Family of Richard III

the long version

The Wars of the Roses were quarrels within the Plantagenet family, of which Richard's dynasty, the house of York was one branch. The house of York won the first war, with Richard's elder brother becoming king as Edward IV. In 1483, after decades of family infighting, there was a sudden violent resolution following Edward IV's death. Richard III claimed to be his brother's heir, the Yorkist establishment refused and shared in Richard's destruction. With the recent discovery of Richard III's skeleton and his reburial in Leicester Cathedral, Professor Michael Hicks, described by BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE as 'the greatest living expert on Richard III' reassesses the family ties and entrails of his wayward and violent family. Many thousands of descendants of Richard survive, some more interested in their linage than others, and the book will conclude with an analysis of Richard's DNA and his 'family' as it exists today.