For more than five centuries, Richard III has been one of England’s most fascinating—and divisive—monarchs. Was he a loyal protector and dedicated monarch, or the ruthless usurper immortalized by Shakespeare? The debate continues to this day. Newly surfaced letters suggest one or more of Richard’s nephews may have survived their imprisonment in the Tower of London, while recent reassessments of historical sources point once again to his guilt. The last king of England to die on the battlefield, Richard III’s life continues to be steeped in controversy.

Tudor and Shakespeare historian Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger investigates the heart of Richard’s tangled legacy—from his life as a medieval warrior and potential king who held off civil war to his conflicting portrayals on stage and screen. She explores the extraordinary 2012 discovery of his remains beneath a parking lot in the English city of Leicester, the controversies surrounding his royal reburial, and the ongoing debates—including a 2025 court case—over how he is remembered and represented, and why that matters.

Through history, drama, and discovery, Lloyd-Stanger invites participants to reconsider the man behind the myth and to ask if we ever will uncover the real Richard III.

Lloyd-Stanger, the author of The Tudors by Numbers and Courting the Virgin Queen, lectures internationally on the Tudor period and Shakespeare.

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