Context: A trusting Edward IV appointed Richard of Gloucester Lord Protector of the Realm, entrusting him with the protection of his sons until they came of age and could rightfully assume the throne. Edward saw this as a fitting reward for what he considered a lifetime of loyal service from his younger brother.

However, the moment Edward IV kicked the bucket, Richard seemed to turn it into a race against the clock to do absolutely NONE of what he had promised his elder brother on his deathbed.

Richard seized the crown through betrayal. Not only did he break his promise, but he also attempted to justify his usurpation by slandering his own family: from publicly presenting “evidence” that his brother had been a bigamist, to declaring his nephews illegitimate, to even dredging up the so-called Blaybourne scandal, tarnishing his own mother’s reputation in the process.

And that’s not even getting into the tragic fate of the Princes in the Tower.