Richard III and the North of England

Today’s post is a guest article by Robert Fripp, author of Dark Sovereign. Find out more about Robert and his extraordinary play about Richard III by reading our interview here.

Richard III and the North of England
By Robert Fripp

Richard III

Through the medieval period and into the early Tudor years it was common practice for a noble family to send a seven- or eight-year-old son away to receive military training in another, kindred household. The boy who would grow up to become Richard III was dispatched to the household of his older cousin Richard Neville, the sixteenth Earl of Warwick. There was no better place to toughen the boy: in time, Warwick’s power would earn him the sobriquet “The Kingmaker.” Young Richard joined Warwick’s household at Middleham Castle in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where the ardors of military training gradually prepared him for knighthood. The year was 1462.

Warwick died nine years later in battle at Barnet in 1471, and possession of Middleham Castle passed to the young Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Among those whom Richard had met as a boy during his time at Middleham was Warwick’s daughter, Anne.

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