Richard III, written around 1592–1593, is Shakespeare's history play about the rise and fall of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Witty, ruthless and charming, he murders his way to the English throne before being killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The story
As the Wars of the Roses end with his brother Edward IV on the throne, Richard sets out to seize the crown. He has his brother Clarence murdered and woos Lady Anne over the coffin of a king he killed.
Crowned at last, he has his young nephews, the princes in the Tower, put to death. His allies desert him, and Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, defeats him at Bosworth.
A villain who talks to us
Richard opens the play alone on stage, sharing his plans with the audience and making them his accomplices. His black humour and audacity make him one of the great roles in the theatre.
His desperate cry on the battlefield, offering his kingdom for a horse, has become proverbial.
On stage and screen
The play was printed in quarto in 1597 and was one of Shakespeare's early successes, with Richard Burbage in the title role.
Laurence Olivier filmed it in 1955, and Ian McKellen in 1995, setting it in a fascist England of the 1930s.
Anecdotes
The king in the car park
In 2012 archaeologists found Richard III's skeleton under a car park in Leicester. Identified by DNA, it was reburied in Leicester Cathedral in 2015.
A disputed reputation
Shakespeare relied on chronicles written under the Tudors, Richard's enemies. The Richard III Society has long argued for a fairer picture of the king.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Richard III?
The last Yorkist king of England, killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Has Richard III's body been found?
Yes, in 2012, under a car park in Leicester.
Who first played Richard?
Richard Burbage, the leading actor of Shakespeare's company.