Richard III: Monstrous or Misunderstood

Carolyn Harris

Carolyn Harris is an instructor in history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She received her PhD in European history from Queen’s University in 2012. Her writing concerning the history of monarchy in the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada has appeared in numerous publications including The Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, Smithsonian Magazine and the BBC News Magazine. She contributes royal commentary to TV and radio. She is the author of three books: Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada, Queenship and Revolution: Henrietta Maria and Marie Antoinette and Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting.

Richard III: Monstrous or Misunderstood

Richard III is one of the most controversial monarchs in English history. The discovery of his remains in a Leicester parking lot in 2012 revived the centuries long debate about his character and reign. Was Richard III an unscrupulous figure so consumed by ambition that he murdered his nephews, the Princes in the Tower as depicted in Shakespeare’s play, Richard III,   or was he a capable and honourable monarch whose reputation was maligned by Tudor propaganda after he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth field. We will explore the historical Richard III and his afterlife in popular culture.  

This event is part of the Spring 2018 Speaker series.