The Murder That Began The Tudor Era | The Man Who Killed Richard III | Real Royalty with Foxy Games

this is a story of conspiracy and betrayal of a lust for power and a lost allegiance the story of the man who killed king richard iii ceresab thomas has been forgotten by historians and even written out of the battle of bosworth in 1485 until now [Music] a swashbuckling hero in terms of soldiery two great characteristics of lisa thomas was his strength of will and his ability as a military leader a complex passionate character and compelling evidence now suggests he doubt the fatal blow killing richard iii without richard being dead there is no way henry could ever be king there's no good wounding him somebody had to kill him rhys is a problem he he is an obvious turncoat but he probably knew which side his breakfast butters this is the untold story of a man who killed a king and changed history bosworth england the 22nd of august 1485 the most famous battle in britain took place a battle that was to change the course of history and the destinies of three great men king richard iii who was killed henry tudor who became king and a welshman rhisap thomas the man who dealt the fatal blow killing richard iii today bosworth is a busy heritage center but although this place commemorates one of the most famous battles in the history of britain no mention is made here of who actually killed the last plantagenet king [Music] recep thomas was a welsh nobleman and accomplished soldier who fought at bosworth and survived to tell the tale at the end of his life in his santees he went to the gray friar's priory in camarham south wales to die but he was not at peace he was plagued by memory and regret [Music] three quarters of a century of life and now i'm facing the same hell as that which i created for so many oh how easy it is to get drunk on power and status or through the tasting of the blood and fear on the battlefield but it is here in this head the sobriety and its truth start to hurt like a sword through the flesh [Music] by 1485 richard iii had been king for almost two years and was 32 years old the battle of bosworth brought to an end the decades of fighting between the house of york with the white rose and the house of lancaster with its red rose the great conflict between these two houses the wars of the roses is as compelling today as it was deadly than every year the reenactment of the battle of bosworth on the 22nd of august attracts over 750 re-enactors and thousands of visitors richard died and in doing so history changed the warsaw roses is phenomenally complicated and i've tried to put myself in the position of somebody who was alive at that time and worry about the loyalty which they would have had and i think you were mainly loyal to somebody that you trusted the 15th century generally was a difficult time politically for a lot of noble families in england and wales and certainly a lot of welsh families would have found it quite difficult to make the right choice here politically 15th century of course was really very much in the shadow of the defeat of the glendore rebellion owen glen dude was a welsh nobleman who led a revolt against the english rule of henry iv seen as a rebellious character by some others welcomed him as the son of prophecy who would free wales from english rule and return the crown of britain to the true britons the welsh a weinglindur's revolt came to an end around 1415 but its impact lasted for decades the welsh suffered under increasingly oppressive laws as a direct result of the uprising and resentment of the english run deep it stayed in the hearts of all welshmen and definitely all englishmen who decided that this wasn't going to happen again so yeah a very pivotal time i think and then of course you've got the wars of the roses which kind of disrupts all that and now you've got welsh brother fighting welsh brother depending on whether you're a yorkist or lancastrian so very very confusing times the tension between the houses of york and lancaster dominated the 15th century welsh noble families had to walk a tightrope between the two one of the families that managed to flourish was that of recep thomas his ancestors were not born into aristocracy but rose through the ranks achieving status and power they ruled here at denver castle it commanded views of the towie valley and had once been home to the famous welsh prince of the 12th century lord reece of denver the family was welsh spoke welsh and were patrons of poets and musicians [Music] by the 15th century griffith nicholas the grandfather of recep thomas was the most powerful man in the locality he became a sheriff of kamavanshi a keen supporter of the house of lancaster he mixed in the right circles and by being seen as a faithful servant to the crown he received status land power and money [Music] by 1440 he possessed the lease for all the land on the denver estate he was a bit of a chancer he was a bit of a dell boy of his time um he became quite wealthy due to a lot of spurious activities that he carried on in and around kamathansha and he actually although he was such a bit of a you know a bit of a rake he still was a man who was educated who was very intelligent very much patron of the arts even though he was very rough and ready and he was a man of his time i mean these were wild times and you took what you could get and he took more than most but he built up a little empire down here in west wales griffith nicholas went on to win favors and secured the rights to the land surrounding denver kidwelly camardon aberystwyth cardigan and caracanan he was a great patron of the arts and of poets and they returned the favor praising him in their work griffiths allegedly was killed at battle of mortimer's cross now i say allegedly because it appears he died a couple of years earlier but the bards whom he patronised of course decided to give him um a heroic end rather than just having die on a bed um he died at baltimore's cross you know fighting fighting for the lancastrian cause the battle of mortimer's cross took place near hereford in 1460. griffith supported the lancastrian side of owain tudor and his son jasper but they lost a wine tudor was executed jasper tudor managed to escape a year later the house of york attacked carrick cannon castle still held by the family of the now deceased griffith nicholas his son thomas and his grandson reese fled wales to the court of philip the good the duke of burgundy in france the family had fallen foul of the dangers of the time but for the young reese it opened a door to another world the conscience is knowing but the memory is filled with mixed pictures some with joyful hues phillips caught in burgundy oh what a place filled with culture and art and an emphasis on learning how to behave like aristocracy learning about european culture and also the continent's methods of fighting i was so young but so ready to learn and that's what i did philip had a learning system that was born from the techniques of the knights of the golden fleece similar to the ideas of king arthur's knights of the round table i loved the history of arthur and the bards saw me as his successor the court of philip was one of the most renowned courts in europe it was the best court in europe and here of course it was based on the sort of nightly virtues of chivalry honor there were lots of jousts young men were trained in the art of warfare but also philip was a very well-educated man he had lots of scholars at his court lots of poets so it was it was really quite a staggering place to be and i think for a young man like reese was about 14 at the time it must have been overwhelming to the senses priests and his father returned to wales around 1467. by this time rhys was a high achieving young man he married well to the daughter of a welsh noble family who were neighbours of his dinner estate most of the fertile toei valley came under his control and following the death of his father and his two brothers chris was the sole heir to the wealth and land of the whole family reece's father was killed in battle in 1468 near mchenseth in mid wales again fighting for the lancastrian cause against the orchests in his inherited position of power srisap thomas chose to be a great patron of the arts continuing a family tradition and earning a place for himself in the poems of the time in some cases in in the 15th century for example we have a single poem for a single patron and that's all we know about it but in sorts of thomas's case we have a wide range of poems by a wide range of poets uh for example david floyd of matthawarn gulem abiyan hain lewis klingkothi and so on and so on many of these poets were were minor poets but it's key i think that the most influential and the best poets of the time were also patronized by certainly thomas in the latter half of the 15th century the conflict between the houses of york and lancaster continued to dominate political life henry tudor had been born in 1457 in pembroke castle and his lancaster supporters argued that he was the only rightful heir to the throne like a game of chess noble families had to carefully plot their allegiance with some swapping sides to avoid falling out of favor and losing their land and power [Music] i learned very early on that not all battles can be won through war playing the game planning and buying time comes with its own rewards do not mention values and principles very few material rewards come from these but now as i close in on the end my principles and values are becoming more important undoubtedly they're a bomb for the troubled conscience in 1483 king edward iv died his sons edward v and richard were only twelve and nine years old their uncle richard of york became their guardian but the young princes suddenly and scandalously disappeared richard of york became king richard iii as a result it was a triumph for the yorkists the lancastrians however were outraged the people were now hoping for peace and stability thomas breaking with family tradition swore allegiance to king richard iii it is even claimed that he said only over his body would anyone pass through wales to attack king richard but the question remained then and still does today what happened to the two young princes in the tower richard iii's nephews who disappeared even by the brutal standards of the wars of the roses killing innocent children was seen as unforgivable here in bosworth the richard iii society which played a pivotal role in the re-burial of his skeleton has a clear mission to reclaim the reputation of richard iii he was a good king in the things that he did his laws we have no idea what would have come out of a longer reign obviously but he you know he did things that were good for the common people our aim is to set the record straight because we think that richard was a good man who's been badly served by history the disappearance of the young princes may have fueled another private concern for risa thomas king richard iii wanted reese's son griffith to be held the royal court as guarantor for his loyalty to the throne i think reese gave his word to richard at the time that he was writing to him when he was begging for his son to remain here his son was only two or three years old he didn't want him being carted off to england maybe never to see him again and i think when he was begging for for his son's life he meant what he said to richard you know you are my liege lord and he'd always been faithful to whichever king had been on the throne and i think that perhaps coupled with the rumors of the princes in the tower which rhys must have heard about um decided rhys that maybe you know maybe i might break my oath to richard [Music] yes i did send a letter promising to support richard the words are still in my memory but richard was to take the boy into his care my four-year-old son hostage to my own loyalty this was too much for me and his mother such a cheek on behalf of the king for taking my son what kind of man would do this to a four-year-old child even though i signed the letter most obedient and most faithful subject and servant such requests were hurting and angering me no he would not have my son as a hostage but i couldn't let my true feelings show to anyone i'm buying time my opportunity to strike back will come in 1484 richard iii son died and a year later his wife this left him weak a king without an heir meanwhile his lancastrian rival henry tudor and his uncle jasper tudor were in france building an army preparing to land on british soil and attack richard here in kidwelly henry tudor had an important ally a lawyer named trahiarnap morgan he was the link between henry tudor and his supporters within the welsh aristocracy including secretly free sub thomas publicly priests continued to support king richard gold i loved its color and feeling to an excess [Music] richard gave me a sum of money for a third year in a row to try and keep me on side but his threat of keeping my son hostage was one step too far and under richard iii's leadership and the house of york there was no room for me to rise in the political ranks henry tudor offered more yes there was a risk but through careful planning and elements of conspiracy there was a way to defeat richard even though i swore allegiance to him and i will not go back on my word unless it will be beneficial to me on august the 1st 1485 henry tudor and his uncle jasper tudor sailed towards wales with the support of the king of france six days later they landed in mill bay two miles from dale in south pembrokeshire when henry tudor landed here he created a dilemma for resab thomas should he fight against the newcomer or reveal his true support for him it was a turning point in history according to legend lisa thomas had sworn that if anyone was to come into the country to attack richard iii they would have to do so over his own body how could he release himself from this oath of allegiance he found a way out with the help of the bishop of saint davids he could keep to his word by lying under the mulluck bridge here while henry and his soldiers marched over him the myth that you know rhys lies down under mullet bridge and and henry tudor marches across so that rhys doesn't break his word it's really just a myth reese was halfway up country by then and he wouldn't have had time to get back and lie under mullet bridge and then come out go all the way back again it would have been pointless by keeping a distance between himself and henry he succeeded in keeping everyone guessing who was he supporting the uncertainty was a useful tactic henry traveled the coastal route from pembrokeshire to mid wales and then inland towards welshpul and bosworth reece took a different path from camathon through mid wales was he strategically protecting henry from richard's forces in the east he shadowed henry all the way up to welsh pool before he made his choice to throw in his lot with henry and i think it was a very dangerous thing that he did it was a great chance that he took but he rolled the dice it came out in henry's favor and he went with henry on the way to bosworth henry tudor stayed near mahansas with the prophet poet david from massavar the favor was the rebel broadcasting house in wales during the wars of the the roses and david flew it without any doubts he was the rebel minister of information there was good reason therefore why henry tudor would have called why he would have stayed overnight with david fluid over dinner that evening henry tudor asked david lloyd what his fate would be the prophet promised to give him an answer in the morning david had a very sleepless night and according to tradition his wife she was fed up with him and she just turned around and said well just give him the simple answer tell him that there's no doubt that he will be the victor if he loses the day it's doubtful if he'll come back here and bother you again and if he is victorious there's a great probability that you will be lavishly rewarded victory was in reach thanks in no small part to the private allegiance of rhys ap thomas [Music] i succeeded in winning the support of my people and the young men who were proud to fight for the welshman henry tudor i'm a firm believer in exercise and gaining strength in order to be able to fight on the battlefield if i've learned anything over the years it's about military strength knowing where and when to strike henry had promised so much to me and i shared the hope of seeing a welshman on the throne of england and wales one bard referenced henry as the second son of prophecy and our hopes were that he would be more successful than the first which was owen glendur [Music] that august back in 1485 was a turning point in more ways than one i was young and in the prime of my life from welsh pool henry tudor and three sub thomas's joint army marched through wales on their way to mid england their aim to defeat king richard iii at the same time the king was in nottingham preparing for the upcoming battle [Music] by now it was all too clear to him that reece had switched allegiance and was supporting henry tudor against him oh what a plan to trick richard to create doubt the leader of the land in north wales also joined us william griffith robin and rhys vowrap meredith hugh conway and trish had up her well from austin the welsh were out in full force in support of henry tudor i might as well admit here it was my army my thousand disciplined soldiers that were the most key to the fighting and henry tudor knew that all too well [Music] king richard moved his soldiers from his headquarters in nottingham to leicester one of the main hubs of power during this period thanks to its central position they then marched onwards towards the small village of market bosworth wales at this time was ruled from ludlow on crown land a strategic position for the administration of north and south wales and the borderlands [Music] what a morning the morning of the 22nd of august 1485. between us and richard's army the land was wet and boggy [Music] on one side ready to fight on behalf of henry tudor was the duke of oxford on the other side but having not decided whether to support him or tudor was to stanley's arrows were shot by the soldiers of the duke of oxford the fighting went ahead the stanleys joined in on the fighting on the side of henry tudor [Applause] later and i understand why richard decided to rush forward to attack henry tudor who had a group of soldiers next to him including my own soldiers [Music] henry's flag bearer was killed who was sir william brandon the flag was raised once more by frieza vowed up i saw richard coming towards henry i had the lan sax in my hand [Applause] as he rushed towards henry he turned his back on me i raised my weapon we know it was actually quite a short battle as battles go um it was determined quite decisively of course because of the death of a childhood that decided the outcome quite clearly we have this picture of richard thrusting himself into the middle of henry's closest supporters in the hope of bringing the battle to a decisive victory he came off his horse he seemed to have disappeared into this throng of warriors who were beating him down and it may be the case that there were quite a few people who struck a blow at that point after around two hours of battle it was all over henry tudor was now the king of england and wales [Music] following the mourning of fighting reesap thomas was appointed knight on the fields of bosworth by henry tudor later henry tudor walked triumphantly into leicester with richard iii's body following close behind him the body was displayed for two days before he was buried at greyfriar's priory how do i feel about the battle of bosworth the wrong bad one um but then i would say that it's very strange because richard was a good general he was a great warrior he only lost the one battle of course bosworth in 2012 his body was found beneath a car park in leicester it was proven to be the skeleton of king richard iii and that he had died from his skull being split by an axe or a sword-like weapon within months of the victory in bosworth the most important welsh poet of his day guitar glenn wrote of the battle he praised sir indicating that it was shrieks himself who struck the fatal blow guitar glenn the welsh poet suggests that he did so describing him sort of shaving the head of richard iii um some argue that that uh suggests a whole bird or a sort of an axe it's interesting that guitar glenn who's generally quite correct in his facts he's quite careful with his facts suggested that he was the killer so i think it can be accepted though it can't be proven guitar makes it uh obvious i think that uh certain thomas played a key part in uh henry tudor's winning of the field in in bosworth and he makes that obvious he says that king harry actually won the field because of our master because of uh certificates we've also got jean molina the contemporary chronicler who said it was a welshman but he doesn't name reese it may not have been particularly sound idea to become known as a king killer as a regicide that could actually have reflected badly on somebody had been another change in fortune so there may have been a reason not to advertise too much if recep thomas had actually been responsible for killing richard iii he was elevated to be a knight three days after the battle he was then given offices in south wales but he was also made a privy counsellor and so he was also part of the court part of henry's life part of the circle that advised him so in that sense yes he was central to the development of the hindration scheme that says a lot so i would say it points to the fact that he probably did kill richard because without richard being dead there is no way henry could ever be king there was no good wounding him somebody had to kill him [Music] without a doubt henry tudor was pleased he couldn't be more grateful i was knighted on the spot what would my grandfather make of this henry was true to his word and i was made the chamberlain of south wales a steward for land and king and control of the lordship of both wells oh things were changing immensely in my history [Music] on the 30th of october two months after the battle of bosworth henry tudor was crowned henry the seventh ceresep thomas continued to accept honours and land which made him even wealthier than his grandfather griffith nicholas had been many more battles were fought in order to protect the reign of henry vii and sir heath was at the forefront of these battles we have some evidence for instance from polydor virgil who was writing during henry the sensory who said that the two great characteristics of lisa thomas was his strength of will and his ability as a military leader and that probably does demonstrate to us exactly what his importance was for the tudors he was a man of purpose he was a very solid man somebody who was obviously very able when it came to leading troops in battle a trusted ally to henry vii and the king allowed his eldest and arthur to be raised in ludlow alongside griffith the son of ceresa thomas the family of cerise were now at the heart of the royal court as well as having great influence as rulers in wales ceres's swift rise to the top reflects the gratitude henry v felt towards him reinforcing the evidence that it was reece who killed richard iii on the battlefield rhys was rewarded with a great deal of authority he came second only to jasper tudor when it came to authority in south wales he was also of course a member of the king's council so he played a more extensive role in effect he wasn't just a ruler on the ground in wales but he also gave advice to the king on other matters as well there is the tradition that henry always referred to him as father reese even though rhys wasn't that much older than him he was known affectionately as king of camargum because he was virtually king here in south wales he could do really whatever he pleased henry the sam's eldest son arthur the prince of wales married catherine of aragon in 1501 and lived here in ludlow but within five months of their marriage arthur died the prince was buried here in worcester cathedral griffith aprice led the funeral proceedings a great honor the relationship between sir family and the king was further acknowledged in 1505 when reece was awarded the knight of the garter the highest chivalric honor given by the king the crest of the garter is clear to see on his tomb here in saint peter's church camarin he received obviously the order of the knight of the garter which was a huge honour for him which took place the the whole ceremony was taking place in cairo castle a wonderful procession jousting all sorts of things were going on and the fact was he worked so well within the english court with the english monarchy helping them and of course later on henry viii so he had the kind of standing that i don't think any welshman has had before or since what a celebration myself soldiers from the de nevo area being honored with one of the greatest honours possible night of the garter what a great period and with so much land and so many castles coming under my control it was a period of organizing and making sure soldiers were available and properly prepared when henry vii died in 1509 it was an end of an era but his son henry viii wanted me to continue to provide counsel and rule here in wales even in 1512 and me at 63 years old i went to france with a king to fight my main job here at home to keep watching the seas that way the enemy won't be able to land on the coast of south west wales and stage an attack on the country [Music] oh i was so proud of my son griffith at this time the air was safe and he was being awarded more and more responsibilities and he was also in favor with a king great days but disaster struck the family in 1521 griffitha priest died at the age of 43. he was buried in worcester cathedral close to the tomb of prince arthur cyrese had held great hopes for his son preparing him to become a councillor of wales for the king now he had lost the heir to his whole estate it would have to pass instead to his grandson priest up griffith who was just 15 years old at the time cerrisse's health was worsening on the 3rd of february 1525 he came to grey fryer's priory in kamathen choosing to spend his final days here rather than at home [Music] well risakos had led a very long and full life he was over 75 when he died and that's quite an unusual age for the period so he may have had a lot to look back upon he had a long history of course as a warrior a lot of people had lost their lives in battle as a result of him he may also look back and thought that there were times when he was a little bit ruthless he was known as quite a harsh governor of south wales so he may have felt that there were times when he could have been more merciful i mean we must remember that reese had probably been there when richard's body had been carted off very ignominiously to the grey friars in leicester and i think for a man like reese this would have been a very difficult thing to cope with in his conscience we may have felt that he had quite a lot to confess at this point all in all and with the thought processes of the medieval catholic church it may very well have occurred to him that now was the time to to repent when he was about to meet his maker i'm sorry for what i did i'll end my days here with the gray friars like my liege lord richard did and the man i killed the man that i destroyed [Music] the end is nearing and everything is becoming weaker is it wise to look back yes there were successes who would have thought when i was a child playing around in denver and amber marlies that i would experience such success and so many losses oh lord i try to be honest to be fair [Music] i did not plan to swear allegiance to richard iii and then to betray and kill him on the fields of bosworth but surely that is the soldier's fate how can you judge me oh lord don't judge me solely on my faults forgive me for my transgression with richard sir thomas died on the 9th of february 1525 at the age of 76 and was buried with the monks in greyfriar's priory after henry viii dissolved the monasteries ceres's body was moved here to send peter's church in the center of camathen in his will sir he's provided for his daughters from his two marriages as well as the twelve children of his numerous mistresses his legitimate grandchildren inherited everything but he was later accused of treason and executed by henry viii he let it all slip away and that was the beginning of the end i think for the whole recep thomas story and the recep thomas legends they just disappeared through the bad behavior of his grandson [Music] oh but the story of sir thomas the man who killed a king is being revived and celebrated for a new generation robert talbert rice is a descendant of sirhis and continues the military connection a major general with the welsh guards i'm cerisep thomas's 14 times great grandson he was a remarkable man he lived in violent times he prospered in violent times he i think did a great deal to to bring wales into the heart of british politics plans are underway at saint peter's church in kamathen to move his tomb to a more prominent position now is the time to bring him into the the limelight uh to retell the story to emphasize his importance to welsh history and to british history to tell the story of recep thomas the story that's been hidden for centuries prison thomas a swashbuckling hero in terms of soldiery he was quite a fine administrator he was a wheeler dealer an extremely remarkable man and what i feel is he's one of the most important lost figures of british history rhys is a problem he he is a an obvious turncoat but he probably knew which side his breath was buttered a man ahead of his time a great man and a great welshman [Music] you

Channel: Real Royalty

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Keywords: real royalty, real royalty channel, british royalty, royalty around the world, royal history, king richard iii, plantagenets, war of the roses, the tudors, medieval england

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Length: 44min 55sec (2695 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 27 2020