The rebellion of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham in the autumn of 1483 is perplexing because it’s impossible to nail down a motivation for it. Arguably no one was better rewarded by Richard’s assumption of power and Buckingham positioned himself as an Earl of Warwick-type figure in the second and third quarters of 1483 – in other words, a kingmaker. His fall from grace was remarkably self-inflicted and a confusing wrinkle in the study of Richard III. So, let’s dig in, but first, if you missed Part Thirteen, you can catch up here and I recommend reading through this timeline of 1483 for some context if you haven’t already.
