Medieval kings and queens

From William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, who defeated Harold II at the battle of Hastings in 1066; to Henry Tudor, who took the English throne after defeating and killing Richard III at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, the medieval period is full of fascinating kings and queens. Here, we explore the best, worst and most forgotten medieval monarchs…

Laurence Olivier plays Richard III in the 1955 film adaptation of Shakespeare's play. In it, the controversial monarch is damned as everything from a "bottled spider" and "lump of foul deformity" to a "poisonous bunch-backed toad". (Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Why did Shakespeare revile Richard III?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard II, led captive by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV), renounces the throne in Jean Creton's 'Histoire du Roy d'Angleterre Richard II' (1401-05). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Richard II: “I find myself a traitor”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of King Edward III. By using his offspring as pawns in a series of alliances, the king hoped to wield power over a confederation of dependent states bound together by feudal and family ties. (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

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King Edward III: the family man. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Chronique de St Denis depicting the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France, 1137. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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An A to Z of the Plantagenets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Matilda: William the Conqueror’s queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Arundel castle at dawn

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Where history happened: Stephen and Matilda. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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