Plantagenet

As a child king, Henry VI – shown in a c16th-century portrait – learned the lessons of kingship from books. Unfortunately, those books didn't extol the merits of ruthlessness and practising realpolitik. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

How Henry VI’s love of peace cost him the throne – and his life

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A memorial tomb to King Æthelstan, the first Saxon king of all England, in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. (Photo by Geography Photos/UIG via Getty Images)

A brief history of England

"As for the accusation that he killed the princes in the Tower, I think he was framed," says Robert Lindsay of Richard III, shown in a 16th-century portrait. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

My history hero: Robert Lindsay chooses Richard III

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Historian Nick Barratt.

Medieval civil war

A 20th-century fresco 'Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens' by Henry Payne. It depicts a scene by Shakespeare, showing Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset being challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York to choose between the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. (Photo by Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about the houses of Lancaster and York

A vintage colour lithograph depicting King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. The battle of Bosworth (or Bosworth Field) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York. (Photo by Getty Images)

The battle for Bosworth field: Historians react to decision to build on battlefield where Richard III died

A portrait of Richard III. Was the last Yorkist king a usurper? Historian John Ashdown-Hill explains why this is a myth. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

6 myths about Richard III

Nick Barratt.

York History Weekend

York History Weekend 2018: 5 minutes with Nick Barratt

The battle of Towton during the War of the Roses, 1461. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

12 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Wars of the Roses

Richard III's Yorkist troops fight Lancastrians in the battle of Bosworth, during the Wars of the Roses, 22 August 1485. King Richard was killed by Henry of Richmond, who became Henry VII. Engraving after Philip James de Loutherbourg. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

10 things you need to know about the battle of Bosworth

George Goodwin.

Winchester History Weekend 2018: 5 minutes with George Goodwin

The ‘Princes in the Tower’: Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, disappeared in mysterious circumstances following the death of their father, King Edward IV. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 notorious unsolved crimes from history

King John hunting on horseback

The Library Was King John really that bad?... Yes!

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Historian John Ashdown-Hill

Richard III historian John Ashdown-Hill dies