Problem: Richard was born on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, the twelfth of thirteen children of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville at the beginning of what has traditionally been labelled the "Wars of the Roses", a period of "three or four decades of political instability and periodic open civil war in the second half of the fifteenth century", between supporters of Richard's father (a potential claimant to the throne of King Henry VI from birth)--"Yorkists"--in opposition to the regime of Henry VI and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and those loyal to the crown ("Lancastrians"). When his father and the Nevilles were forced to flee to Ludlow in 1459, Richard and his older brother, George (later Duke of Clarence), were placed in the custody of the Duchess of Buckingham, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. When his father and elder brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, Richard, who was eight years old, and George were sent by his mother, the Duchess of York, to the Low Countries. They returned to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton and participated in the coronation of Richard's eldest brother as King Edward IV in June 1461.

In 1483, a conspiracy arose among a number of disaffected gentry, many of whom had been supporters of Edward IV and the "whole Yorkist establishment". The conspiracy was nominally led by Richard's former ally and first cousin once removed Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, although it had begun as a Woodville-Beaufort conspiracy (being "well under way" by the time of the duke's involvement). Indeed, Davies has suggested that it was "only the subsequent parliamentary attainder that placed Buckingham at the centre of events", in order to blame a single disaffected magnate motivated by greed, rather than "the embarrassing truth" that those opposing Richard were actually "overwhelmingly Edwardian loyalists". It is possible that they planned to depose Richard III and place Edward V back on the throne, and that when rumours arose that Edward and his brother were dead, Buckingham proposed that Henry Tudor should return from exile, take the throne and marry Elizabeth of York, elder sister of the Tower Princes. However, it has also been pointed out that as this narrative stems from Richard's own parliament of 1484, it should probably be treated "with caution". For his part, Buckingham raised a substantial force from his estates in Wales and the Marches. Henry, in exile in Brittany, enjoyed the support of the Breton treasurer Pierre Landais, who hoped Buckingham's victory would cement an alliance between Brittany and England.  Some of Henry Tudor's ships ran into a storm and were forced to return to Brittany or Normandy, while Henry himself anchored off Plymouth for a week before learning of Buckingham's failure. Buckingham's army was troubled by the same storm and deserted when Richard's forces came against them. Buckingham tried to escape in disguise, but was either turned in by a retainer for the bounty Richard had put on his head, or was discovered in hiding with him. He was convicted of treason and beheaded in Salisbury, near the Bull's Head Inn, on 2 November. His widow, Catherine Woodville, later married Jasper Tudor, the uncle of Henry Tudor, who was in the process of organising another rebellion.  Richard made overtures to Landais, offering military support for Landais's weak regime under Duke Francis II of Brittany in exchange for Henry. Henry fled to Paris, where he secured support from the French regent Anne of Beaujeu, who supplied troops for an invasion in 1485. The French government, recalling Richard's effective disowning of the Treaty of Picquigny and refusal to accept the accompanying French pension, would not have welcomed the accession of one known to be unfriendly to France.

Who was Elizabeth of York?

Answer with quotes: Elizabeth of York, elder sister of the Tower Princes.


Problem: Starsailor are an English post-Britpop band, formed in 2000. Since its formation the band has included guitarist and vocalist James Walsh, drummer Ben Byrne, bassist James Stelfox and keyboardist Barry Westhead. The band has released five studio albums, and have scored ten Top 40 hit singles in the UK.

For their second album, Silence Is Easy, which was recorded in Los Angeles, Starsailor teamed up with Phil Spector. The collaboration came about following Spector's daughter Nicole attending one of the band's American concerts in the winter of 2002. Spector was reported to have been fascinated by "Lullaby", the band's fourth single. After meeting the producer, the band agreed to work with him on their second album. However, the collaboration was short-lived; sessions at London's Abbey Road proved difficult. Spector is said to have dismissed Ben Byrne's drumming, and proved difficult to work with. Only two tracks made the band's second album: the title track, "Silence Is Easy", and "White Dove".  The band co-produced seven of the other tracks with Danton Supple and former The Stone Roses and Radiohead producer John Leckie was brought in to oversee the recording of "Shark Food".  The first single was "Silence Is Easy", which made the Top Ten (#9, the band's highest placing). The album spawned just three singles; the second of which, "Born Again" had evolved from a B-side to "Poor Misguided Fool", released in early 2002. The song was re-recorded for the album, and cut down for a radio edit. "Four to the Floor", which was remixed by Thin White Duke, became a popular club hit. Walsh wanted the track to become the band's "I Am the Resurrection", something to be played in "indie discos everywhere".  The album charted well, but sales were sluggish in comparison to the band's first album. The release dropped out of the Top 40 soon thereafter.  A full UK Tour began in Autumn 2003 shortly after the release of the album, culminating at London's Brixton Academy. The show featured the only performance before their American tour in 2006 of "Restless Heart", the closing track on the Silence Is Easy album. Mark Collins, from The Charlatans joined Starsailor for all dates between August 2003 to December 2004, playing additional and lead guitar.

Was the album a success?

Answer with quotes:
The album charted well, but sales were sluggish in comparison to the band's first album.