Battle of Bosworth Field a horse!" He refuses to withdraw, continuing to seek to slay Henry's doubles until he has killed his nemesis. There is no documentary evidence that Henry had five decoys at Bosworth Field; the idea was Shakespeare's invention. He drew inspiration from Henry IV's use of them at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) to amplify the perception of Richard's courage on the battlefield. Similarly, the single combat between Henry and Richard is Shakespeare's creation. "The True Tragedy of Richard III", by an unknown playwright, earlier than Shakespeare's, has no signs of staging such an encounter: its stage directions give no hint
Ricardian (Richard III) of the White Boar was renamed The Richard III Society in 1959. In 1980, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, became the society’s Patron. (Richard III was Duke of Gloucester before ascending the throne, therefore he was before his accession (Prince) Richard, Duke of Gloucester). In 1986 the society established the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, a registered charity, to advance research and publication related to the history of late medieval England. The society publishes a scholarly journal, The Ricardian. In 2012 the society, working in partnership with the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council, exhumed a skeleton at