AS A member of the Society of Friends of King Richard III, I was pleased to learn that experts have finally proved beyond doubt that England’s last Plantagenet ruler was not the physically “weak” monarch with a hunchback and withered arm as vilely perpetuated by Tudor propagandists and Shakespeare.
Richard was, in fact, every bit the noble “warrior king”, expert at leading cavalry attacks on his powerful warhorse in a heavy suit of medieval armour, despite the fact that his spine was twisted by scoliosis.
As an ardent Yorkist, I often dream of what things would have been like if Richard III had won the Battle of Bosworth, and Henry Tudor had been either slain in battle or later executed for treason.
One thing is certain: no murderous Henry VIII, no fanatical Elizabeth I, no vast Armada, no damaging war with Spain. But most importantly, no English Reformation and no split from the Catholic Church.
Almost certainly, too, the amazing Cistercian communities such as Rievaulx and Fountains would have survived and their great spiritual legacy would still be gloriously manifest today. In short, we might still be a Roman Catholic nation, with a United Ireland as our greatest ally and soulmate. Truly, the mind boggles.
Aled Jones, Mount Crescent, Bridlington.
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