Richard III is a story of power, manipulation and deceit.
[ # Dramatic orchestral underscore ]
Shakespeare based the play on Sir Thomas More's unfinished book,
‘The History of King Richard III’
although a lot of that book wasn’t true.
At the end of the Wars of the Roses,
fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York,
the Yorkists have won
and have crowned Edward IV the new king.
Finally, they are looking forward to a time of peace.
But Edward's youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
is hungry for power and wants the throne for himself.
Richard makes a plot to frame his brother George,
Duke of Clarence, for treason,
and manipulates the noblewoman Lady Anne Neville into marrying him -
even though she knows he murdered her first husband.
Edward IV’s health is failing.
His wife, queen Elizabeth argues with Richard.
The old Queen, Margaret,
curses them all for their disloyalty to her dead husband, King Henry VI.
She warns the Duke of Buckingham not to trust Richard.
George is murdered in the Tower, at Richard’s orders
but Richard leads Edward to blame himself for the death.
Edward dies shortly after.
Neither of Edward’s two sons are old enough to be king
so Richard is appointed Lord Protector of England.
He will now rule the country until the boys grow up.
Richard orders the execution of noblemen who are loyal to the princes
and has the two boys sent to the Tower of London.
Buckingham spreads rumours that the princes are illegitimate
so aren’t true heirs to the throne.
The people of England become increasingly fearful of Richard.
However,
Buckingham convinces the lord mayor
that Richard is pious and needs to be convinced to become king.
Richard reluctantly allows the lord mayor to persuade him
and he is crowned the next day.
To secure his position,
Richard decides that the princes have to die.
Buckingham is reluctant
and realises that Richard now doesn’t trust him.
He flees to his castle in Wales.
Because Buckingham won’t help,
Richard employs a man called Tyrrell instead.
Tyrrell goes to the Tower and kills the princes.
Meanwhile, news arrives that the Lancastrian Earl of Richmond
has raised an army in France and is coming to challenge Richard.
Richard wants to make his claim to the throne even stronger
so he decides he should marry King Edward’s daughter,
Princess Elizabeth.
To make that marriage possible, he has his wife, Anne murdered.
Elizabeth, and Richard's mother, the Duchess of York
lament the deaths of the two young princes.
Margaret teaches them how to curse then leaves for France.
Elizabeth and the Duchess meet Richard
and his mother tells him that she regrets giving birth to him.
Richard still manages to convince Elizabeth to let him marry her daughter.
Richard's plans now begin to unravel.
Queen Elizabeth delays the marriage
and arranges for her daughter to marry Richmond instead.
Buckingham is captured and executed
and Richmond arrives in England.
Richard is starting to lose control
but prepares to fight Richmond’s army in Bosworth.
The night before the battle,
the ghosts of the people Richard has had murdered appear to him in a dream.
They curse him and pray for Richmond's success.
The armies clash
and Richard is eventually killed in battle by Richmond.
Richmond is crowned King Henry VII.
He marries Princess Elizabeth,
the Houses of York and Lancaster are united,
and Richmond prays
that a new era of peace for England will begin.