Not much on the face of it, that’s why an article mentioning both aroused my curiosity.  It’s on a blog called Conservative History Journal.  The blogger’s political convictions do not come into this article, so any Ricardian, irrespective of  your own political sympathies, can enjoy its message on King Richard III.

The blogger, who calls himself Tory Historian, tells us that he went a while ago to Leicester to visit an exhibition of German Expressionist works and also explored the city.  While we know that the city of York remembered with “great heaviness” “our good king Richard [who was] piteously slain and murdered”, we learn that King Richard III also enjoys a lot of loyal following in the city where his body was taken after the Battle of Bosworth.   We don’t know where the body ended up after the dissolution of the monasteries and it might have been “thrown into the ditch just outside [the city] in the charming way those Tudors behaved”.  Ricardians can surely share that sentiment towards the Tudors!

Our blogger goes on to report that there are several memorials as well as streets and schools named after the last Plantagenet King.  His comment in describing the Richard III statue without any sign of a hump is:  “Eat your heart out, Will.”

He also tells us about a board, put up in 1985, at the 500th anniversary of the year when two kings visited Leicester.  Here he tells us:

It is quite clear which one the city saw and still sees as the rightful one: Richard III is described as King of England who rode into Leicester some time before the fateful battle of Bosworth Field; Henry VII came to the city on the evening of August 22, after he had “vanquished” Richard and brought his body with him. One can imagine the sullen burghers of Leicester watching the arrogant invader as he rode in with the body of the rightful King in the baggage van.

Thank you to Tudor Historian for telling us about this and thank you to the citizens of Leicester for their loyalty.  And should you be able to visit Leicester before 3 May of this year, go and have a look at the exhibition as well, it promises to be a real treat.

Tags: Art, Bosworth, Henry Tudor, Richard III