It came as a shock to me to find out that Richard III was only 32 when he died.
Whether or not Richard III killed the young princes -he certainly fitted in a lot at an early age-no hanging around for him!
From his early childhood war and political conflict were the backdrop to Richard's life as his Plantagenet relatives threw themselves into the violent struggle for power between the houses of York and Lancaster.
As a young adolescent, Richard witnessed his 18 year elder brother sucessfully usurp the throne and become Edward IV and by the age of 17 he was an independent public figure in the world of adult poitics. He spent his twenties operating in the cut throat factionalism and competition created by the English Magnates.
Unsurprisingly by his early thirties, he was a figure to be reckoned with. Having taken the crown however, his reign only lasted a mere 26 months.
