Henry VII, by unseating Richard III, had altered the natural line of succession, abandoning the concept of the Divine Right of Kings (8). By doing this, Henry Tudor had arguably gone against God’s divine will. For this reason, it was pivotal that Henry portrayed his succession to having saved England from a regime that was tyrannical and despotic in nature.Tudor propaganda hence became a vital instrument in cementing the Tudor position. The Tudor Propaganda Machine For centuries, the repute of Richard has been disputed amongst a plethora of contemporaries, separating each of them into two main segments based on their beliefs. One group of ‘historians’ held the belief that Richard was a usurper with Machiavellian tendencies, willing to go by whatever means necessary to achieve his objective of the English crown.This was typically a more traditional perception of Richard that echoed Shakespearean propaganda, which targeted Richard’s physical form and aligned them with his psychological composition.This view had been almost permanently ingrained within contemporary society and had been unchallenged for over 100 years.These accounts were often written by those who championed positions as playwrights and clergymen rather than qualified historians (9). Nevertheless, they were successful in manifesting a coloured picture of Richard as an evil hunchback who saw no limit to satisfying his own ambition, even when at the expense of others. However, later historiography has come to Richard’s defence by dismissing such views and instead claiming that Richard was instead a victim of the Tudor propaganda- machine (10).
The princes in the tower Following Richard’s coronation, rumour and speculation surfaced that suggested Richard had smothered the two princes to death in the Tower of London. Richard allegedly placed Edward in the Tower, alongside his other nephew, as an act of protection under his role as Lord Protector.This was not Richard’s first action taken following his new role, having campaigned to parliament claiming both sons of Edward IV to be bastards.This would make Edward’s claim to the throne illegitimate, making it convenient for Richard to take his place. Richard was supported by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who stated that Edward IV was involved in a pre- contract to marry Dame Eleanor Butler, hence by secretly marrying Elizabeth Woodville, all children from the marriage would be declared as illegitimate (5). However, the improbable nature and timing of the claim suggests the story was merely a device used by Richard to facilitate his usurpation of the English throne. Moreover, such occurrences have acted as a precondition to Richard’s malignant repute, not only amongst those of his time, but also people of the modern day. For example, the Richard III Society, which aims to restore Richard’s, once polished, reputation of being “a man of the people”, as Dr David Johnson states (6). Such events were significant as the reputation they created of Richard undoubtedly laid substantial foundations which would be built upon by Tudor historians, therefore acting as a precondition to the fuelling of the Tudor propaganda-machine. Why the Tudors wanted to blacken Richard’s reputation Henry VII’s claim to the English throne was not a strong one but was, in fact tenuous. Henry was not a Lancastrian claimant, and so had no substantial claim to the throne by bloodline (7). Therefore, Henry’s usurpation of the throne completely undermined long principles that had been firmly rooted within society for centuries.
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