An important contribution to Ricardian scholarship offering revelations about John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and why he became Richard III's key supporter
In 1455, John Howard was an untitled and relatively obscure Suffolk gentleman. At the time of his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 he was Earl Marshal, Duke of Norfolk, Lord Admiral and a very rich man (and the current Duke of Norfolk is his direct descendant). How had he attained these elevations? Through his service to the House of York, and in particular to Richard III during the setting aside of Edward V. John Ashdown-Hill examines why he chose to support Richard, even at the cost of his life; what secrets he knew about Edward IV; what he had to do with the fate of the "Princes in the Tower;" and what naval innovations, until now ascribed to the Tudors, he introduced. This book is based on original research and contains previously unpublished material.