The bloody Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York ended with the killing of Richard III. With the recent discovery of his skeleton, and the consequent controversy over his final resting place, it is time to re-examine the life of Richard as a duke and king. Was he the grotesque usurper and murderer of the Princes in the Tower, as depicted by Shakespeare just over a hundred years after Richard’s death in battle? Or has his name been blackened over the years, as claimed by his apologists, the Richard III Society? This biography sifts the contemporary evidence, placing Richard in the context of his times, and assesses the likelihood of other candidates put forward to have killed the Princes in the Tower. John Locke wrote that ‘the actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts’ and upon this basis the investigation leads to one conclusion.