The Trial of Richard III (1984)

Overview

A modern trial by jury at the Old Bailey of one of the most famous events in English history. Conducted on the afternoon and evening of 21st February, 1984, it was held almost 500 years after the death of the last of the Plantagenet Kings, King Richard III, on Bosworth Field, the last of the English monarchs to die in battle. The charges are that King Richard III did, in or about the month of August, 1483, in the Tower of London, murder Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, and Prince Richard, Duke of York. Presiding over the case is Lord Elwyn-Jones, the former Lord Chancellor, and he is ably supported by two of Britain’s leading criminal Queen’s Counsels. A fascinating trial which presents evidence which offers the viewer the opportunity to join the jury in weighing the evidence and reaching his or her own verdict before discovering that of the television jury.