The Society FAQ

What is the Richard III Society?

Founded in 1924, the Richard III Society exists to promote research into the life and times of Richard III in order to secure a reassessment of his character and achievements. We also aim to encourage a fellowship between like-minded people and to commemorate the history of the late fifteenth century. Whilst this can be a challenging balance to maintain, we have successfully attracted many thousands of members world-wide, which has provided us with a platform and the resources to make our case to the academic community and general public. Over the past half-century in particular we have engaged in an active research programme enabling a number of key primary sources to be made available to those interested in the period.

The Society’s achievements were recognised in 1980 by the accolade of royal patronage in the person of the present-day Prince Richard, HRH The Duke of Gloucester.

Why a Richard III Society?

Ask people what they know about Richard III and a few years ago you would possibly have got one or more of these responses:

• Wasn’t he the wicked uncle who killed the Princes in the Tower?
• Wasn’t he a hunchback?
• Oh and didn’t Shakespeare write a play about him?

Nowadays the public are becoming more aware that King Richard III lived and died during a fascinating and colourful period in English history; an awareness that the recent rediscovery of his remains and their reburial in Leicester Cathedral have significantly raised. People now increasingly question whether the dramatic caricature devised by Shakespeare is depicting a real man or somebody who is the target for one of the earliest character assassinations in English history. The Society was founded over ninety years ago by a generation who had already begun to ask these questions and they laid the foundation for a Richard III Society that welcomes people who feel that traditional history, based on the Tudor perceptions of King Richard, needs to be reexamined and reassessed.

For a more detailed analysis and response to the question, read the late Dr Lesley Boatwright’s article.

The raison d’être of the Society is well captured by our Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester:

‘…the purpose, and indeed the strength of the Richard III Society derives from the belief that the truth is more powerful than lies – a faith that even after all these centuries the truth is important. It is proof of our sense of civilised values that something as esoteric and as fragile as reputation is worth campaigning for.’

How does the Society make its presence felt and get its message across?

We publish two regular journals: our members’ magazine, the Ricardian Bulletin, and a more scholarly publication, The Ricardian, which is also targeted at academic audiences. The Society organises an annual study weekend and a triennial conference to further research and discussion about late fifteenth century English history. Participants include both members and academic historians. Our network of very active branches and groups also organise a range of talks, visits and study days across the country. In 1985 the Society established the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust which publishes important academic works relating to the late medieval period.

The Society is active in celebrating milestone anniversaries of King Richard and his family, of the Society, and initiating and supporting the erection of memorials in many buildings and localities associated with Richard and the House of York. We also support restoration and conservation work to the fabric of many churches with Ricardian connections under the auspices of the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund.

The internet increasingly provides the Society with opportunities to showcase its activities and make the case for Richard III’s rehabilitation. We have an active internet presence through our website and on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our research blog.

The Society often attracts media attention, particularly from television production companies who see us as a source of reliable information about King Richard and his times. We also try to make the general public more aware of the true facts of fifteenth-century history by challenging misleading statements and impressions disseminated in the media.

What's the official Society view on Richard III?

The Society’s mission statement reads:

In the belief that many features of the traditional accounts of the character and career of Richard III are neither supported by sufficient evidence nor reasonably tenable, the Society aims to promote in every possible way research into the life and times of Richard III, and to secure a reassessment of the material relating to this period and of the role in English history of this monarch.

The Society has no official ‘party-line’ other than that members are encouraged to approach the history of King Richard with an open mind and to question and challenge the Tudor tradition within the context of contemporary and near-contemporary primary sources. The Society believes that the important thing is to get at the objective truth.

Do you endlessly debate about Richard?

No, we don’t. Richard is not the only focus of the Society’s interest. In order to understand him it is necessary to study, not only his life, but the lives of the people who surrounded him and to understand the world in which he lived, and so it follows that we have an interest in all aspects of late-medieval society. This premise widens the foundation of our membership and strengthens the Society as a whole because in the context of the enhanced collective understanding of the period we are then well placed to return the focus to King Richard. History does not stand still, and new discoveries about the life and times of Richard III are constantly emerging to provide material for discussion. The Greyfriars dig of 2012 has of course been the greatest discovery to date.

Why do you believe that Richard was a good king?

As king, Richard attempted to provide justice for all, including the poor and the vulnerable and this was demonstrated in his parliament. Thomas Langton, bishop of Salisbury, recorded that

Richard contents the people where he goes best that ever did prince; for many a poor man that hath suffered wrong many days have been relieved and helped by him and his commands in his progress. And in many great cities and towns were great sums of money given him which he hath refused. On my troth I liked never the conditions of any prince so well as his; God hath sent him to us for the weal of us all.

He was a talented administrator and following his elevation to the crown established the Council of the North to govern his former palatinate, an organisation that was so successful it was retained by the Tudors and survived until the mid-seventeenth century.

As duke, Richard had a reputation for being good and fair in his dealings but his reign as king was too short for his potential to be fully realised. However, it can perhaps be glimpsed in his laws and achievements. Some key ideals still present in modern law, such as presumption of innocence, blind justice and clear title, were significantly reinforced by his administration.