s death in 1471
* This gave him a massive power base due to his sole influence in the North
* He had also married Warwick’s daughter and inherited his fortune too
* He was well liked, as he led the war with scotland and defended the Northern boarder

How did divisions in court allow Richard to usurp the throne in 1483?

* The woodvilles - the family of the new King Edward V were severely disliked by most of the nobility and commons
* Important nobles such as Lord Hastings and Buckingham disliked the Woodvilles
* Elizabeth Woodville specifically disliked Hastings as she blamed him for her husband’s ‘womanising’ behaviours
* Gloucester hated the woodvilles
* He saw them as opportunistic, using Edward IV
* He blamed them for the death of Clarence
* Edward IV had been the uniting force between these feuding nobles and without him the court could not survive
* The general hatred of the Woodvilles meant nobles did not oppose Richard when he assumed protector

How did Richard’s swift action allow him to usurp the throne in 1483?

* He originally did not hear about the news of the King’s death - he was only told by Hastings when there were rumours that the Queen was moving up Edward V’s coronation so he could chose his council - without having a protector
* After hearing this he instantly marched to London and took possession of Edward V
* He framed this act as ‘rescuing’ Edward from the Woodvilles - which was accepted due to anti-woodville feeling

How did the ruthlessness of Richard allow him to usurp the throne in 1483?

* He swiftly executed those who seemed to oppose him - seen in the 1483 execution of Lord Hastings after he became suspicious of Richard’s intentions and alerted the Woodvilles
* He hid the princes in the Tower of London after tricking Elizabeth Woodville into releasing them from her sanctuary
* He allowed the legitimacy of Edward IV and therefore Edward V to be called into question

What happened during Richard’s first coup?

* He marched to London and took possession of Edward V
* He was then made protector
* He began to spread anti-woodville propaganda - saying the marriage of Edward IV to Elizabeth woodville in 1474 was illigetemate
* He stated they had used all of Edward IV’s treasure in the time after his death
* He blamed them for the death of Clarence

What happened during Richard’s second coup?

* Richard killed Lord Hastings after he became suspicious of his intentions
* He also took possession of Edward V’s younger brother and locked the princes in the tower

What were Richard’s motivations in usurping the throne in 1483?

* He took the protectorship by force so he feared what repurcussions he would face when edward V became King himself
* He feared losing his northern lands
* Pure greed and ambition

How did Richard III take the throne?

* He was offered the throne after fears of Edward V’s illigetemacy were realised
* Richard calimed himself to be the true heir to the throne, through the Duke of York line

What solidified Richard III’s claim to the throne?

* The 1484 Titulus Regius
* An act of parliament