Skip to main content

Secondary sourceDocument1483

Titulus Regius

1483

A modern Wikisource transcription of Titulus Regius, the 1483 act that gave Richard III the title of King of England.

Shows the 1483 act that gave Richard III the title of King of England, the legal basis of his claim to the throne.

Ask Richard III about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (Wikisource)

About this source

What it is

This is a Wikisource page holding a transcription of Titulus Regius, an act issued in 1483 that gave Richard III the title of King of England. The page opens with a petition addressed to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, from the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons of England. The spelling is Middle English, and this is a modern transcription, not the original parchment. The page also links to a Wikipedia article about the act.

Why it matters

The act is the legal basis of Richard III's claim to the throne. Its opening praises past kings who followed wise counsel and kept the land in peace and honour. The petition is a key source for how Richard's supporters argued that the crown should pass to him in 1483, a claim his opponents later disputed.

Look closer

  • Who is asking, and who is being asked, in the first lines of the petition?
  • Why might the authors describe the past as a time of peace and prosperity?
  • What does a modern transcription leave out about how the original document looked and was kept?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Richard III on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Richard III sources

Meet the AI Richard III →
Dark green cloth book cover with a white rectangular library label in the upper left reading 'UC-NRLF' above a barcode and the number 'B 4 009 742'.Book

Secondary source

History of King Richard III

Thomas More

Page 173 of an old printed book showing the title 'The Tragedy of Richard the Third' with a decorative border, the subtitle about the landing of Earle Richmond and the battle at Bosworth Field, and the opening 'Actus Primus. Scena Prima' in two columns of dense black-letter-style text.Book

Primary source

Richard III

William Shakespeare · c. 1592-1594; printed 1632

Black ink signature drawn on white background, with a long sweeping stroke rising from the left, a large looped letter in the middle, and a cursive word ending in a loop at the lower right.Document

Primary source

Signature of Richard III of England

Richard III of England · 1484

Painted portrait of a man with shoulder-length brown hair and a black velvet cap with a gold badge, wearing a gold brocade robe with a jeweled collar over red. He faces left against a blue-green background within a gilded arched frame. Inscription at the bottom reads 'RICHARD REX TERCI' in black letters.Painting

Secondary source

Richard III (1452–1485)

British (English) School (possibly) · c. 1510

Painted illustration from a medieval roll showing a crowned woman in a red robe with an ermine-trimmed cape on the left, a standing crowned king in red crown with a sceptre in the centre wearing blue and red armour with gold fleurs-de-lis and lions, and a young boy in blue and red armour on the right. Around them are heraldic crests on helmets with labels, including a crowned lion, a harp, a dragon, and a white boar at the feet of the figures, with two hands holding crowns above the woman.Painting

Primary source

Rous Roll

John Rous · c. 1483–1485

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Richard III now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions