Richard Armitage & Richard III & Christmas
Merry Christmas, seasonal greetings
and happy and enjoyable festivities
to all our supporters, interview partners, article-authors and signers of the petition. A big Thank You and all the best wishes !
Now to a real Christmas treat for all Richard III and Richard Armitage ‘well-wishers‘:
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
Richard Armitage in a late interview with Helen of Empire magazine (podcast of about 13.12.2013 – Richard III part begins at about 1:36:00)
speaking about his connection and interest in King Richard III:
Transcript of the part about King Richard III:
Helen (interviewer):
Is it true that you were named after Richard III?
RA: That is true. Yes.
My father was really into the history of the Plantagenets and I was born on 22nd of August which is the Battle of Bosworth Field when Richard died on the battlefield.
I was always a bit mad at my dad, because – for naming me after what was perceived to be a hunchbacked child-murderer. But then in later years I just developed a similar interest in the story, because we used to visit there every year on my birthday. Thanks, dad.
That was my birthday treat to go and look at an empty field, but – in recent months his remains had been found so it is all kind of coming to the surface again.
Helen: Quite literally.
RA: Literally.
Helen: When you said you began to share his interest I was worried you meant the child murdering and hunchback.
RA: No, no. No, definitely not that. Although, but the fascination with the sort of unsolved crime, I did become kind of interested in not necessarily resurrecting his heroicism, but just looking at the story again.
Because he was our last monarch that died on a battlefield and it’s interesting how I am sort of playing a character that is not dissimilar to him in Thorin. So I was using a bit of that – you know – character in Thorin. Yea.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- The Guardian: Richard III: the dead king who brought the world’s gaze to a Leicester car park, by Maev Kennedy (23.12.2013) – The article shows the perspective of archaeologist Mathew Morris, who unearthed the remains of King Richard III in the car park in Leicester.
- SNAP Judgment: How One Woman’s Secret Discovery Under A Parking Lot Changed 500 Years of History, Produced by Stephanie Foo (21.12.2013)
To celebrate there is a new music album about King Richard III, “Loyaulte Me Lie” by Guitarist Ian Churchward.
- Herald Express: Richard III album is chart hit for Ian (19.12.2013) – The album is in the folk top ten on Amazon, where it is available as MP3 download:
Loyaulte me lie (Amazon.com)
Loyaulté Me Lie (Amazon.co.uk) - Leicester Mercury: Work starts on £4m Richard III visitor centre, Dan Martin (13.12.2013)
Books & King Richard III
♛ King Richard & Books ♛
Christmas is coming up and as books still are one of the most favourite presents, I collect some reading tips here for you.
Not that I get through the multitude of new publications about King Richard right now – and some books still await me at Christmas – but there are new books I especially wanted to bring to your attention and recommend here, as I enjoyed reading them myself.
If you have books you would like to add to this recommendation, please feel free to either post them in the comment section of this post or send me a mail (contact form) to write and explain more about your recommendation and why you like the book(s).
Victoria Smith let us know her favourite King Richard III novel “The Murders of Richard III” by Elizabeth Peters and especially wrote a review for us.
(As usual here on KRA, earnings from embedded affiliate links on this site go to the charities recommended by actor Richard Armitage on his JustGiving page.)
♛ King Richard & Jane Shore ♛
Isolde Martyn – “Mistress to the Crown”
“Mistress to the Crown” follows the life and struggle for freedom of Jane Shore, the famous and influential mistress of King Richard III’s oldest brother, King Endward IV.
Her life never appeared to me as an especially romantic one, so a novel about Jane Shore coming out in a publishing house known for its extensive romantic novels instantly got my full interest.
From my previous comments about other works of the author Isolde Martyn, you already know that I adore her writing style.
Isolde Martyn also does not disappoint in this novel:
- Her writing is fluent and gripping that once I began reading, I could not put the book down. Though I already know the story of Jane Shore, I still needed to know how her life and fate unfolds in the story.
- The historical research which went into this novel is extensive and far beyond what I would normally expect from a historical novel. So for me, Isolde Martyn’s novels clearly are in a ‘historical novel’ class of their own.
But the astonishing part of this for me is, that the books do not appear like a historical lecture, but unobtrusively and fluently the fate of Jane Shore unfolds in a way where I begin to care for her, while I never felt very ‘understanding’ for her and her fate before. - For all King Richard interested readers, of course King Richard plays his role in the book as well, though more as a background figure, but still actively influencing the fate of Jane Shore.
At the time of the first English publication (03/2013), we published an
interview with author Isolde Martyn (14.03.2013).
Now, the book is also available in a German edition:
(The print edition was not available via Amazon.de at the time of the post, but should be shortly. If you want to order it for Christmas, here is the direct link to the publisher.)
Links to the English version:
♛ King Richard & Art ♛
Author Matthew Lewis (interview of 27th of August 2013, with book links) in his novel “Loyalty” follows Jack Leslau’s (http://www.holbeinartworks.org/) research and picture analysis and brings King Richard III in connection with the Holbein household.
♛ King Richard & Research ♛
Mathew Morris & Richard Buckley: Richard III. The King under the Car Park. The story of the search for England’s last Plantagenet king…
University of Leicester: ‘Beyond reasonable doubt’: archaeologists give first-hand account of Richard III discovery in new book, by Peter Thorley (04.11.2013)
From the intense research done to find and identify King Richard III, I must admit, I had expected a big volume of a book. The publication is a rather slim one, but so much filled with detail and information, that I am not the least bit disappointed.
Though much of the information and material had been published in the press already, the explanations and collection of image material and details known about King Richard III is unique and I am very glad to have this book as a valuable reference about the last days of King Richard III as well as his discovery in Leicester.
So though the book is not a detailed description about how King Richard III was found in Leicester – go to the publication by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones for that – I really can recommend this book for the invaluable collection of research results.
Philippa Langley/Michael Jones: The King’s Grave
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill did the essential research to enable the following work by the University of Leicester to find King Richard III.
His publications show the fascinating search for details so far missing or overlooked, but which proved to be exceedingly necessary to the final search:
More details about Dr. John Ashdown-Hill.
Just recently published:
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill also works on a new publication about King Richard III’s brother, George Plantagenet, the Duke of Clarence – you know the always irritating one where legend has it that he ended in a butt of Malmsey wine.
Announced for March 2014:
Book Review: Victoria Smith presents “The Murders of Richard III” by Elizabeth Peters
Elizabeth Peters “The Murders of Richard III”
♛ Review by Victoria Smith ♛
I love a good story. History is so often presented as a dry collection of names and dates, when in reality history is a retelling off the lives of people. And people are very rarely as dry as a list of their names and dates and would suggest.
So, when it comes to history I have learned more from well researched historical fiction than any academic tome.
Such was the case with The Murders of Richard the III written by Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz).
She has a PhD in Egyptology and Ms. Peter’s scholastic aptitude is apparent in her historically detailed mysteries.
This book is set at a weekend retreat of Ricardians, who have gathered to reveal new evidence that they believe will finally exonerate Richard III of the murders of his nephews. With the media descending someone begins to recreate the murders attributed to Richard III. Debates about the legitimacy of Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, the political machinations of the Duke of Buckingham, and the fates of the princes are peppered throughout the novel as the Ricardians are torn between solving the mysterious fate of the princes or identifying who is trying to discredit them or silence them forever.
I read the book because Elizabeth Peters is one of my favorite authors.
But, while the book is entertaining, it caused me to question my assumptions about Richard III. Most of what I thought about Richard III seems to have been based on Shakespeare’s’ interpretation of his character. As I read, I found myself chuckling over a character’s passionate disparaging of Sir Thomas More’s biography of Richard III as Tudor propaganda and wondering about the man who, in his short reign, was the center of so much conflict both during his lifetime and ours.
Not what I expected when I picked up Ms. Peters book for a few hours of entertainment!
For those of you who are well versed in Ricardian lore this book will not be a source of education as it was for me but you just might enjoy the humorous and engaging read.
King Richard III News – Long Overdue Updates
I am most certainly behind with reporting about the King Richard news.
Real life intervenes quite heavily right now. Sorry. I will try my best to keep up with the news.
But now here comes the news collected in the meantime since I fell off the plateau of the earth:
(Due to its length, the articles are arranged in a changed order – from new to old news.)
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
Our king, Richard Armitage, will visit Berlin, the German capital, for the European premiere of the second “Hobbit” film “The Desolation of Smaug” on Monday, 9th of December 2013.
For this event a Bavarian FanClub banner was created to welcome Richard Armitage in Germany and celebrate ‘our king’:
- Leicester Mercury: Hollywood star Richard Armitage donates signed art for Loros hospice auction (07.12.2013) – The auction takes place at the Old Library, in Belvoir Street, Leicester on Sunday, 8th of December 2013.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- The Observer: Philippa Langley: I just felt I was walking on Richard III’s grave. I can’t explain it’, by Elizabeth Day (08.12.2013) – A long overdue article trying to set the perception of the events leading to the discovery of King Richard III and the energy put into it by Philippa Langley right.
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III exhibition welcomes 150,000th visitor at the weekend, by Peter Warzynski (03.12.2013)
- Belfast Telegraph: Belfast-based academic’s radiocarbon work to improve accuracy for archaeologists, environmental scientists and climate researchers, by Anna Maguire (03.12.2013) – Contrary to this article, I had been of the opinion that the find of King Richard III is the unique opportunity in history to adjust and calibrate the scientific methods and not the other way around, as rarely a case occurs where the exact date of burial is so well known as with King Richard III.
- Professional Jeweller: Steffans and Theo Fennell team for tribute to king, by Kathryn Bishop (02.12.2013) – Some morbid jewellery in a King Richard III line created by British jewellers.
- InLoughborough: University of Leicester wins Research Project of the Year for Dig for Richard III (01.12.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: University of Leicester and city council meet to discuss custodian issues, by Peter Warzynski (30.11.2013)
- ITV.com: Car-park King dig earns Leicester Uni top prize (29.11.2013) – King Richard III patronising universities again – first Cambridge, now Leicester?
- University of Leicester: University of Leicester wins Research Project of the Year for Dig for Richard III (29.11.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Leicester City Council and university at odds over who owns Richard III’s bones, by Peter Warzynski (28.11.2013) – Leicester against York and now Leicester against Leicester? It really seems like a revival of the Wars of the Roses.
- Metro.co.uk: Here’s a solution to the Richard III standoff: Share his remains, by Alex Stevenson (27.11.2013) – Now, the idea is not so farfetched for someone who went to school in a town, where all the hearts of the Bavarian kings are buried – or rather should I say, (did) ‘hang around’. Though for a late medieval king with religious beliefs of the untouchable sanctity of the human body, that is not the best of choices. Why else do you think they cut off limbs to prevent criminals from getting into heaven? I hope, wherever they bury him, they bury at least a bit of his ashes together with his bones – you know, the heart…
- TheDailyBeast (Blog): Times Leader Writers Can’t Decide Where Richard III Should Be Buried, by Tom Sykes (27.11.2013) – Now it is clearly decided where King Richard III should be buried. We follow The Times’ suggestion(s).
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: High Court legal battle adjourned until 2014 (27.11.2013)
- United Press International (UPI): British High Court delays legal fight over burial place of Richard III (27.11.2013)
- BBC History Extra: Richard III reburial battle ‘could drag on until August’, by Emma McFarnon (27.11.2013)
- Mirror.co.uk: Richard III: 10 things you need to know as battle over his final resting place hits court, by Andy Rudd (26.11.2013) – Your essential starting point for looking deeper into the story of King Richard III.
- The Independent: Wars of the Roses Part 2: High Court battle over burial of Richard III set to continue as case is adjourned, by Adam Withnall (26.11.2013)
- The Guardian: Battle for Richard III reburial site on hold as high court case is adjourned, by James Meikle (26.11.2013)
- BBC History Extra: Richard III judicial review adjourned, by Emma McFarnon (26.11.2013)
- The Lawyer: Richard III judicial review postponed, by Joanne Harris (26.11.2013)
- The Lawyer: Richard III JR hits court before three-judge panel, by Joanne Harris (26.11.2013)
- BBC History Extra: Richard III: Leicester reburial to be judicially reviewed tomorrow, by Emma McFarnon (25.11.2013)
- BBC News: Court battle for King Richard III’s remains to be buried in Leicester (25.11.2013) – With video and opinions of citizens of York and Leicester.
- University of Leicester: University of Leicester offers free course on Richard III’s England (25.11.2013) – The course was so successful that all available 10.000 places are full this time. If you did not get on the course this time, you have a new chance to attend the next course some time midsummer 2014.
- Express: £30,000 down and now taxpayers are to fork out more for King Richard III’s grave, by Matt Gibson (24.11.2013)
- University of Leicester: Queen’s Anniversary Prize to University of Leicester for Discovery of Richard III (22.11.2013) – Royal recognition for the exceptional find of King Richard III by the University of Leicester. Well deserved! Congratulations !
- RoyalCentral (Blog): University of Oxford academic suggests how Richard III could be reburied, by Jessica Hope (22.11.2013) – Research into the way Medieval kings used to be buried by Alexandra Buckle could give essential hints what to do now with King Richard III.
- BBC News: Giving Richard III a reburial fit for a medieval king, by Sean Coughlan (22.11.2013) – Interesting presentation of the research by Dr. Alexandra Buckle, from St Anne’s and St Hilda’s colleges into Medieval burial practices.
- STV.tv: Forensic team that helped reconstruct face of Richard III honoured (22.11.2013) – Prestigious award for the forensic team that helped to re-construe King Richard III’s face.
- The Guardian: Why Chris Grayling should bury his appeal against Richard III ruling, by Joshua Rozenberg (15.11.2013) – The old battle between moral and money – true in King Richard’s time, true now. Who will have the longer breath in the legal battle, whoever has the moral right? Who knows, who will ever know, now that it is the matter of a legal battle?
- University of Leicester: ‘Beyond reasonable doubt’: archaeologists give first-hand account of Richard III discovery in new book, by Peter Thorley (04.11.2013)
Mathew Morris & Richard Buckley: Richard III. The King under the Car Park. The story of the search for England’s last Plantagenet king…
- AnimeNewsNetwork.com: Otomen’s Kanno Adapts Shakespeare’s Richard III as Manga Series (03.11.2013) – Shakespeare’s King Richard III lives on in manga now.
- University of Leicester: Greyfriars Fine Foods launches range that’s fit for a king (01.11.2013) – Though I am rather doubtful that King Richard III himself came anywhere near such kind of food, here is the direct link to the delicacies: Greyfriars Fine Foods
- Dorset Echo: King Richard III stayed at Bridport (01.11.2013) – Arthur Woodgate discovered Bridport’s connections with Richard III. To celebrate this connection, Philippa Langley and Michael Jones will visit Bridport on Thursday November 14 (The Bull at 2.30pm) as part of the Bridport Literary Festival.
- Lambeth Palace Library: Books and their Owners II: The Hours of Richard III (11.10.2013)
